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Dynamic simulation of photosynthate distribution parameters and biomass of summer maize under water stress

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Abstract

Water shortages and population surges pose notable challenges to food security. North China is an important grain base of the country, with limited available water resources. Therefore, it is necessary to research the patterns of photosynthate accumulation, distribution, and transfer in summer maize under water stress. On the basis of existing methods, in this study, we considered the impact of water stress with two methods, namely the distribution coefficient method and the distribution index method. The results showed that the water correction coefficient indices of the stem–leaf ratio spike–stem ratio, and root–shoot ratio were 0.2705, 0.3530, and −0.2097, respectively, which revealed that water stress caused a decrease in the stem–leaf ratio and spike–stem ratio and an increase in the root–shoot ratio. Water stress caused a reduction in the stem distribution index and leaf distribution index and a slight increase in the spike distribution index. The filling stage was the critical period for water stress to affect the distribution coefficient of each organ, while the jointing stage was the critical period for water stress to affect the leaf distribution index. During the middle growth period, water stress exerted the greatest impact on the distribution parameters. Water stress imposed a greater influence on the distribution coefficient than on the distribution index. The two methods effectively simulated the accumulation and distribution process of photosynthates under water stress conditions, and the R2, average absolute percentage and root mean square error values were 0.9358–0.9997, 4.15–22.71%, and 2.6–24.37%, respectively. The change trend of the photosynthate transfer rate calculated by the distribution coefficient method under water stress conditions was more consistent with that of the actual values. The distribution coefficient method generally performed better than the distribution index method. This study avoids the problem of solely relying on experimental data to determine crop growth dynamics and provides a way to describe crop photosynthate accumulation continuously and quantitatively.

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Acknowledgements

This study was financially supported by The National Science Foundation of China (No. 51779174), the Tianjin Project + Team Key Training Program (No. XB202016), the Tianjin Science and Technology Support Key Program (No. 18YFZCSF00650), and the Major Science and Technology Projects of the Ministry of Water Resources (No. SKS-2022050).

Funding

Tianjin Science and Technology Support Key Program, No. 18YFZCSF00650, No. 18YFZCSF00650,No. 18YFZCSF00650, The National Science Foundation of China, No. 51779174, No. 51779174, Tianjin “Project + Team” Key Training Program, No. XB202016, No. XB202016, Major Science and Technology Projects of the Ministry of Water Resources, No. SKS-2022050, No. SKS-2022050

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Water Conservancy Engineering, Tianjin Agricultural University, Tianjin, 300392, China

    Jingjing Dou, Zhiwei Zheng, Yangren Wang, Ni Zhang & Yikun Wang

  2. Tianjin Hydraulic Research Institute, Tianjin, 300061, China

    Yanfen Zhang & Chunlai Liu

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  1. Jingjing Dou
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  2. Zhiwei Zheng
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  4. Ni Zhang
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  7. Chunlai Liu
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Contributions

JD: Field investigation, data analysis, data curation, and writing—original draft. ZZ: Conceptualization, data analysis, writing—review, and editing. YW: Formal analysis, methodology, resources, and internal scientific review. NZ and YW: Field investigation, data analysis, and revision—original draft. YZ and CL: Supervision, funding acquisition, project administration, conceptualization, internal scientific review, and writing—review and editing.

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Correspondence to Zhiwei Zheng.

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Dou, J., Zheng, Z., Wang, Y. et al. Dynamic simulation of photosynthate distribution parameters and biomass of summer maize under water stress. Irrig Sci 42, 477–491 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00271-023-00911-5

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