Grain yield and water use efficiency of super rice under soil water deficit and alternate wetting and drying irrigation

This study investigated if super rice could better cope with soil water deficit and if it could have better yield performance and water use efficiency (WUE) under alternate wetting and drying (AWD) irrigation than check rice. Two super rice cultivars and two elite check rice cultivars were grown in pots with three soil moisture levels, well watered (WW), moderate water deficit (MWD) and severe water deficit (SWD). Two cultivars, each for super rice and check rice, were grown in field with three irrigation regimes, alternate wetting and moderate drying (AWMD), alternate wetting and severe drying (AWSD) and conventional irrigation (CI). Compared with that under WW, grain yield was significantly decreased under MWD and SWD treatments, with less reduction for super rice than for check rice. Super rice had higher percentage of productive tillers, deeper root distribution, higher root oxidation activity, and greater aboveground biomass production at mid and late growth stages than check rice, especially under WMD and WSD. Compared with CI, AWMD increased, whereas AWSD decreased grain yield, with more increase or less decrease for super rice than for check rice. Both MWD and SWD treatments and either AWMD or AWSD regime significantly increased WUE compared with WW treatment or CI regime, with more increase for super rice than for check rice. The results suggest that super rice has a stronger ability to cope with soil water deficit and holds greater promising to increase both grain yield and WUE by adoption of moderate AWD irrigation.