Study on the Effects of Irrigation Amount on Spring Maize Yield and Water Use Efficiency Under Different Planting Patterns in Xinjiang

Ruxiao Bai, Haixiu He, Xinjiang Zhang () and Qifeng Wu ()
Additional contact information
Ruxiao Bai: Institute of Mechanical, Academy of Agricultural and Reclamation Sciences, Shihezi 832000, China
Haixiu He: Institute of Mechanical, Academy of Agricultural and Reclamation Sciences, Shihezi 832000, China
Xinjiang Zhang: College of Agriculture, Shihezi University, Shihezi 832003, China
Qifeng Wu: Institute of Mechanical, Academy of Agricultural and Reclamation Sciences, Shihezi 832000, China

Agriculture, 2025, vol. 15, issue 15, 1-14

Abstract: Planting patterns and irrigation amounts are key factors affecting maize yield. This study adopted a two-factor experimental design, with planting pattern as the main plot and irrigation amount as the subplot, to investigate the effects of irrigation levels under different planting patterns (including uniform row spacing and alternating wide-narrow row spacing) on spring maize yield and water use efficiency in Xinjiang. Through this approach, the study examined the mechanisms by which planting pattern and irrigation amount influence maize growth, yield formation, and water use efficiency. Experiments conducted at the Agricultural Science Research Institute of the Ninth Division of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps demonstrated that alternating wide-narrow row spacing combined with moderate irrigation (5400 m 3 /hm 2 ) significantly optimized maize root distribution, improved water use efficiency, and increased leaf area index and net photosynthetic rate, thereby promoting dry matter accumulation and yield enhancement. In contrast, uniform row spacing under high irrigation levels increased yield but resulted in lower water use efficiency. The study also found that alternating wide-narrow row spacing enhanced maize nutrient absorption from the soil, particularly phosphorus utilization efficiency, by improving canopy structure and root expansion. This pattern exhibited comprehensive advantages in resource utilization, providing a theoretical basis and technical pathway for achieving water-saving and high-yield maize production in arid regions, which holds significant importance for promoting sustainable agricultural development.

Keywords: maize; drip irrigation; yield increase; wide-narrow row planting; water use efficiency (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/15/1710/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/15/1710/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jagris:v:15:y:2025:i:15:p:1710-:d:1719980

Access Statistics for this article

Agriculture is currently edited by Ms. Leda Xuan

More articles in Agriculture from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().