请优化以下论文的讨论部分优化得更具有逻辑性和学术性41 Different yield and water consumption resons for diverse water management The present study investigates the effects of different irrigation treatments on winter wheat yiel

4.1 Yield and Water Consumption: Implications for Water Management

The present study focused on investigating the impact of different irrigation treatments on winter wheat yield and water consumption. Our results indicate that minimum irrigation yields were significantly lower than conventional irrigation yields, which is consistent with previous studies (Gao et al., 2022; Wang et al., 2018; Zhang et al., 2020; Xu et al., 2018). We found that the differences in yield between irrigation treatments were highly correlated with ear number and kernel number per ear (Wang et al., 2018). This finding is in line with previous studies that suggest that only irrigation of bottom moisture water affects the development of ear number and kernel number per ear (Wang et al., 2018).

Pre-flowering water stress can affect ear number, limiting tiller development during nutritional growth and accelerating stem senescence while reducing spike number (Foulkes et al., 2011; M.Z. Siddiqui and Choudhary, 2017). Day and Intalap (1970) reported that stress at the nodulation stage was also crucial for spring wheat planted in December in Arizona, where sandy soils in a high evaporative demand climate are prevalent.

Adequate water supply during winter wheat's flowering period is essential for reproductive growth and yield formation (Sun et al., 2006). Kernel number per ear was found to be affected by water stress before and after flowering and during the stem elongation period (B et al., 2000). Under drought stress conditions, flag leaf material accumulation was stable, but material accumulation in the spike and the two internodes below the spike was reduced, resulting in florets degeneration (Zhang et al., 2020). Irrigation at jointing and anthesis could improve grain yield by increasing ear number and kernel number per ear (Xu et al., 2018).

Our study found no significant difference in thousand-kernel weight between the three treatments, which is not consistent with previous studies (Wang et al., 2018). Wang et al. (2018) reported that the thousand-kernel weight with minimum irrigation was higher than that of the control. However, the filling period of winter wheat in our study region usually experiences dry heat winds, which cause rapid senescence and death of winter wheat, resulting in lower filling rates (Wang et al., 2018). The flowering period of winter wheat under reduced irrigation conditions is usually a few days earlier compared to conventional irrigation, which helps to avoid dry hot winds in the filling period. The lack of significant increase in thousand-kernel weight in our study may be due to varietal differences.

Our study found that Opt and Min practices consumed less water compared to Con practices, respectively, resulting in an increase in water use efficiency (Fig. 2). This finding is consistent with the results reported by Zhang et al. (1998). Our study's total water consumption consisted mainly of rainfall, irrigation, and soil water depletion. The Min practice had less irrigation and more soil water depletion than the Con practice, indicating more efficient rainfall use compared to the Con practice (Wang et al., 2018).

In conclusion, our study suggests that water management practices, such as minimum irrigation, can improve water use efficiency while maintaining yield levels. Our findings also highlight the importance of adequate water supply during winter wheat's flowering period and the effects of pre-flowering water stress on tiller development and spike number. Further research is needed to investigate the impact of varietal differences on thousand-kernel weight and the effect of reduced irrigation on other crop species.