Biogeosciences
Biogeosciences
BG
Articles | Volume 14, issue 16
Articles | Volume 14, issue 16
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-3851-2017
© Author(s) 2017. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Special issue:
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-3851-2017
© Author(s) 2017. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Articles | Volume 14, issue 16
Research article
 | 
29 Aug 2017
Research article |  | 29 Aug 2017

Morphological plasticity of root growth under mild water stress increases water use efficiency without reducing yield in maize

Qian Cai, Yulong Zhang, Zhanxiang Sun, Jiaming Zheng, Wei Bai, Yue Zhang, Yang Liu, Liangshan Feng, Chen Feng, Zhe Zhang, Ning Yang, Jochem B. Evers, and Lizhen Zhang

Viewed

Total article views: 3,843 (including HTML, PDF, and XML)
HTML PDF XML Total Supplement BibTeX EndNote
2,261 1,431 151 3,843 117 117 164
  • HTML: 2,261
  • PDF: 1,431
  • XML: 151
  • Total: 3,843
  • Supplement: 117
  • BibTeX: 117
  • EndNote: 164
Views and downloads (calculated since 31 Mar 2017)
Cumulative views and downloads (calculated since 31 Mar 2017)

Viewed (geographical distribution)

Total article views: 3,843 (including HTML, PDF, and XML) Thereof 3,736 with geography defined and 107 with unknown origin.
Country # Views %
  • 1
1
 
 
 
 
Latest update: 25 Nov 2025
Download
Short summary
Large yield gaps exist in rain-fed maize in semi-arid regions caused by frequent droughts halfway through the growing period due to uneven distribution of rainfall. It can be questioned whether irrigation systems are economically and ecologically required. Maize yield was not affected by mild water stress due to the morphological plasticity in root growth. Our results help to mitigate drought risk in dry-land agriculture.
Read more
Share
Special issue
Ecosystem processes and functioning across current and future...
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint