IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/agiwat/v218y2019icp139-148.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The combination of limited irrigation and high plant density optimizes canopy structure and improves the water use efficiency of cotton

Author

Listed:
  • Chen, Zongkui
  • Niu, Yuping
  • Zhao, Ruihai
  • Han, Chunli
  • Han, Huanyong
  • Luo, Honghai

Abstract

Increasing plant density under insufficiency or deficit irrigation is considered a new water-saving technique in cotton production, especially in Xinjiang, China, an arid area with a short growing period. Increasing plant density reduces light intensity within the canopy; therefore, we hypothesized that resource use efficiency may be the main factor affecting cotton yield and water use efficiency under limited irrigation conditions. To test this hypothesis, 2-year field experiments were conducted to explore the effects of two irrigation patterns (I500, conventional irrigation; I425, limited irrigation) and three planting densities (D12, 12; D24, 24; D36, 36 plants m−2) on cotton yield, fiber quality, light interception rate, canopy photosynthesis and irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE). I425D36 raised yield and IWUE by 1.40–22.4% and 13.4–34.5%, respectively, but it did not affect fiber quality compared with other treatments. Further, I425D36 increased the leaf area index and the top- and middle-canopy light interception rates after 105 days after sowing, which improved the canopy apparent photosynthetic rate. Seed cotton yield was associated with leaf area index and the top- and bottom-canopy light interception rates. We conclude that irrigation of cotton with limited irrigation at a 425-mm level and a plant density at 36 plants m−2 had significant benefits in terms of economized irrigation without reducing yield in arid areas.

Suggested Citation

  • Chen, Zongkui & Niu, Yuping & Zhao, Ruihai & Han, Chunli & Han, Huanyong & Luo, Honghai, 2019. "The combination of limited irrigation and high plant density optimizes canopy structure and improves the water use efficiency of cotton," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 218(C), pages 139-148.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:218:y:2019:i:c:p:139-148
    DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2019.03.037
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378377418311211
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.agwat.2019.03.037?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ficklin, Darren L. & Luedeling, Eike & Zhang, Minghua, 2010. "Sensitivity of groundwater recharge under irrigated agriculture to changes in climate, CO2 concentrations and canopy structure," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 97(7), pages 1039-1050, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Komlan Koudahe & Aleksey Y. Sheshukov & Jonathan Aguilar & Koffi Djaman, 2021. "Irrigation-Water Management and Productivity of Cotton: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-21, September.
    2. Wenjuan Chen & Mingsi Li & Qinglin Li, 2023. "The Influence of Winter Irrigation Amount on the Characteristics of Water and Salt Distribution and WUE in Different Saline-Alkali Farmlands in Northwest China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(21), pages 1-17, October.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ramos, T.B. & Simionesei, L. & Jauch, E. & Almeida, C. & Neves, R., 2017. "Modelling soil water and maize growth dynamics influenced by shallow groundwater conditions in the Sorraia Valley region, Portugal," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 185(C), pages 27-42.
    2. Mohd Danish Khan & Sonam Shakya & Hong Ha Thi Vu & Ji Whan Ahn & Gnu Nam, 2019. "Water Environment Policy and Climate Change: A Comparative Study of India and South Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-10, June.
    3. Heejung Kim & Kang-Kun Lee, 2018. "A Comparison of the Water Environment Policy of Europe and South Korea in Response to Climate Change," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-9, February.
    4. Roland Barthel & Tim Reichenau & Tatjana Krimly & Stephan Dabbert & Karl Schneider & Wolfram Mauser, 2012. "Integrated Modeling of Global Change Impacts on Agriculture and Groundwater Resources," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 26(7), pages 1929-1951, May.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:218:y:2019:i:c:p:139-148. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/agwat .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.