Root-Canopy Coordination Drives High Yield and Nitrogen Use Efficiency in Dryland Winter Wheat.

ABSTRACT: Improving yield and nitrogen-use efficiency (NUE) is essential for dryland winter wheat. We hypothesized that cultivars classified as high-yield and high-efficiency (HH) achieve superior performance through coordinated root-canopy traits that enhance water and nitrogen acquisition, sustain post-anthesis photosynthesis, and maintain assimilate and nitrogen remobilization. A two-year field experiment was conducted using ten regionally representative cultivars, which were grouped into HH, high-yield and low-efficiency (HL), low-yield and high-efficiency (LH), and low-yield and low-efficiency (LL) types based strictly on grain yield and NUE. Measurements included yield components, grain-filling, dry matter accumulation and partitioning, soil water use, nitrogen uptake and remobilization, and r

SUBMITTER: Li M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12787808 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature