Yield structure and water use efficiency of summer maize (Zea mays L.) under wide ridge-furrow planting in the furrow irrigation process.

The impact of wide ridge-furrow planting on maize production are mostly unexplored. The field experiment was conducted to study the effect of four ridge width on growth and water use efficiency (WUE) of maize (Xianyu 335) with same furrow spacing and basin planting with same spacing as conventional planting (CP). Compared with the CP, ridge-furrow (RF) increased plant height but reduced stem diameter and dry matter weight. The wide ridge under RF was beneficial to the high leaf area and dry matter accumulation. However, the least plant spacing generated stress on stem growth with a wider ridge (RF180). The maximum grain yield (6573 kg ha−1) and WUE (23.0 kg mm−1 ha−1) were obtained under RF120, which were increased by 15.9% and 33.9% compared with CP. Irrigation efficiency and irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE) under RF system was improved 1.20–1.43 times and 1.89–2.45 times compared with CP, which was mainly due to the lower volume of irrigation water (decreased by 34.5–42.9%) under the RF system. Our results highlight that the RF method can be used as a water-saving method with ridge width up to 120 cm that lead to high yields of maize. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]