The combined effects of soil moisture and physical parameters are important concerns in crop production. A three-season field experiment and a two-season tube experiment were performed to examine the effects of subsoil bulk density (BD) on the performance of winter wheat associated with...

Many indicators have been developed to determine when and how much to irrigate to improve the irrigation efficiency. The relative available soil water (RASW) is an indicator that can be easily calculated but takes the availability of soil water to crops equally throughout the root zone profile...

Evapotranspiration (ET) is an important component of the water cycle at field, regional and global scales. This study used measured data from a 30-year irrigation experiment (1979-2009) in the North China Plain (NCP) on winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and summer maize (Zea mays L.) to...

Selecting more water efficient cultivars is an important way to reduce water use in a water-scarce region. The objectives of this study were to measure the grain yield and water use efficiency (WUE) of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars to understand the genetic gains in yield and WUE...

A field study was conducted from 2002 to 2007 to investigate the influence of row spacing of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) on soil evaporation (E), evapotranspiration (ET), grain production and water use efficiency (WUE) in the North China Plain. The experiment had four row spacing...

Limited precipitation restricts crop yield in the North China Plain, where high level of production depends largely on irrigation. Establishing the optimal irrigation scheduling according to the crop water requirement (CWR) and precipitation is the key factor to achieve rational water use....

The increasing population, water scarcity, and labor cost demand more high-yield, water-saving, and efficient maize production. Grain mechanical harvesting, the quality of which is mainly influenced by grain moisture content, can improve the efficiency and decrease the harvest cost of maize...

Purpose The purpose of this study is to offer a better understanding of contemporary consumer behaviour. This study relates to the complex and value-laden phenomenon of “gift-giving” from the perspective of bicultural consumers. The focus was on the gift-giving practices of Chinese...

Water shortage is the major bottleneck that limits sustainable development of agriculture in north China. Crop physiological water-saving irrigation methods such as temporal (regulated deficit irrigation) and spatial (partial root zone irrigation) deficit irrigation have been tested with much...