Nitrogen uptake and water consumption for achieving high yield of winter wheat upon nitrogen addition at different doses

Abstract

Nitrogen nutrition is a critical determinant of agricultural productivity. Field experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of different nitrogen application rates on the growth, development, nitrogen absorption, yield, and protein content of winter wheat, with the aim of determining the optimal nitrogen fertilization regime for high yield. The experiment included seven nitrogen levels: 0 (N0), 90 (N90), 180 (N180), 210 (N210), 240 (N240), 270 (N270), and 300 (N300) kg ha⁻¹. Results demonstrated that nitrogen application significantly improved key growth parameters. The N210 and N240 treatments were particularly effective, promoting water consumption during the growth period, increasing the number of tillers at each growth stage, and enhancing overall nitrogen accumulation, which ultimately led to higher yield. Soil water consumption and water use efficiency (WUE) during the growth period were highest in the N210 and N240 treatments, respectively. Regarding yield components, the number of spikes, grains per ear, 1000–grain weight, and final grain yield were all superior in the N210 and N240 treatments compared to other levels. While the number of spike grains was highest under N240, it was not significantly different from N210. In contrast, the N300 treatment showed a significant reduction in spike grains compared to the N90 and N270 treatments. In conclusion, the application of nitrogen at rates of 210 kg ha⁻¹ and 240 kg ha⁻¹ optimizes yield components by promoting productive water consumption, tillering, and nitrogen accumulation, thereby achieving the highest grain yield in winter wheat.

Introduction

Winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is one of the most important food crops in the world. It is an important food crop in southeast of the Loess Plateau and accounts for about one-fifth the total food production in China¹. Most of the wheat grain is used for human consumption. Improvement of wheat grain quality for high quality diet has become more and more noted in daily life. Wheat proteins are imperative to determine the food quality, because they are responsible for dough rheological properties, and influence the processing quality in the production of a range of end products^2,3. Precipitation affects crop growth development thus yield, and this process also with affects the quality of winter wheat⁴. The higher the soil water content, the more obvious the decrease of wheat protein content, especially in the grain nutrition quality to maturity⁵.

Nitrogen (N) is a fundamental macronutrient governing plant growth, development, and ultimate productivity in cereal cropping systems⁶. Its optimal management is pivotal for achieving global food security, particularly in the face of a growing population and limited arable land⁷. In regions like the Loess Plateau of China, where agriculture is predominantly rain-fed, water scarcity is the primary constraint on crop production, making the efficient use of both water and nutrients a cornerstone of sustainable agriculture^6,7.

The relationship between nitrogen fertilization and crop yield is well-established, but it is not linear. While nitrogen deficiency severely limits photosynthetic capacity, tillering, and grain formation, excessive application leads to diminished returns, economic losses, and environmental degradation such as groundwater contamination and greenhouse gas emissions^6,7. The key challenge, therefore, lies not in maximizing N inputs, but in optimizing them to synchronize nutrient supply with crop demand ¹⁰. This optimization is encapsulated in the concept of Nitrogen Use Efficiency (NUE), which reflects the plant’s ability to acquire nitrogen from the soil and convert it into grain yield ^6,7.

Excessive rainfall is not conducive to the formation of grain protein, which may be caused by excessive water washing wheat^7,8. Before the rainy season in the leisure period (land without crop), the dryland farmland should be cultivated to loosen the soil and expand the soil water storage capacity^8,9. Moderate drought promoted grain protein accumulation, while excessive drought and staining water affects grain protein accumulation, resulting in decreased protein yield¹⁰. Promote wheat plant growth and then significantly improve wheat yield and water use efficiency. Grain protein content also effected by the soil moisture content and decreased in the year with low precipitation, while increased in the year with high precipitation¹¹. Recent technological advances have focused on the simultaneous and synergistic improvement of several factors including water use, yield, and grain quality¹². The too much use of N fertilizers numerous adverse special effects on the environment. Therefore suitable N application should be resolute considering the economic reappearance^13,14. Fertilizers constitute an integral part for improved crop production. N essential calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, chloride, magnesium, molybdenum, and manganese crop growth soil fertility^16,17. Applying N fertilizer promote wheat, and then significantly improved yield, and water use efficiency (WUE)¹⁸. Applying N fertilizer promote wheat root elongation and increase soil water consumption, promote wheat plant growth, and then significantly improve wheat yield and N use efficiency. Grain protein content also effected by the soil moisture content and decreased in the year with low precipitation, while increased in the year with high precipitation¹⁵. In China farmers are excessively applying N fertilizers to sustain further increase grain yield, but grain yield does not keep synchronous increase with excessive¹⁹. Nitrogen contributes less in enhancing grain yield but can reduce nitrogen-use efficiency and enhances the risk of environmental pollution^20–22. Therefore, simultaneous achieving both high yield and high N use efficiency (NUE) is a major challenge^23,24. In this study the main objectives were to determine the correlation between yield and soil water content and water consumption at different yield levels, thereby allowing (1) N to increase the yield, and quality (2) comparison of yield components and WUE and (3) an evaluation of the relationship between grain yield or yield components and field water consumption during key plant growth stages.

Materials and methods

Field experiment was conducted during the winter wheat growing season from 2020–2022 at the experimental station of Shanxi Agricultural University. The experimental area is geographically located in Taigu (34° 35′ N and 110°15′ E.), Shanxi Province, China Fig. 1. It is a semi-arid, hilly, dryland area where precipitation is a sole source of moisture and an average annual rainfall of 450–630 mm, of which 60–70% precipitation is concentrated in July–September of the year Fig. 2. Winter wheat and corn are the main planting crops of Shanxi province. its environmental conditions represent the typical semiarid, warm temperate continental climate with annual mean precipitation of 491 mm, annual mean temperature of 12.9 °C, annual sunshine duration of 2242 h and open pan evaporation of 1839 mm. The basic nutrient properties of soil from 0 to 20 cm depth were determined as follow (Table 1).

Fig. 1.

Experiment site from Shanxi Agricultural University Shanxi China¹.

Fig. 2.

Precipitation during study year (2020–2022) in different growth stages of wheat at the experimental site in Shanxi.The different colored blocks represent the growth stages of winter wheat. SS sowing stage; WS wintering stage; JS jointing stage; BS booting stage; AS anthesis stage; MS maturity stage.

Table 1.

Soil fertility of 0–20 cm soil layer before sowing in Shanxi field experimental.

Year	Soil depth (cm)	Organic matter (g kg–1)	Total nitrogen (g kg–1)	Alkaline hydrolysis N (mg kg–1)	Available P (mg kg–1)	Available K (mg kg–1)	pH
2020–2021	0–20	13.54	0.78	68.50	10.06	96.25	6.88
2021–2022	0–20	12.88	0.74	69.17	7.89	106.20	7.04

Experimental design and treatments

The research design was single-factor randomized block cultivar “Liangxing-99” were attained from Taigu Agriculture Bureau, China. Six N set as N0, N90, N180, N210, N240, N270, N300 kg N ha⁻¹. All treatments were replicated 3 times. The area of each plot was 30 m² (5 m × 6 m). Wheat stubble (about 25 cm high) was left in the field to reduce water evaporation and increase soil organic carbon for the next season. Before seeding, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium were applied, Nitrogen (N): 150 kg ha⁻¹ [as pure N], Phosphorus (P₂O₅): 150 kg ha⁻¹, and Potassium (K₂O): 75 kg ha⁻¹, where the NPK ratio = 2:2:1*, respectively. Basic seedlings 225 × 10⁴ plants ha^–1, row spacing 20 cm. During the growing season, artificial weeding is carried out. One sowing methods: wide–space sowing (WS) planting density was 315 × 10⁴ plant ha⁻¹ and each treatment was repeated 3 times. The straw was returned to the field after the previous stubble corn was harvested and planted on the October. Weeds and pests were well controlled by hand (Avoids 20–50% damage in vulnerable phases). At sowing 150 kg ha⁻¹ phosphate fertilizer (16%) and 90 kg ha⁻¹ potash (51%) were applied. The seeding rate was 225 kg ha⁻¹.

Sampling and determination methods

Soil water content

Soil water consumption (ΔSWS) was measured as the difference in soil water storage at the specific growth stages using the formula^1,7:

Wherein ΔSWS represents the change in soil water storage during a particular growth stage (mm), SWS1 represents the soil water storage at the beginning of the stage, and SWS2 represents the soil water storage at the end.

The total water consumption was estimated by evapotranspiration rate (ET) using the formula^1,7:

where ET denotes the total water consumption during the reproductive period (mm), I denotes the amount of irrigation water (mm), P denotes the amount of effective precipitation (mm), and K denotes the amount of groundwater recharge or water drainage (mm). In this experiment, the depth of groundwater was below 5 m, so the value of K was negligible⁷:

Soil water change was calculated

where SWS is soil moisture (mm), W is soil mass moisture content (%), D is soil bulk density (g cm^-3), i is soil layer, and H is soil layer thickness (cm) using the formula ^1,7:

where ΔW soil water consumption at a certain growth stage (mm); W1 is soil moisture (mm) in a soil layer at the beginning of this stage. W2 is the soil moisture (mm) of a soil layer at the end of this stage.

where CA water consumption (mm); P is the precipitation in this period (mm); I is the amount of irrigation.

where CP is the water consumption mode coefficient (%); CAg is the water consumption at a certain stage.

where CD is the daily water consumption and d is the number of days in the growth stage.

where WUE is water use efficiency (kg ha^–1 mm^–1); Y is wheat yield (kg ha^–1).

Nitrogen calculation

Values for nitrogen were calculated following²⁷. Using the following formulae:

Plant nitrogen accumulation 1/4 plant biomass nitrogen content.

Pre-anthesis accumulated nitrogen translocation (PANT) = nitrogen accumulation in vegetative organs at the anthesis stage − nitrogen accumulation in vegetative organs at the maturation stage

where:

PANT = Nitrogen accumulation in kernels (kg/ha or g/plant).

Total N uptake = N in kernels + N in straw/vegetative parts at maturity.

Nitrogen accumulation after anthesis (NAAA) = nitrogen accumulation in the plant at the maturation stage − nitrogen accumulation in the plant at the anthesis stage

where:

NAAA = Nitrogen accumulation in kernels (e.g., kg/ha or g/plant).

Total aboveground N = N in kernels (NAAA) + N in straw/leaves/stems.

Statistical analysis

The data of winter wheat growth and yield formation were processed and statistically analyzed using SAS-8.6 (SAS Institute Inc., city, NC, USA). ANOVA and least significant difference (LSD) tests, were conducted using SPSS 27 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). Figures were generated using Origin 2025b (Origin Lab Inc., USA), and tables were prepared using Excel 2021 (Microsoft, USA). When there was a significant interaction effect between soil water and yield, the least significant difference (LSD) method was used for differential analysis, while the F-test was used to determine independence; the significance level was set to α = 0.05. Differences were considered statistically significant when p ≤ 0.05.

Permission

Permissions or licenses were obtained to collect wheat (Triticum aestivum L) cultivar “Liangxing-99” were attained from Taigu Agriculture Bureau, China. Six N set as N0, N90, N180, N210, N240, N270, N300 kg N ha^{– 1}. (Shanxi Agricultural University Shanxi) before starting the research. Statement on guidelines all experimental studies and experimental materials involved in this research are in full compliance with relevant institutional, national and international guidelines and legislation.

Results

Water consumption

Nitrogen fertilizer rates to improved the water consumption indexes of N90, N180 and N240 treatment at the sowing and wintering stage, N210, N240, N270 and N300 at the wintering stage (Table 2). The water consumption indexes N90 and N180 treatment were the highest which had the highest water consumption indexes. N240 treatment had the greatest water consumption index during wintering-jointing, and daily water consumption differed significantly from other nitrogen application treatments. In the jointing stage flowering stage the soil water consumption indexes were higher than N240 treatment. Compared to the N90 treatment, the soil water consumption index was greater from flowering to maturity. N210 treatment was higher in each water consumption index than N180 treatment N240 treatment was significant. The water consumption index of N240 treatment was higher than N90, N210, N270–N300. The water consumption of anthesis and maturity were higher in N210, and the difference was significant between treatments with other N180 treatment. Flowering to maturity water consumption was higher N210 treatment significantly different from N180, and N240 treatments.

Table 2.

Effects of N application on water consumption amount, its percentage to total water consumption amount and water consumption per day of winter wheat at different growth stages.

Treatment		Wintering stage			Jointing stage			Anthesis stage			Maturity stage
		CA (mm)	CP (%)	CD (mm)	CA (mm)	CP (%)	CD (mm)	CA (mm)	CP (%)	CD (mm)	CA (mm)	CP (%)	CD (mm)
2020–2021	N0	81.34 bc	20.60 b	1.03 d	129.76 c	32.87 cd	0.82 c	27.92 c	7.07 c	0.96 c	155.79 ab	39.46 a	3.80 ab
	N90	139.49 a	33.42 a	1.77 a	81.49 e	19.52 f.	0.51 e	36.91 bc	8.84 bc	1.27 bc	159.55 a	38.22 a	3.89 a
	N180	121.13 a	29.18 a	1.53 b	95.99 d	23.12 e	0.60 d	57.75 a	13.91 a	1.99 a	140.23 c	33.78 b	3.42 c
	N210	95.77 b	22.61 b	1.21 c	145.66 b	34.39 bc	0.92 b	50.20 ab	11.85 ab	1.73 ab	131.89 c	31.14 bc	3.22 c
	N240	97.69 b	20.70 b	1.24 c	178.99 a	37.92 a	1.13 a	59.34 a	12.57 ab	2.05 a	135.96 c	28.81 c	3.32 c
	N270	68.33 c	16.06 c	0.86 e	156.86 b	36.88 ab	0.99 b	59.06 a	13.88 a	2.04 a	141.08 bc	33.17 b	3.44 bc
	N300	80.58 bc	20.25 b	1.02 de	126.36 c	31.75 d	0.79 c	57.14 a	14.36 a	1.97 a	133.89 c	33.64 b	3.27 c
2021–2022	N0	72.56 bc	19.17 d	0.92 bc	140.71 ab	37.17 a	0.88 ab	57.70 cd	15.24 cd	1.99 cd	107.63 d	28.43 b	2.63 d
	N90	80.17 b	19.32 cd	1.01 b	130.74 bc	31.51 bc	0.82 bc	73.03 b	17.60 bc	2.52 b	130.96 b	31.56 ab	3.19 ab
	N180	62.25 c	14.76 e	0.79 c	145.93 ab	34.59 ab	0.92 ab	92.17 a	21.85 ab	3.18 a	121.51 cd	28.80 b	2.96 bc
	N210	97.50 a	22.84 bc	1.23 a	117.03 c	27.42 c	0.74 c	68.99 bc	16.17 cd	2.38 bc	143.29 a	33.57 a	3.49 a
	N240	36.70 d	9.00 f.	0.46 d	154.24 a	37.83 a	0.97 a	94.18 a	23.10 a	3.25 a	122.56 c	30.06 b	2.99 bc
	N270	97.30 a	25.72 ab	1.23 a	112.09 c	29.63 c	0.70 c	53.25 cd	14.08 de	1.84 de	115.66 cd	30.57 ab	2.82 cd
	N300	98.12 a	26.20 a	1.24 a	114.04 c	30.45 bc	0.72 c	44.01 d	11.75 e	1.52 e	118.39 cd	31.61 ab	2.89 bcd
F-value
Year (Y)		**	**	**	**	**	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Nitrogen (N)		**	**	**	**	**	**	**	**	**	**	**	*
Y × N		ns	ns	ns	**	**	ns	ns	ns	ns	*	ns	ns

The different letters indicates the significant difference on the level of P < 0.05. CA, amount of water consumption; CP, percentage of CA to total water consumption; CD, daily water consumption. Different normal letters after the same column of numbers indicate that different sowing rates have significant differences at the level of 0.05 (LSD test). Different capital letters after the same column of numbers indicate that different years have significant differences at the level of 0.05 (LSD test). * Significant at the 0.05 probability level. **Significant at the 0.01 probability level.

Effects of tiller number different growth stage

From each growth stage it was noted that in N210 increased in the number of tillers outgrowth initially, followed by a decreased in the N240 increased, as shown in Fig. 3. There were notable variations between the wintering and flowering stages of the N90 and N300 treatments, as well as between the jointing and growth stages, with the number of tillers in each growth stage being higher in the N240 treatment. Each development stage had more tillers than the N210 treatment, which raised them by 14% and 32%, respectively. There may be notable variations in N fertilizer treatments between crop growth stages, such as N210 and N240.

Fig. 3.

Effects of N application on tiller amounts different growth stages. SS—sowing stage, WS—wintering stage, JS–jointing stage, BS—booting stage, AS—anthesis stage, MS—maturity stage. Vertical error bars represent standard deviation, and different lowercase letters indicate significant differences among treatments at the p = 0.05 level.

Effects of different N accumulation at various growth stages

Effects of different N application was increased by 29%, 48% compared to each growth stage (Table 3). Under the N accumulation in each growth stage was significantly higher in N240 treatment which was 37%, respectively. The N accumulation in each growth stage was higher in N210 treatment which increased by 44%, N210 treatment was significant between N90, N180, N300 treatment. N240 treatment N210 treatment applied in promote N accumulation of plant.

Table 3.

Effects of N application on N accumulation amount different growth stage.

Treatment		Wintering stage	Jointing stage	Booting stage	Anthesis stage	Maturity stage
2020–2021	N0	39.06 cd	63.28 e	138.29 e	160.96 e	191.41 f.
	N90	41.94 bc	68.18 d	148.54 d	180.07 d	212.85 e
	N180	43.45 b	75.43 c	154.08 c	188.16 c	223.53 d
	N210	44.42 b	78.03 bc	165.76 b	192.74 c	228.54 c
	N240	47.15 a	92.23 a	177.87 a	220.05 a	262.61 a
	N270	44.59 b	78.98 b	147.34 d	205.86 b	241.44 b
	N300	37.26 d	63.89 e	144.42 d	181.26 d	215.00 e
2021–2022	N0	30.21 d	53.28 d	118.32 f.	145.76 d	174.76 e
	N90	35.54 c	58.74 c	125.45 e	160.61 bc	197.23 d
	N180	38.57 bc	62.13 bc	134.38 cd	168.46 b	207.58 c
	N210	43.52 a	68.50 a	145.66 a	185.44 a	229.61 a
	N240	41.65 ab	62.52 b	141.27 b	182.45 a	226.28 ab
	N270	39.67 b	58.59 c	137.54 c	179.60 a	223.09 b
	N300	31.43 d	51.38 d	134.82 cd	158.68 c	200.25 d
F-value
Year (Y)		*	*	*	*	*
Nitrogen (N)		**	**	**	**	**
Y × N		ns	*	ns	**	ns

The means are not significantly different within a given season when followed by the same lowercase letter using LSD at p < 0.05. “*” and “**”, indicate significant difference between the two optimal N rates at 0.01 and 0.05 probability levels, respectively.

Effects of N application on pre-anthesis accumulated

Under different N application rates the nitrogen accumulation and contribution to grains after flowering increased by 10% and 26%, respectively (Table 4). The increased N240 the N accumulation after flowering was significantly higher in N240 was 38% and 40%, respectively. The N accumulation before flowering and after flowering was higher in N210 treatment, which was up to 24% and 52%, respectively. N240 could increase the contribution rate of accumulation after flowering to the grains.

Table 4.

Effects of N application on pre-anthesis accumulated N translocation and N accumulation after anthesis.

Treatment		PANT		NAAA
		Amount (kg − ha–1)	Contribution to N in grains (%)	Amount (kg ha–1)	Contribution to N in grains (%)
2020–2021	N0	127.47 e	80.02 a	30.45 c	19.11 ab
	N90	143.89 d	81.72 a	32.78 bc	18.62 bc
	N180	145.87 d	79.86 a	35.37 b	19.37 ab
	N210	152.36 c	81.54 a	35.81 b	19.16 ab
	N240	175.39 a	81.10 a	42.56 a	19.68 a
	N270	163.36 b	81.84 a	35.58 b	17.83 c
	N300	142.47 d	81.19 a	33.74 bc	19.23 ab
2021–2022	N0	113.84 d	79.62 a	28.99 d	20.28 e
	N90	123.24 bc	76.73 b	36.63 c	22.80 d
	N180	129.02 b	76.48 b	39.13 bc	23.19 cd
	N210	140.72 a	75.83 bc	44.18 a	23.80 bc
	N240	138.89 a	75.79 bc	43.83 a	23.92 b
	N270	137.92 a	75.56 bc	43.50 a	23.83 b
	N300	119.09 cd	73.92 c	41.56 ab	25.80 a
F-value
Year (Y)		*	*	*	*
Nitrogen (N)		**	**	**	**
Y × N		ns	*	ns	ns

The means are not significantly different within a given season when followed by the same lowercase letter using LSD at p < 0.05. “*” and “**”, indicate significant. PANT, pre-anthesis accumulated nitrogen translocation amount from vegetative organs to grains after anthesis; NAAA, nitrogen accumulation amount after anthesis.

Water use efficiency

Under N90, N240, N270, and N300 treatment conditions, there was a decrease in soil water storage and an increase in water demand during the growing stage (Table 5). N water consumption and water use efficiency (WUE) in the growth stage increased first and then decreased. The water consumption and water use efficiency in the growth period were higher than N240 treatment. The soil water consumption and WUE in the growth stage were higher in N210 and N240 treatment respectively. During the growth stage, N240 and N210 can encourage water consumption, and when both are applied, N240 treatment nitrogen can increase water usage efficiency.

Table 5.

Effects of N application on water use efficiency (WUE).

Treatment		Soil water storage at sowing stage (mm)	Rainfall in growth period (mm)	Irrigation amount (mm)	Soil water storage at maturity (mm)	Water consumption Amount in growth period (mm)	Water use efficiency (kg ha–1 mm–1)
2020–2021	N0	441.30	205.00	60.00	311.49	394.81 c	18.65 c
	N90				288.86	417.44 b	20.95 b
	N180				291.20	415.10 b	22.75 a
	N210				282.78	423.52 b	22.74 a
	N240				234.31	471.98 a	22.94 a
	N270				280.97	425.33 b	23.26 a
	N300				308.32	397.98 c	18.71 c
2021–2022	N0				327.70	378.60 c	19.23 d
	N90				291.40	414.90 ab	20.66 c
	N180				284.44	421.85 a	21.16 c
	N210				279.49	426.81 a	22.42 b
	N240				298.62	407.68 b	23.06 a
	N270				328.00	378.30 c	23.07 a
	N300				331.74	374.56 c	18.88 d
F-value
Year (Y)		ns	ns	ns	*	*	*
Nitrogen (N)		ns	ns	ns	**	**	**
Y × N		ns	ns	ns	ns	*	ns

Different normal letters after the same column of numbers indicate that different sowing rates have significant differences at the level of 0.05 (LSD test). Different capital letters after the same column of numbers indicate that different years have significant differences at the level of 0.05 (LSD test). *Significant at the 0.05 probability level. **Significant at the 0.01 probability level.

Effects of N application on yield components

The increase of N240 the spike number, and yield increased first and then decreased (Table 6). Under the condition number of spike, grain number per ear 1000-grain weight and yield were higher in N240 treatment, which were increased by 19% and 47%, respectively. Under the condition spike number 1000-grain weight and yield were higher in N210 treatment which increased by 19%, 35%, respectively, compared with other treatments. The number of spike grains was higher in N240 treatment but there was no significant difference from N210 treatment. N300 treatment were significantly different from N90, N270 treatment the spike number grains was significantly. In N240 treatment the grain yield can be increased and yield composition optimized using N210 treatment.

Table 6.

Effects of N application on yield and its components of winter wheat.

Treatment		Spike number (104 ha–1)	Grain number Per spike	1000–grain weight (g)	Yield (kgha–1)
2020–2021	N0	798.50 d	29.60 b	36.88 b	7361.43 d
	N90	839.25 c	31.86 ab	40.34 ab	8744.40 c
	N180	868.50 b	31.34 ab	40.19 ab	9442.93 b
	N210	870.00 b	31.50 ab	40.42 ab	9629.55 b
	N240	900.25 a	32.58 a	43.85 a	10,829.13 a
	N270	870.25 b	32.22 a	42.76 a	9891.35 b
	N300	809.50 d	29.69 b	38.00 b	7444.98 d
2021–2022	N0	765.75 cd	29.69 ab	37.76 c	7279.83 d
	N90	804.00 b	30.26 ab	41.82 b	8571.50 c
	N180	826.75 ab	30.62 a	43.20 ab	8924.90 b
	N210	853.50 a	30.70 a	45.04 a	9568.55 a
	N240	837.25 a	31.23 a	44.89 a	9400.73 a
	N270	798.50 bc	29.60 ab	42.61 ab	8728.68 bc
	N300	756.25 d	28.23 b	38.51 c	7071.98 d
F-value
Year (Y)		*	*	*	*
Nitrogen (N)		**	**	**	**
Y × N		ns	ns	ns	ns

The means are not significantly different within a given season when followed by the same lowercase letter using LSD at p < 0.05. “*” and “**”, indicate significant.

Correlation between yield and yield components

The number per spike under different N rates significant negative correlation between grain number per spike and 1000-grain weight significant positive correlation (Table 7). There was significant or extremely significant positive correlation between yield, number of spike significant or extremely significant positive correlation between yield, number of per spike and dry matter quality of leaves, and grains at maturity stage. There was significant positive correlation between grain number per spike and tiller number at booting stage and flowering stage. There was significant positive correlation between 1000-grain weight and water use efficiency and stem + sheath dry matter quality at maturity stage.

Table 7.

Correlation between yield components, yield.

Treatment	Yield	Spike	Grain number per spike	1000 grain weight
Grain yield	1.0000	0.8830**	− 0.0073	− 0.3135
Spike	0.8830**	1.0000	− 0.2624	− 0.1131
Grain number per spike	− 0.0073	− 0.2624	1.0000	− 0.9221**
1000 grain weight	− 0.3135	− 0.1131	− 0.9221**	1.0000

Different capital letters after the same column of numbers indicate that different years have significant differences at the level of 0.05 (LSD test). *Significant at the 0.05 probability level. **Significant at the 0.01 probability level.

Discussion

Rational control of population spatial structure and optimization of population quality is the key to increase winter wheat yield^28,29. The soil water consumption, and in the later stage, it is easy to be dehydrated and take off fertilizer resulting in a decrease in production³⁰. The individual growth was robust and stress resistance was enhanced, but the tiller number was small, so the shortage of effective spike number was finally made up by increasing spike¹⁹. The population was larger and the tiller number increased. However, in the later stage, and nutrients, the growth environment deteriorated and became prone to lodging, so the final yield could not be guaranteed³¹. N240 treatment and N210 treatment respectively could promote water consumption during growth period and increase the number of tillers nitrogen accumulation, ultimately achieve high yield and water use efficiency. There is a certain interaction between different cultivation techniques, and it is impossible for any single technique to have a regulatory effect, which is affected by other technical means. The effects of different on soil moisture content and water consumption during winter wheat¹². The results showed that the optimum N240 different growth stages Wintering, jointing, jointing, flowering, water consumption was stronger. Under the water consumption performance of seeding, wintering, flowering, ripening was stronger with N210. N application by regulating the water consumption at different growth stages especially in the middle growth stage and with large water demand, higher nitrogen application rate was conducive to promoting soil water consumption during growth stage, while in the later growth stage, the soil water consumption was less, and the corresponding suitable N decreased accordingly. Therefore, only the reasonable coordination of water and nitrogen can promote the water effective absorption of wheat to soil “water culture” and promote the good growth, and development of plants³². Compared with other treatments N240, and N210 could obtain higher tiller-number, nitrogen accumulation and running amount, and finally optimize grain yield composition increase yield. Therefore, the growth space of single plant is expanded to a certain extent, the contradiction between plants competing for natural resources is overcome, and the microclimate conditions for plant growth are improved^32,33. It can promote the soil moisture and fertility to a certain extent, so as to promote the absorption.

The number of tillers, and nitrogen accumulation in the wintering stage of wheat before winter increased by 27%, 32% respectively. The appropriately increased strong seedlings could be formed before winter wheat and stress resistance could be enhanced. This study also showed that increasing quantity, flowering period each N accumulation increased, mature stem + leaf sheath N accumulation increased, grain N element accumulation and proportion increase, accumulation amount of N element operation before flowering and flowering after N accumulation increased by 5% and 20% respectively, the contribution rate of N element run before flowering on grain of spike increased by 3%³². The water consumption at sowing-wintering and anthesis–maturity was higher at N210 treatment and soil water consumption at wintering-jointing and jointing–anthesis was higher N240 treatment. Therefore, only the reasonable coordination of water and N can promote the effective absorption of water from soil promote the growth and development of plants^23,33. The results of this study showed water consumption at sowing-wintering, and anthesis-maturity was higher N90 kg ha^–1 and at wintering-jointing and jointing-anthesis was stronger at N240 kg ha⁻¹. Water consumption at sowing-wintering and anthesis-maturity was higher at N210 kg ha^–1 and water consumption at wintering-jointing and jointing-anthesis was higher with N application rate of 240 kg ha^–1. Therefore, only the reasonable coordination of water and nitrogen can promote the effective absorption of water from soil and promote the growth and development of plants³⁴. The nitrogen of N240 kg ha^–1 could obtain nitrogen accumulation, which increased in all growth stages and the nitrogen accumulation and proportion increased significantly during the wintering to jointing stage and proportion of nitrogen accumulation in the early growth period increased and the nitrogen accumulation of various organs increased, the nitrogen pre-anthesis nitrogen translocation amount and nitrogen accumulation amount after anthesis increased significantly, but Nitrogen uptake efficiency, nitrogen use efficiency and nitrogen productive efficiency were the highest at N90 kg ha^–1 and was the lowest at N300 kg ha⁻¹³⁵. The total protein content and component content of wheat grains of different grains increased significantly with the increase of nitrogen application. the relevant analysis of factors related to yield formation shows that the water consumption during the growth period, the number of ears, 1000-grain weight and the yield have a significant or very significant correlation the water use efficiency increased. Increasing the sowing volume within a certain range increased the nitrogen accumulation in the above ground, the nitrogen utilization efficiency decreased and the nitrogen utilization increased first and then decreased³⁶. The study showed that the N amount was N240 water use efficiency (WUE) and yield level were the highest under the optimal fertilization, and the number of tillering in the population was decreased compared with that of the farmers spike number and number per spike are the main factors affecting wheat yield.

Conclusions

This study confirm that N240 optimally improve water consumption during wintering, jointing, and flowering, while N210 improves water utilization in sowing, wintering, and flowering. Both treatments boosted nitrogen accumulation earlier flowering, supporting grain filling and yield arrangement. In high-yield conditions, fallow cultivation assist balance soil water use, rising yield components. N210 and N240 increased tiller numbers, N uptake, and water use efficiency (WUE), leading to higher productivity. The keypoints are as , N240 maximizes water use in mid-late growth stages, N210 improves early-stage water efficiency, Balanced N management enhances tillering, and N accumulation, and grain yield. Both the N210 and N240 treatments promoted early nitrogen accumulation by the flowering stage, which in turn supported more efficient grain filling and a more favorable yield structure. Under high-yield conditions, these balanced nitrogen rates helped harmonize soil water usage, leading to significant improvements in key yield components. Specifically, these treatments increased tiller numbers, boosted nitrogen uptake, and enhanced overall (WUE), resulting in superior grain productivity.

Author contributions

Conceptualization, M.S.F and J.D.; methodology, M.A.; software, B.Q.; validation, F.N., and H.N.; formal analysis, B.Q.; investigation, H.N.; resources, H.N.; data curation, H.N; writing—original draft preparation, H.N. and F.N. writing—review and editing, F.F.; visualization, H.N.; project administration, H.N.; funding acquisition, H.N, All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

Authors want to thank Jinzhong University Research Funds for Doctor Supporting Project number (JUD2023007) for financial support of this study. Also, Ongoing Research Funding Program, (ORFFT-2025-041-5), King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia is acknowledged for the financial support.

Data availability

All the raw data in this research can be obtained from the corresponding authors upon reasonable request.

Declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Ethical approval and consent to participate

This study does not include human or animal subjects.