Effect of water deficit at different growth stages on growth,yield and water use of spring maize in Hexi area

【Objective】 The paper studied the effect of irrigation at different growth stages on growth,yield and water use of spring maize in Hexi area.【Method】 With Dongdan 11 as test material,irrigation at different growth stages(full irrigation(CK),no irrigation at jointing(I1),tassel(I2),milky and mature(I3))were carried out in field plot experiments to study effect of water deficit at different growth stages on growth,plant height,leaf area,dry matter accumulation aboveground and water use efficiency.【Result】 Compared with CK,no irrigation in any of the growth stages reduced plant height,leaf area,dry matter accumulation aboveground,and grain yield of spring maize.At jointing stage,I1 treatment had the greatest impact on plant height and dry matter accumulation aboveground,maximum reductions of plant height,and dry matter accumulation aboveground were 11.59% and 16.10%,respectively.At filling stage,I3 had the greatest impact on leaf area,reduced it by up to 24.61%.Compared with the CK,I3 treatment had the highest water use efficiency,23.77% higher than CK.Compared with the CK,at heading stage,I2 had the greatest decrease on grain yield by a factor of 24.45% while I3 treatment did not significantly reduce production.【Conclusion】 It was found that no irrigation at filling stage(I3)improved water use efficiency without significantly reducing production.