Detailed explanation of key techniques for drought resistance and yield increase in wheat, helping you achieve stable yields and a bountiful harvest

Due to drought and water shortage, dryland wheat has poor capacity to supply fertilizer and water, and its yield is low and unstable, yet it holds great potential for increasing yield. So, how can dryland wheat yields be increased?

1. Alternate deep and shallow tillage, storing water in the soil. Deep tillage can break through the plow pan, increase water permeability, raise water storage capacity, and promote deeper root penetration and expand the root absorption range, improving water and fertilizer use efficiency. However, deep tillage must be adapted to local conditions and timing; generally, in years when land preparation is early, rainfall is plentiful, and soil moisture is sufficient, deep tillage is appropriate, with a plowing depth of 22-25 cm, followed immediately by harrowing and leveling; if there is little rain and drought after plowing, the soil may be loose and lose moisture severely. Practice has shown that for dryland wheat, over a period of 3-4 years, deep tillage in one year when soil moisture is sufficient, followed by shallow tillage for 2-3 years, can both achieve the goal of improving the soil through deep tillage and increase opportunities for soil settling and moisture conservation, making it an important measure for increasing dryland wheat yields.

2. Increase fertilizer application, regulating water with fertilizer. In dryland wheat fields, apply as much organic fertilizer as possible, and apply sufficient inorganic fertilizer according to a balanced formula, especially sufficient phosphate fertilizer, to improve the soil, build up soil fertility, and enhance water and fertilizer storage capacity and water use efficiency. For general plots, apply 2500-3000 kg of organic fertilizer per mu, 50 kg each of ammonium bicarbonate and superphosphate, and apply appropriate amounts of potassium fertilizer and micronutrient fertilizer as needed; if soil fertility is poor, apply 40-60 kg of standard nitrogen fertilizer and 50-100 kg of phosphate fertilizer per mu continuously over 3-4 years. For high-yield dryland wheat fields, the "one-time application" fertilization method can be adopted, that is, applying all fertilizer at once as base fertilizer incorporated into the soil during land preparation, with nitrogen fertilizer applied somewhat deeply and phosphate fertilizer applied shallowly, to promote strong seedlings before winter.

3. Select good varieties, compensating for water with seed. Drought-resistant varieties generally have well-developed root systems, narrow leaves, thick epidermis, small stomata, weak respiration and transpiration, strong tillering ability, and a high rate of earing, allowing them to better adapt to dryland environments with scarce water and fertilizer; according to comparative surveys in various regions, planting drought-resistant varieties generally increases yield by 20%-30% compared with planting non-drought-resistant varieties.

4. Sow at the right time and rate, saving water through seedlings (plants). Dryland wheat has poor automatic population regulation ability, and its suitable sowing period and sowing rate range are correspondingly narrower than those of irrigated wheat; establishing a rational water-saving and fertilizer-saving population structure of seedlings, plants, ears, and grains through timely and appropriate sowing is the central link in increasing dryland wheat yields. Practice has shown that winter varieties should be sown when the daily average temperature is stable at 16°C-18°C, thus ensuring effective accumulated temperature above 0°C before winter, with the main stem reaching 6-8 leaves; weakly winter varieties can be sown appropriately 3-5 days later. Within the suitable sowing period range, the basic seedlings per mu should be controlled at around 150,000 plants, reduced by 10,000-20,000 plants for early sowing and increased by 20,000-30,000 plants for late sowing, and late-season wheat can be increased to 200,000-250,000 plants; the number of stems per mu before winter should generally be controlled at 2-2.5 times the final number of ears.