Winter wheat grain yield and water use efficiency in wide-precision planting pattern under deficit irrigation in North China Plain

• Spike numbers in wide-precision planting pattern were significantly enhanced.
• Grain yield in wide-precision planting pattern was improved.
• Evapotranspiration in both planting patterns was not statistically different.
• WUE in wide-precision planting pattern was significantly increased.

Water resources in North China Plain are limited; however, the Plain is the most important winter wheat production area in China and winter wheat should be irrigated to get high grain yield. To better understand the potential for improving grain yield and water use efficiency (WUE), treatment effects of planting patterns and deficit irrigation were quantified on tillers number, grain yield, evapotranspiration, and WUE during the 2010–2011 and 2011–2012 winter wheat growing seasons. The two planting patterns were wide-precision planting pattern (sowing width was 6–8 cm) and conventional-cultivation planting pattern (sowing width was 3–5 cm). Each planting pattern had three irrigation regimes, i.e., no irrigation, irrigated 60.0 mm only at jointing stage, and irrigated 60.0 mm each at jointing and heading stages. Results indicated that whether irrigated or not, tillers number was significantly higher in the wide-precision planting pattern than in the conventional-cultivation planting pattern; accounting for spike numbers in wide-precision planting pattern being significantly higher than in conventional-cultivation planting pattern. Grain yield was increased when irrigation amount increased, and was significantly higher in the wide-precision planting pattern than in the conventional-cultivation planting pattern. Significant interaction between planting patterns and deficit irrigation regimes occurred in both 2010–2011 and 2011–2012 grain yields. Under the same deficit irrigation regime, there were not significant differences in the evapotranspiration between the two planting patterns. In the both growing seasons, irrespective of irrigation treatment, WUE was significantly higher in the wide-precision planting pattern than in the conventional-cultivation planting pattern. Results support the application of wide-precision planting pattern in combination with deficit irrigation for maximizing winter wheat production in North China Plain.