Effects of micro-sprinkler irrigation and topsoil compaction on winter wheat grain yield and water use efficiency in the Huaibei Plain, China

Increasing the grain yield (GY) and water use efficiency (WUE) of winter wheat in the Huaibei Plain (HP), China are essential. However, the effects of micro-sprinkler irrigation and topsoil compaction after wheat seed sowing on the GY and WUE are unclear. Therefore, a two-year field experiment was conducted during the 2021–2023 winter wheat growing seasons with a total six treatments: rain-fed (RF), conventional irrigation (CI) and micro-sprinkler irrigation (MI), as well as topsoil compaction after seed sowing under these three irrigation methods (RFC, CIC, and MIC). The results in the two years indicated that MI significantly increased GY compared to CI and RF, by averages of 17.9 and 42.1%, respectively. The increase in GY of MI was due to its significant increases in the number of spikes, kernels per spike, and grain weight. The chlorophyll concentration in flag leaves of MI after the anthesis stage maintained higher levels than with CI and RF, and was the lowest in RF. This was due to the dramatically enhanced catalase and peroxidase activities and lower malondialdehyde content under MI. Compared with RF and CI, MI significantly promoted dry matter remobilization and production after anthesis, as well as its contribution to GY. In addition, MI significantly boosted root growth, and root activity during the grain-filling stage was remarkably enhanced compared to CI and RF. In 2021–2022, there was no significant difference in WUE between MI and RF, but the WUE of RF was significantly lower than that of MI in 2022–2023. However, the WUE in MI was significantly improved compared to CI, and it increased by averages of 15.1 and 17.6% for the two years. Topsoil compaction significantly increased GY and WUE under rain-fed conditions due to improved spike numbers and dry matter production. Overall, topsoil compaction is advisable for enhancing GY and WUE in rain-fed conditions, whereas micro-sprinkler irrigation can be adopted to simultaneously achieve high GY and WUE in the HP.