Abstract
Lack of soil moisture and phosphorus deficiency limits wheat grain yield in dryland areas. However, the moisture-conserving effect of straw mulching combined with phosphor fertilization on fertile florets per spike (FFS) and grain yield remains unclear. During the 2020–2021 and 2021–2022 growing seasons, we investigated the combined effects of straw mulching (0 and 8000 kg ha−1) and phosphorus fertilization (0, 75, and 120 kg P2O5 ha−1) on spike development, assimilates’ availability, and the photosynthetic properties of flag leaves by conducting a field experiment. Compared with no straw mulch control, straw mulching increased fertile spike, grain number per spike (15.6%), and grain yield (22.6%), and grain number per spike was the most important contribution to increasing wheat grain yield (46%). An increase in grain number per spike is associated with FFS. Compared with no straw mulch control, straw mulching increased FFS by 19.5%, and it increased with increasing phosphorus fertilization levels. Moreover, straw mulching combined with phosphorus fertilization promoted the light compensation point (LCP), light saturation point (LSP), net photosynthetic rate (Pn), Chl b, and the maximal photochemical efficiency of photosystem II (Fv/Fm) of flag leaves to produce carbohydrates. Our study has shown that the primary factor for the divergence in FFS under straw mulching and phosphorus application was the efficiency of assimilate utilization in the spike, which ultimately led to increased grain number per spike and grain yield.
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Claims 11
Claim · model-written summary
Straw mulching increased fertile spikes in wheat.
- Taxon
- wheat
Triticum aestivumt0 - Treatment
- straw mulchinge0
- Outcome
- fertile spikee0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Comparator
- no straw mulch controle0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Verbatim
e0“Compared with no straw mulch control, straw mulching increased fertile spike, grain number per spike (15.6%), and grain yield (22.6%)”
t0“wheat”
Claim · model-written summary
Straw mulching increased wheat grain number per spike by 15.6%.
- Taxon
- wheat
Triticum aestivumt0 - Treatment
- straw mulchinge0
- Outcome
- grain number per spikee0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Value
- 15.6%e0
- Comparator
- no straw mulch controle0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Verbatim
e0“Compared with no straw mulch control, straw mulching increased fertile spike, grain number per spike (15.6%), and grain yield (22.6%)”
t0“wheat”
Claim · model-written summary
Straw mulching increased wheat grain yield by 22.6%.
- Taxon
- wheat
Triticum aestivumt0 - Treatment
- straw mulchinge0
- Outcome
- grain yielde0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Value
- 22.6%e0
- Comparator
- no straw mulch controle0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Verbatim
e0“Compared with no straw mulch control, straw mulching increased fertile spike, grain number per spike (15.6%), and grain yield (22.6%)”
t0“wheat”
Claim · model-written summary
Grain number per spike made the largest contribution to wheat yield increase, at 46%.
- Taxon
- wheat
Triticum aestivumt0 - Organ / stage
- grain number per spikee0
- Outcome
- wheat grain yielde0
- Direction
- increasinge0
- Value
- 46%e0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Verbatim
e0“grain number per spike was the most important contribution to increasing wheat grain yield (46%)”
t0“wheat”
Claim · model-written summary
Wheat grain number per spike was associated with fertile florets per spike.
- Taxon
- wheat
Triticum aestivumt0 - Organ / stage
- FFSe0
- Outcome
- grain number per spikee0
- Direction
- increasee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Verbatim
e0“An increase in grain number per spike is associated with FFS”
t0“wheat”
Claim · model-written summary
Straw mulching increased wheat fertile florets per spike by 19.5%.
- Taxon
- wheat
Triticum aestivumt0 - Treatment
- straw mulchinge0
- Outcome
- FFSe0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Value
- 19.5%e0
- Comparator
- no straw mulch controle0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Verbatim
e0“Compared with no straw mulch control, straw mulching increased FFS by 19.5%”
t0“wheat”
Claim · model-written summary
Fertile florets per spike increased with phosphorus fertilization level.
- Taxon
- wheat
Triticum aestivumt0 - Treatment
- phosphorus fertilization levelse0
- Outcome
- FFSe0
- Direction
- increasede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Verbatim
e0“straw mulching increased FFS by 19.5%, and it increased with increasing phosphorus fertilization levels”
t0“wheat”
Claim · model-written summary
Straw mulching with phosphorus fertilizer promoted flag-leaf light compensation point and light saturation point.
- Taxon
- wheat
Triticum aestivumt0 - Treatment
- straw mulching combined with phosphorus fertilizatione0
- Outcome
- light compensation point (LCP), light saturation point (LSP)e0
- Direction
- promotede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Verbatim
e0“straw mulching combined with phosphorus fertilization promoted the light compensation point (LCP), light saturation point (LSP), net photosynthetic rate (Pn), Chl b, and the maximal photochemical efficiency of photosystem II (Fv/Fm) of flag leaves”
t0“wheat”
Claim · model-written summary
Straw mulching with phosphorus fertilizer promoted flag-leaf net photosynthetic rate, Chl b and maximal photosystem II efficiency.
- Taxon
- wheat
Triticum aestivumt0 - Treatment
- straw mulching combined with phosphorus fertilizatione0
- Outcome
- net photosynthetic rate (Pn), Chl b, and the maximal photochemical efficiency of photosystem II (Fv/Fm)e0
- Direction
- promotede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Verbatim
e0“straw mulching combined with phosphorus fertilization promoted the light compensation point (LCP), light saturation point (LSP), net photosynthetic rate (Pn), Chl b, and the maximal photochemical efficiency of photosystem II (Fv/Fm) of flag leaves”
t0“wheat”
Claim · model-written summary
Spike assimilate utilization efficiency was identified as the primary factor in fertile floret divergence under straw mulch and phosphorus application.
- Taxon
- wheat
Triticum aestivumt0 - Treatment
- straw mulching and phosphorus applicatione0
- Outcome
- divergence in FFSe0
- Qualifier
- efficiency of assimilate utilization in the spikee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Verbatim
e0“the primary factor for the divergence in FFS under straw mulching and phosphorus application was the efficiency of assimilate utilization in the spike”
t0“wheat”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors linked improved spike assimilate use to increased grain number and grain yield.
- Taxon
- wheat
Triticum aestivumt0 - Outcome
- increased grain number per spike and grain yielde0
- Qualifier
- efficiency of assimilate utilization in the spikee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Verbatim
e0“the efficiency of assimilate utilization in the spike, which ultimately led to increased grain number per spike and grain yield”
t0“wheat”
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