Influences of crop variety and seeding rate on sprinkler fertigation management for winter wheat

<b><sc>Abstract.</sc></b> Crop variety and seeding rate are crucial factors affecting crop water and fertilizer requirements. To improve the accuracy of water and fertilizer management for sprinkler irrigation technology, field experiment was conducted at Dacaozhuang, Hebei Province, North China Plain, during the 2024 growing season to evaluate their effects on water consumption ,nitrogen uptake, yield, water use efficiency(WUE) and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE).Five wheat varieties were Qi Min No. 24, Ying Bo No. 700, Qi Min No. 21, Ying Bo Ai Feng No. 8 and Shan Nong No. 28 (V1-V5) with a seeding rate of 300 kg/ha, and six seeding rates were 143,218, 300,368, 443and518 kg/ha (Rl-R6) with the variety of Shan Nong No. 28. The treatment without topdressing nitrogen fertilizer (CKN0) was used as the control to calculate the nitrogen use efficiency. All treatments obtained the same water (190 mm) and nitrogen fertilizer (190 kg/ha) based on the wheat target yield and nitrogen absorption per 100 kg of grain. Results showed that water consumption increased with seeding rate but declined beyond R5. The significant differences were obtained in the water consumption (378-424 mm), nitrogen absorption of 100 kg of grain (2.26-2.56 kg), water use efficiency (2.1-2.7kg/m³), nitrogen use efficiency and yield. The maximum yield (11077 kg/ha) and the maximum nitrogen use efficiency (65.7%) was obtained in R3 treatment. For treatments with different varieties, there was no significant difference in the nitrogen absorption of wheat per 100 kg grain, and the significant differences were observed in the water consumption (367-409mm), water use efficiency (2.4-2.8kg/m³) and yield. Our results suggested that the water and fertilizer management for winter wheat should be adjusted according to the crop variety and seeding rate.