Effects of activated water irrigation on the growth, water consumption and water use efficiency of winter wheat

Irrigation water activation technology is a new water treatment technology that promotes crop growth and improves water use efficiency (WUE) by altering the physical and chemical properties of water. Our study found that after activation treatment of groundwater, the pH levels and dissolved oxygen contents of water increased, and the surface tension and viscosity coefficients decreased. To verify the effect of this technology on winter wheat growth in the Guanzhong Plain, a three-year field experiment was conducted from 2018 to 2021 using activated water irrigation that included different irrigation treatments (i.e., 60 mm of magnetized and ionized water, MW1 and IW1; 120 mm, MW2 and IW2; 180 mm, MW3 and IW3), while 180 mm of groundwater (GW(3)) was used as a control. The results showed that, when compared with the GW(3) treatment, the MW3 and IW3 treatments significantly increased grain yields (GY), and this effect could be due to the increased chlorophyll contents, delayed senescence of the flag leaves during grain filling and then the significant increase in the dry matter accumulations at post-anthesis. In addition, the daily water consumption amounts in the MW3 and IW3 treatments were significantly higher than that in GW(3) treatment from joining to filling stages, which caused a slight increase in the WUEs. Both the GYs and WUEs of the MW2 and IW2 treatments significantly increased versus the GW(3) treatment. Therefore, we propose that 120 mm of activated water irrigation is the best mode for the Guanzhong Plain, which can save 60 mm of water.