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Agriculture
Volume 16
Issue 11
10.3390/agriculture16111138
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This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

Irrigation Regime and Straw-Returning Mode Regulate Soil Conditions, Leaf Physiology, and Yield of Winter Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in Saline–Alkali Soil

by
Hanyu Zheng
1,
Jie Zhang
1,2,*,
Guangmei Wang
3,4,5,
Tingting Chang
1,2,
Shihong Yang
1,2,
Haonan Qiu
1,
Mir Moazzam Ali Talpur
1 and
Yujie Gao
1
1
College of Agricultural Science and Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China
2
Jiangsu Province Engineering Research Center for Agricultural Soil‒Water Efficient Utilization, Carbon Sequestration and Emission Reduction, Nanjing 211100, China
3
CAS Key Laboratory of Coastal Environmental Processes and Ecological Remediation, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai 264003, China
4
Yellow River Delta Saline–Alkali Agro-Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dongying 257000, China
5
National Center of Technology Innovation for Comprehensive Utilization of Saline–Alkali Land, Dongying 257000, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Agriculture 2026, 16(11), 1138; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture16111138
Submission received: 29 April 2026 / Revised: 15 May 2026 / Accepted: 20 May 2026 / Published: 22 May 2026
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soil Management and Interdisciplinary Approaches to Global Challenges)
Versions Notes

Abstract

Winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) production in the Yellow River Delta is limited by saline–alkali soils and freshwater scarcity, while the responses of different straw-returning modes under contrasting irrigation regimes remain unclear. A field experiment was conducted with two irrigation regimes, normal irrigation (W1) and deficit irrigation (W2), and four straw-returning modes, direct straw return (RS), straw-derived cattle manure return (RM), straw biochar return (RB), and straw pellet return (RG). The experiment followed a split-plot randomized block design with three replicates. Soil properties, leaf physiology, photosynthetic performance, grain yield, and irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE) were evaluated. Compared with W2, W1 increased mean grain yield by 9.4%, whereas W2 increased mean IWUE by 36.7%. Among the straw-returning modes, RS showed the most consistent performance. Under W1, W1RS produced the highest grain yield (3509.72 kg ha−1). The stable performance of RS was characterized by relatively favorable soil moisture status, lower MDA content, higher antioxidant enzyme activity, and better maintenance of Pn. Pearson correlation analysis showed that grain yield was positively correlated with Pn and CAT activity, whereas MDA was negatively correlated with Pn. These results suggest that RS may be a feasible straw-returning mode for winter wheat production in saline–alkali soil.
Keywords: saline–alkali soil; irrigation regime; straw-returning mode; photosynthesis; oxidative stress; winter wheat saline–alkali soil; irrigation regime; straw-returning mode; photosynthesis; oxidative stress; winter wheat

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Zheng, H.; Zhang, J.; Wang, G.; Chang, T.; Yang, S.; Qiu, H.; Talpur, M.M.A.; Gao, Y. Irrigation Regime and Straw-Returning Mode Regulate Soil Conditions, Leaf Physiology, and Yield of Winter Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in Saline–Alkali Soil. Agriculture 2026, 16, 1138. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture16111138

AMA Style

Zheng H, Zhang J, Wang G, Chang T, Yang S, Qiu H, Talpur MMA, Gao Y. Irrigation Regime and Straw-Returning Mode Regulate Soil Conditions, Leaf Physiology, and Yield of Winter Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in Saline–Alkali Soil. Agriculture. 2026; 16(11):1138. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture16111138

Chicago/Turabian Style

Zheng, Hanyu, Jie Zhang, Guangmei Wang, Tingting Chang, Shihong Yang, Haonan Qiu, Mir Moazzam Ali Talpur, and Yujie Gao. 2026. "Irrigation Regime and Straw-Returning Mode Regulate Soil Conditions, Leaf Physiology, and Yield of Winter Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in Saline–Alkali Soil" Agriculture 16, no. 11: 1138. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture16111138

APA Style

Zheng, H., Zhang, J., Wang, G., Chang, T., Yang, S., Qiu, H., Talpur, M. M. A., & Gao, Y. (2026). Irrigation Regime and Straw-Returning Mode Regulate Soil Conditions, Leaf Physiology, and Yield of Winter Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in Saline–Alkali Soil. Agriculture, 16(11), 1138. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture16111138

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