Effects of irrigation and straw mulching on microclimate characteristics and water use efficiency of winter wheat in North China

In North China, irrigation is required to obtain a high yield from winter wheat; this results in rapid aquifer depletion. The primary objective of this study was to investigate the influencing mechanisms of irrigation and straw mulching in preserving the soil moisture. Maize straw (3-5 cm) was mulched immediately after sowing winter wheat, and irrigation water was supplied at 60 turn, controlled by using a flow meter, during the jointing, heading, or milking stages of the crop. The results revealed that irrigation decreased the eddy thermal diffusivity, sensible heat flux, and soil heat flux, but increased the latent heat flux. In contrast, straw mulching enhanced the eddy thermal diffusivity and sensible heat flux, but decreased the latent heat flux. Straw mulching increased the soil temperature at 5 cut depth from January to February, but decreased the soil temperature before January and after February. There were no significant differences in the total evapotranspiration between Mulched and non-mulched treatments, however, there was a statistically significant difference in the evapotranspiration among the different growing seasons. Straw mulching reduced the evapotranspiration from the seeding stage to the regrowing stage, and the evapotranspiration with Mulching was less than that non-mulching 47.4 mm. Further, straw mulching significantly reduced the number of spikes in the crop. Both irrigation and straw mulching increased the number of kernels, but had no visible effects on the thousand kernel weight. These results indicate that straw mulching may decrease the yield and water use efficiency (WUE) of winter wheat in North China.