Photo-thermal unit requirement of wheat under different levels of irrigation

M. H. Ali 1,*, M. R. Hoque2, A. A. Hassan3 and M. A. Khair2

Citation: Ali, M. H., M.R. Hoque, A. A. Hassan and M.A. Khair (2004). Photo-thermal unit requirement of
wheat under different levels of irrigation. J. Bangladesh Agril. Univ. 2(2): 351-360

Abstract

The productivity of a crop depends on genotype x environment interaction. Temperature and

light influence various physiological processes including photosynthesis and respiration; and

consequently the rate and duration of growth and thus the productivity of wheat. An

investigation was made on the photo-thermal unit requirement of the newly released wheat

variety ‘Satabdhi’ under different irrigation regimes. Full irrigated wheat required more days

for onset, duration and thermal units for expression of various phenophases or for maturity

than that of non-irrigated one; but almost similar of the units within the treatments irrigated at

2 or 3 stages. A relatively fixed amount of heat units were needed to proceed from one

phenophase to the other or sowing to maturity, irrespective of the sowing date studied. The

‘growing-degree days’ (GDD) and ‘crop heat unit’ (CHU) indices were found superior to

other units in explaining wheat maturity. Heat use efficiency for production of seed yield and

total dry matter production was evaluated. The highest heat use efficiency (2.26 and 6.66

kg/ha/deg.-day for seed yield and dry-matter, respectively) were obtained in well irrigated

treatment, and the lowest (1.14 kg/ha/deg.-day) in full deficit treatment.

Keywords: Heat unit, wheat, irrigation, thermal indices, heat use efficiency

* Corresponding author, 1 Senior Scientific Officer, Agricultural Engineering Division, Bangladesh

Institute of Nuclear Agriculture, P.O. Box- 4, Mymensingh 2200, Bangladesh, Email:
[email protected] ; 2 Professor, Department of Irrigation and Water Management, Bangladesh
Agricultural University, Mymensingh, Bangladesh; 3Chief Scientific Officer, Agricultural
Engineering Division, Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture.
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Introduction

The productivity of a crop depends on genotype x environment interaction. Crop productivity

is inhibited at temperature higher than optimum, which also affects the adaptability of a crop

or variety (Wallis et al.,1980). Crop development rate can be modified by several factors,

such as photo-period, soil moisture, solar radiation and fertility, but it is primarily affected by

temperature (e.g. Hodges, 1991). The efficiency of temperature utilization varies with

genotype as well as the location.

Crop development is generally dependent on thermal index or heat units, and a physiological

clock can be developed based on growing-degree-days. Maderski et al.(1973) reported that

the coefficient of variation was small and half in describing the timing of physiological

development of corn based on accumulated heat units, compared to the calendar-day method.

Growing-degree-days have also been used to develop physiological clocks for sorghum

(Arkin et al.,1976), alfalfa (Holt et al.,1975), cotton (Stapletion, 1970), and soybean (Major

et al.,1975)

Wheat is a thermo-sensitive, long-day crop, grown extensively throughout the world. The

duration, growth and yield are decided by the thermal and photo-period conditions

experienced by the crop during its life-cycle (Ghadekar et al., 1992). Temperature affects the

growth of plants in numerous ways, from emergence of seedlings to maturity, influencing

various physiological processes including photosynthesis and respiration; and consequently

the rate and duration of growth and thus the productivity of wheat ( Pal et al., 1996). Heat use

efficiency, i.e. efficiency of utilization of heat in terms of dry matter accumulation, depends
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on crop type, genetic factors, moisture availability and sowing time, and has great practical

implications (Rao et al., 1999).

Thermal indices predicts and describe development rate more accurately than time in days,

and are commonly used to rate wheat for maturity ( Shaykewich, 1995). An ideal index

would estimate a constant number of heat units for a given genotype to reach a specific

development stage (Dwyer et al.,1999). Phenology is an essential component of the crop-

weather models, which can be used to specify the appropriate time and rate of specific phasic

development processes (Singh et al.,2001).

The thermal and heliothermal requirement of any crop or variety are specific for maximum

yield (Cross and Zuber, 1972). Since information on requirement of thermal units of newly

released wheat variety ‘Satabdhi’ is meagre, investigation was made on the photo-thermal

unit requirement of the same under different irrigation regimes, sown at different dates (in

two contrasting weather year); as a part of a program to examine the effect of deficit

irrigation regimes on wheat growth and yield.

Materials and Methods

Experimental site

A field experiment was conducted at the experimental farm of Bangladesh Institute of

Nuclear Agriculture (BINA), Ishurdi, Bangladesh (latitude 24 0 06 N, longitude 890 01 E;

altitude: 34 m above mean sea level ).

Climate and water-table fluctuation

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The local climate is humid and sub-tropic with summer dominant rainfall (yearly average

rainfall of 1572 mm, concentrated over the months of April to September). The wheat-

growing period, November to March, is characterized by dry winter. The depth to static

groundwater level at the site (piezometric surface, measured in observation well) during the

start of the experiment was 2.07 m from the ground level, declined gradually and reached to

4.60 m during physiological maturity of the crop.

Soil

The soil was a calcareous brown floodplain silt loam developed from the Ganges river

alluvium and classified as calcareous fluvisol according to FAO/UNESCO classification

(FAO, 1971). The soil is of alkaline pH, medium in organic matter, and the basic infiltration

rate of 0.48 cm/hr. Bulk density of the soil ranged from 1.4 to 1.6 gm/cc, and having no

restricted layer within 1.2 meter. The upper and lower limits of available water were 0.45 and

0.19 m3/m3, respectively.

Cultivar

The wheat cultivar (Triticum aestivum ) ‘Shatabdi’ was used for the experiment. It suits the

prevailing climate of winter season (Nov. – March). It was developed by ‘Bangladesh

Agricultural Research Institute’(BARI).

Irrigation treatments

Water deficit was created by withholding irrigation at different growth stages. A non-

irrigated check (T1) and an irrigated check (T9) were included as control treatments. Details

of irrigation treatments are given in Table-1. Irrigation amount at a particular stage was equal

to 80 % of the amount required to fill upto field capacity (F.C.) to the effective root zone
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depth (the depth within which 80 % of the roots are concentrated) .

Unit plot and culture

Wheat seeds were sown manually in rows 20 centimeter (cm) apart, on November 6, 2002 in

first year; and on Nov. 16, 2003 for 2 nd year. The row orientation was north-south direction,

as to facilitate favourable micro-climate. Each elementary plot was 3 m x 2.75 m, and was

separated from adjacent plots within the replicates by 0.5 m in addition to 0.3 m bund.

Average in-line spacing between plants were maintained 5 cm (the planting frame being 0.20

m x 0.05 m) at 20 days after sowing. Plant population density was close to 100 x 104 plants

per hectare. Observations on different phenophases were taken. Attainment of a particular

phenophase was ascertained when 50 % of the plants of the unit plot were reached to that

phase. The crop was harvested manually.

Thermal unit calculation

The most common thermal indices are growing degree-days (Wang, 1960), crop heat units

(Brown and Bootsma, 1993), heliothermal units (Rajput et al.,1987), and photothermal units

(Hundal et al.,2003).

Growing-degree-days

Growing-degree-day (GDD) is widely used for describing the temperature responses to

growth and development of crops. Growing-degree-days required to reach maturity are

calculated following Nuttonson (1955):

GDD   (T A  T B )t
n
.................................... (1)
i m
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where, TA is the average of daily maximum (Tmax) and minimum (Tmin) air temperature, TB

is a base temperature below which development is assumed to cease, m is date of sowing, n

is date of physiological maturity, and Δt is a time step in days. For wheat, TB for the entire

period from sowing to maturity was considered as 5 0C (Singh et al.,2001; Pal et al.,1996).

Crop heat unit

Crop heat unit (CHU) was calculated by partial modification of the formula given by Cutforth

and Shaykewich (1990) as:

CHU =  (X + Y)/2 ......................................................... (2)

where, X = 1.8 (Tmin – 5), for Tmin ≥ 5 0C

= 0 , for Tmin < 5 0C

Y = 3.33 (Tmax –10) – 0.083(Tmax –10)2, for Tmax ≥ 10 0C

= 0, for Tmax < 10 0C

Heliothermal unit

Heliothermal unit (HTU) was calculated by multiplying growing-degree-days with daily

actual sunshine hours (Rajput et al.,1987).

  GDD.SH  (T  T
7

)t.SH
n
HTU = = ......................... (3)
i m
A B

Where, SH is the daily actual sunshine hour.

Photothermal units

Photothermal units (PTU), the product of GDD and corresponding day length for that day

were computed on daily basis following Hundal et al.(2003):

PTU =  GDD x (day length) ................................... (4)

Where, ‘day length’ refers to maximum possible sunshine hours. Maximum possible sunshine

hour was computed from solar equations following the procedure outlined by Duffy and

Beckman ( 1984). The declination , as the angle of the sun north or south of the equatorial

plane, is defined as:

 = 23.45 Sin [360(284+n)/365] …………………….. (5)

Where n is the Julian day of the year.

After the computation of , the length of maximum possible sunshine or photo-period in a

day (N) is obtained from the equation:

N = (2/15) cos-1(-tan tan ) ………………………. (6)

Where  is the latitude of a location , positive to the north; N in hour.

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Heat-use efficiency

Heat-use efficiency (HUE) for seed and total dry matter was calculated following Hundal et

al.(2003):

HUE = Y/ AHU .................................... (7)

where, Y = Seed yield or total dry matter, Kg/ha

AHU = Accumulated heat units, degree-day

HUE is in kg/ha/degree-day

Results and Discussion

Climatological parameters

Figure 1 shows the most significant climatological data of the crop period expressed as daily

values (days after sowing). It is observed that in 2003-04, the average temperature was lower

as compared to 2002-03 during early part of the growing season (upto 54 days from sowing)

and higher during later part. Relative humidity in 2003-04 was mostly lower than that of in

2002-03. The sunshine hour was mostly lower during early parts (upto 54 days) and higher

upto 100 days, and again lower after 100 days.

Thermal unit requirement

Thermal unit requirement for completion of different phenophases under different irrigation

regimes are summarized in Table 2. The accumulated GDD required to reach the maturity

ranged from 1749 to 1809 during 2003-04, and 1671 to 1779 in 2003-04. The full deficit
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treatment (T1) required 60 degree-days less than that of the full irrigated condition (T2, T9)

during 2002-03, and 108 degree-days during 2003-04. The other single or twice deficit

treatments did not differ greatly in maturity.

The average thermal unit requirement for different phenophases are given in Table 3. The

variation of these units between the two years is summarized in Table 4. It is revealed that

the CHU and GDD are more stable than the other two units, as these two units showed lower

CV and SD values (low variability signifies high precision). These two units can be used as a

scale to estimate crop maturity period or to make crop calendar.

The full deficit (non-irrigated) plots matured 4 to 5 calendar days earlier than the full-

irrigated plots. From the weather graph (Fig.1 ), it is observed that during 2002-03, the

average temperature is lower than that of the year 2003-04 up to 54 days but higher after that

period This pattern of temperature probably contributed to the similar calendar-day

requirement for irrigated plots (123 days during 2002-03, and 121 days during 2003-04) in

both the years, although the sowing date differed by 10 days, and also having contrasting

weather condition. Singh et al.(2001) observed that number of days from sowing to maturity

consistently reduced with subsequent delay in sowing. In this case, delayed sowing in 2003-

04 (by 10 days) increased the duration of vegetative period due to occurrence of relatively

cool weather condition, whereas during reproductive stage the period was reduced due to

increase in air temperature.

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Crop heat use efficiency

Crop heat use efficiency (HUE) for different irrigation treatments are given in Table 5. The

heat use efficiency was highest in well irrigated treatment (T9) and lowest in full deficit

treatment (T1) for both seed yield and total dry matter, and in both the years.

Summary and conclusion

From two years field observation, it is revealed that GDD and CHU are relatively constant for

wheat growth and maturity. Non-irrigated plots required lower GDD and CHU than that of

the irrigated plots. The HUE was highest in well irrigated plot and lowest in deficit plot.

References

Brown, D. M., and A. Bootsma (1993). Crop heat units for corn and other warm-season crops

in Ontario. OMAF Fastsheet, Agdex 111/31. Ontario Ministry of Agric. & Food,

Toronto.

Cross, H. Z. and H. S. Zuber (1972). Prediction of flowering dates in maize based on

different methods of estimating thermal units. Agron. J. 64: 351 – 355

Cutforth, H. W. and C. F. Shaykewich (1990). A temperature response function for corn

development. Agril. & Forest Meteorol. 50: 159 – 171

Duffy, J. A. and W. A. Beckman (1984). Solar Engineering of Thermal Process. John Wiley

and Sons, New York, pp. 1- 109

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Dwyer, L. M., D. W. Steward, L. Carrigan, B. L. Ma, P. Neave, and D. Balchin (1999). A

general thermal index for maize. Agron. J. 91: 940 – 946

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Rome, p. 211

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development, yield and photo-thermal requirements of wheat under different weather

conditions in Nagpur region. Ind. J. Agric. Res. 26(4): 195 – 204

Hodges, T. (1991). Temperature and water stress effects on phenology. In: T. Hodges (ed.)

Predicting crop phenology. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida, USA, p.7-13.

Hundal, S. S., P. Kaur, and S. D. S. Malikpuri (2003). Agro-climatic models for prediction of

growth and yield of Indian mustard. Ind. J. Agril. Sci. 73(3): 142 – 144

Maderski, H. J., M. E. Miller, and R. Weaver (1973). Accumulated heat units for classifying

corn hybrid maturity. Agron. J., 65(5): 743 – 747

Nuttonson, M. Y. (1955). Wheat climate relationship and use of phenology in ascertaining

the thermal and photothermal requirements of wheat. American Institute of crop

ecology, Washington DC, pp. 388

Pal, S. K., U. N. Verma, M. K. Singh and R. Thakur (1996). Heat-unit requirement for

phenological development of wheat (Triticum aestivum) under different levels of

irrigation, seeding date and fertilizer. Ind. J. Agril. Sci. 66(7): 397 – 400

Rajput, R. P., M. R. Deshmukh, and V. K. Paredkar (1987). Accumulated heat and phenology

relationship in wheat under late sown condition. J. Agron. and Crop Sci. 159: 345 –

349

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Haryana. J. Agrometeorol. 1(2): 143 – 148

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Shaykewich, C. F. (1995). An appraisal of cereal crop phenology modelling. Can. J. Plant

Sci. 72: 1157 - 1162

Singh, A. K., P. Tripathi, and S. R. Mishra (2001). Phenology, growing degree-days and

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Sci. 71(6): 363 – 366

Wallis, E. S. , D. E. Byth, and O. P. Saxena (1980). Flowering responses of thirty-seven early

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Table-1. Details of irrigation treatments

Treat- Irrigation at growth phase*

ment Crown root Jointing to Booting to Flowering to
initiation (CRI) Shooting Heading soft dough

T1 0 0 0 0

T2 1 1 1 1

T3 0 1 1 1

T4 1 0 1 1

T5 1 1 0 1

T6 1 1 1 0

T7 1 0 1 0

T8 0 1 0 1
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T9** 1 1 1 1

T10 1 0 0 0

* ‘1’ indicates one irrigation at this stage, and ‘0’ indicates no irrigation (deficit).

** in addition to irrigation at each stage, irrigation was given when total available moisture

within the root zone dropped below 50 %.

Table 3. Average thermal unit required for different phases under no deficit (T9) and deficit
condition (T1)

Treatment Phase GDD HTU CHU PTU

Maturity 1794 9738 2836 19594

T9 Flowering 1004 5020 1633 10731

Booting 875 4662 1410 9304

Maturity 1710 9076 2718 18605

T1 Flowering 974 4923 1573 10353

Booting 850 4610 1367 9033

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Table 4. Measure of deviation of different thermal units required for different
phenophases

Phase Irrigation Type of deviation Deviation of thermal unit

treatment GDD HTU CHU PTU

Absolute difference 16 346 1 217

T9 SD 11 245 0.7 153
Maturity CV (%) 1.3 5.2 0.1 1.6
Absolute difference 78 707 138 739
T1 SD 55 500 78 523
CV (%) 3.2 5.5 3.6 2.8
Absolute difference 20 487 21 326
T9 SD 14 344 15 230
Flowering CV (%) 1.4 6.9 0.9 2.1
Absolute difference 43 601 46 485
T1 SD 30 425 32 343
CV (%) 3.1 8.6 2.1 3.3
Absolute difference 16 346 1 217
T9 SD 11 245 0.7 153
Booting CV (%) 1.3 5.2 0.1 1.6
Absolute difference 21 2.91 6 269
T1 SD 15 206 4 190
CV (%) 1.7 4.5 0.3 2.1

Table 5. Heat use efficiency (HUE) as affected by irrigation treatments

Treat- Seed yield HUE Dry matter HUE

ment (kg/ha/deg.-day) (kg/ha/deg.-day)
2002-03 2003-04 2002-03 2003-04
T1 1.14 1.24 3.42 4.23

T2 2.05 2.24 5.48 6.55

T3 1.74 2.09 4.77 5.82

T4 1.94 2.18 4.96 5.98

T5 2.04 2.20 5.53 6.38

T6 1.95 2.19 5.24 6.23

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T7 1.84 2.16 5.20 5.93

T8 1.66 2.06 4.83 5.82

T9 2.17 2.26 5.75 6.66

T10 - 1.89 - 5.53