Water stress of winter wheat and irrigation strategy in typical region of Huang-Huai-Hai Plain

As the main agriculture area, Huang-Huai-Hai Plain is also one major water deficit region in China. Thus, reasonable and efficient irrigation plays an important role in Huang-Huai-Hai Plain. Using EPIC (environmental policy integrated climate) crop growth model, authors of this paper mainly simulated the growth of winter wheat in Cangzhou city of Hebei province, a typical regional area in Huang-Huai-Hai Plain. Through the simulation under the condition of no irrigation, the rule of water stress on the local climate condition was determined during the winter wheat growing season and four main water stress stages (tillering stage, green up stage, jointing stage and filling stage) were also derived. Then the crop growth under the condition of auto irrigation was simulated by changing the single irrigation Max (ATMX). Based on yield and water use efficiency (WUE), the irrigation strategy (Sowing stage: 10 mm, tillering stage: 40 mm, green up stage: 35 mm, jointing stage: 35 mm, filling stage: 10 mm) suitable for local conditions was acquired. It is proved that EPIC is a useful tool for agricultural management.