Abstract
The Loess Plateau is a principal dryland winter wheat production region in China, where unreasonable sowing rate and fertilization management limit yield and quality. A two-factor split-plot experiment was conducted during 2019–2021 with three sowing rates (150 kg ha−1, 180 kg ha−1, 210 kg ha−1) and three fertilization type (CK, OPT, OPT-N). Increasing sowing rate to 210 kg ha−1 significantly improved population tiller, secondary root number, and canopy structure. OPT reduced N input by > 50% but maintained plant growth and delayed leaf senescence. The 180 kg ha−1 rate enhanced canopy light interception at anthesis, while 210 kg ha−1 better sustained post-anthesis chlorophyll content, net photosynthetic rate, and stomatal conductance. Compared with OPT, OPT-N markedly restricted root growth, photosynthesis, and matter accumulation. 210 kg ha−1 + OPT significantly increased 1000-grain weight by 5–11%, grain yield by 1.7–3.7%, total starch by 1.91–5.22%, and flour processing quality. The interaction significantly regulated growth, photosynthesis, yield, and quality. This study demonstrates that 210 kg ha−1 + OPT realizes synchronous improvements in yield, quality, and resource efficiency under reduced N input, providing a green cultivation model for dryland wheat.
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Subjects
- Ecology
- Physiology
- Plant sciences
Abbreviations
- CK:
Farmers’ conventional fertilization
- OPT:
Optimized fertilization
- OPT‑N:
Optimized nitrogen reduction
- R150:
150 kg ha−1 sowing rate
- R180:
180 kg ha−1 sowing rate
- R210:
210 kg ha−1 sowing rate
- SPAD:
Chlorophyll relative value
- Pn:
Net photosynthetic rate
- Gs:
Stomatal conductance
- Tr:
Transpiration rate
- Ci:
Intercellular CO2 concentration
- Ls:
Stomatal limitation value
- WUE:
Water use efficiency
- TPAR:
Canopy top photosynthetically active radiation
- BPAR:
Sub-canopy photosynthetically active radiation
- IPAR:
Intercepted photosynthetically active radiation
- FIPAR:
Fraction of intercepted photosynthetically active radiation
- T_PAR:
Transmittance of photosynthetically active radiation
- RS:
Reviving stage
- JS:
Jointing stage
- BS:
Booting stage
- AS:
Anthesis stage
- MS:
Mature stage
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by Fundamental Research Program of Shanxi Province (No. 202303021212300). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation for financial support of this study.
Funding
This work was supported by Fundamental Research Program of Shanxi Province (No. 202303021212300). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation for financial support of this study.
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Feng, Y., Noor, H., Ren, A. et al. Optimized sowing rate and fertilization regulate photosynthetic characteristics, grain yield and quality of winter wheat.
Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-60142-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-60142-4
Keywords
- Dryland winter wheat
- Sowing rate
- Fertilization type
- Photosynthetic characteristics
- Yield
- Quality
- Resource use efficiency
Source: Ecology - nature.com
