Rice Shoot <sup>13</sup>C Abundance at Maximum Tillering Stage Is Well Suited to Distinguish Differences in Water Use Efficiency for Water-Saving Rice Technologies

Water availability is one of the most limiting factors in crop production, and understanding crop water use efficiency is especially important in environments where changes in crop performance are driven by water availability. The stable isotope δ<sup>13</sup>C has been proposed to evalu...

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Main Authors: Yueyue Tao, Yanan Zhang, Klaus Dittert, Lin Guo, Meiju Liu, Shan Lin
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-12-01
Series:Agronomy
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/14/12/2918
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author Yueyue Tao
Yanan Zhang
Klaus Dittert
Lin Guo
Meiju Liu
Shan Lin
author_facet Yueyue Tao
Yanan Zhang
Klaus Dittert
Lin Guo
Meiju Liu
Shan Lin
author_sort Yueyue Tao
collection DOAJ
description Water availability is one of the most limiting factors in crop production, and understanding crop water use efficiency is especially important in environments where changes in crop performance are driven by water availability. The stable isotope δ<sup>13</sup>C has been proposed to evaluate the water management and physiological water use efficiency (WUE) for upland crops. However, this technique has rarely been used for rice, especially for water-saving management systems such as the Ground Cover Rice Production System (GCRPS), which can significantly improve WUE. Therefore, a two-year lowland rice field experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of sampling time, plant organ and yearly climatic changes on δ<sup>13</sup>C and its relationship to WUE. Our study revealed the following: (1) Significant differences in shoot and leaf δ<sup>13</sup>C were found between paddy and GCRPS plants only at the maximum tillering stage but not at the flowering stage. (2) The shoot δ<sup>13</sup>C at maximum tillering showed a significant positive correlation with irrigation (WUE<sub>i</sub>) and total water use efficiency (WUE<sub>t</sub>), but there was no such relationship at the flowering stage. (3) Shoot δ<sup>13</sup>C was significantly higher in 2013 than in 2014, most likely related to higher solar radiation from transplanting to maximum tillering in 2013, as there were no significant differences between the years in other climatic factors and soil water content. Our results suggest that the δ<sup>13</sup>C of rice shoots sampled at the maximum tillering stage shows the best correlation with crop water use efficiency.
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spelling doaj-art-562f52c4d3f44b709c19c8d85c3b8ee02025-08-20T02:00:55ZengMDPI AGAgronomy2073-43952024-12-011412291810.3390/agronomy14122918Rice Shoot <sup>13</sup>C Abundance at Maximum Tillering Stage Is Well Suited to Distinguish Differences in Water Use Efficiency for Water-Saving Rice TechnologiesYueyue Tao0Yanan Zhang1Klaus Dittert2Lin Guo3Meiju Liu4Shan Lin5Institute of Agricultural Sciences in Taihu Lake District, Suzhou Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Suzhou 215155, ChinaCollege of Resources and Environment Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, ChinaDepartment of Crop Science, Section of Plant Nutrition and Crop Physiology, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Goettingen, 37075 Goettingen, GermanyCollege of Resources and Environment Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, ChinaCollege of Resources and Environment Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, ChinaCollege of Resources and Environment Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, ChinaWater availability is one of the most limiting factors in crop production, and understanding crop water use efficiency is especially important in environments where changes in crop performance are driven by water availability. The stable isotope δ<sup>13</sup>C has been proposed to evaluate the water management and physiological water use efficiency (WUE) for upland crops. However, this technique has rarely been used for rice, especially for water-saving management systems such as the Ground Cover Rice Production System (GCRPS), which can significantly improve WUE. Therefore, a two-year lowland rice field experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of sampling time, plant organ and yearly climatic changes on δ<sup>13</sup>C and its relationship to WUE. Our study revealed the following: (1) Significant differences in shoot and leaf δ<sup>13</sup>C were found between paddy and GCRPS plants only at the maximum tillering stage but not at the flowering stage. (2) The shoot δ<sup>13</sup>C at maximum tillering showed a significant positive correlation with irrigation (WUE<sub>i</sub>) and total water use efficiency (WUE<sub>t</sub>), but there was no such relationship at the flowering stage. (3) Shoot δ<sup>13</sup>C was significantly higher in 2013 than in 2014, most likely related to higher solar radiation from transplanting to maximum tillering in 2013, as there were no significant differences between the years in other climatic factors and soil water content. Our results suggest that the δ<sup>13</sup>C of rice shoots sampled at the maximum tillering stage shows the best correlation with crop water use efficiency.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/14/12/2918ricecarbon isotope compositionshootmaximum tillering stageGCRPS
spellingShingle Yueyue Tao
Yanan Zhang
Klaus Dittert
Lin Guo
Meiju Liu
Shan Lin
Rice Shoot <sup>13</sup>C Abundance at Maximum Tillering Stage Is Well Suited to Distinguish Differences in Water Use Efficiency for Water-Saving Rice Technologies
Agronomy
rice
carbon isotope composition
shoot
maximum tillering stage
GCRPS
title Rice Shoot <sup>13</sup>C Abundance at Maximum Tillering Stage Is Well Suited to Distinguish Differences in Water Use Efficiency for Water-Saving Rice Technologies
title_full Rice Shoot <sup>13</sup>C Abundance at Maximum Tillering Stage Is Well Suited to Distinguish Differences in Water Use Efficiency for Water-Saving Rice Technologies
title_fullStr Rice Shoot <sup>13</sup>C Abundance at Maximum Tillering Stage Is Well Suited to Distinguish Differences in Water Use Efficiency for Water-Saving Rice Technologies
title_full_unstemmed Rice Shoot <sup>13</sup>C Abundance at Maximum Tillering Stage Is Well Suited to Distinguish Differences in Water Use Efficiency for Water-Saving Rice Technologies
title_short Rice Shoot <sup>13</sup>C Abundance at Maximum Tillering Stage Is Well Suited to Distinguish Differences in Water Use Efficiency for Water-Saving Rice Technologies
title_sort rice shoot sup 13 sup c abundance at maximum tillering stage is well suited to distinguish differences in water use efficiency for water saving rice technologies
topic rice
carbon isotope composition
shoot
maximum tillering stage
GCRPS
url https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/14/12/2918
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