Yang et al. (2025) Effect of Sowing Time Variations and Irrigation Water Levels on Growth, Yield of Wheat, and Water Footprints

⚠️ Warning: This summary was generated from the abstract only, as the full text was not available.

Identification

• Journal: Water
• Year: 2025
• Date: 2025-11-10
• Authors: Xiufang Yang, Rajesh Kumar Soothar, Lakhano Sahito, Irfan Ahmed Shaikh, Mashooque Ali Talpur, Bin Li, Farman Ali Chandio
• DOI: 10.3390/w17223213

Research Groups

Not specified in the provided text.

Short Summary

This field experiment investigated optimal sowing times and irrigation levels for wheat, concluding that normal sowing with a 15–30% irrigation deficit significantly enhances water productivity and water use efficiency with minimal yield and economic losses, offering a climate-adaptive approach.

Objective

• To evaluate the impact of varying sowing times (advance, normal, delayed) and irrigation water levels (sufficient, deficit) on wheat plant growth, grain production, water use efficiency, blue water footprint, and economic returns in a field setting.
• To identify climate-adaptive approaches for sustainable wheat production in water-scarce environments.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Field experiment.
• Temporal Scale: Not explicitly stated, but implies a single growing season for the field experiment.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: None; this was a field experiment.
• Data sources: Field observations from a replicated experiment (three sowing times, three irrigation levels, three replications). Measured parameters included plant height, tip length, number of grains per tip, grain production, plant-level water use efficiency, blue water trace/footprint, and economic net income.

Main Results

• Maximum grain production (5063 kg ha⁻¹) was achieved with regular planting and sufficient irrigation (T1).
• Deficit irrigation treatments (T2, T3) resulted in a minor yield reduction of 2–3% but significantly improved plant-level water use efficiency by 10–23% and reduced the blue water trace by 12–28%.
• The lowest blue water trace (736 m³ t⁻¹) was observed under treatment T3 (deficit irrigation).
• Advance or delayed seed sowing combined with deficit irrigation led to substantial yield reductions (up to 14%) and increased the blue water footprint under full irrigation.
• Economic analysis showed that T1 provided the highest net income (Rs: 376,284 ha⁻¹), while T2 and T3 retained 97–98% of this income compared to advance seed sowing with well water, simultaneously improving water productivity.
• The study concludes that normal sowing with a 15–30% irrigation deficit is a climate-adaptive approach that enhances water productivity without substantial yield losses.

Contributions

• Provides empirical evidence for an optimized wheat production strategy that balances yield and water conservation in water-scarce regions.
• Demonstrates that moderate irrigation deficits combined with normal sowing times can significantly improve water use efficiency and reduce the blue water footprint with minimal economic impact.
• Offers a practical, climate-adaptive solution for agricultural sustainability, particularly relevant for regions facing intensifying water scarcity.

Funding

Not specified in the provided text.

Citation

@article{Yang2025Effect,
  author = {Yang, Xiufang and Soothar, Rajesh Kumar and Sahito, Lakhano and Shaikh, Irfan Ahmed and Talpur, Mashooque Ali and Li, Bin and Chandio, Farman Ali},
  title = {Effect of Sowing Time Variations and Irrigation Water Levels on Growth, Yield of Wheat, and Water Footprints},
  journal = {Water},
  year = {2025},
  doi = {10.3390/w17223213},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.3390/w17223213}
}