Abstract
Introduction: Water scarcity and uneven distribution of irrigation resources are major challenges for sustaining maize production in arid agro-ecosystems. While intercropping and conservation tillage have been individually recognized for enhancing crop productivity and resource efficiency, their integrated effects with irrigation management remain poorly understood. The long-term field platform was launched in 2015, and the trial was conducted in the northwest region in 2024, we embedded a three-factor split-plot experiment to evaluate the combined impacts of tillage (no-tillage, NT; conventional tillage, CT), planting pattern (maize-pea intercropping, IM; sole maize, SM), and irrigation regime (low, I1; medium, I2; high, I3) on maize yield, canopy photosynthetic dynamics, water-use efficiency, and photosynthetic enzyme gene expression. Methods: No-tillage intercropping under medium irrigation (NTIMI2) consistently achieved the highest yield, exceeding CTIMI2 and NTSMI2 by 10.5% and 27.2%, respectively, mainly through increases in ear number and thousand-kernel weight. Canopylevel analyses revealed that NTIMI2 sustained higher leaf area index, leaf area duration, crop growth rate, and net assimilation rate during silking-filling, thereby extending the photosynthetic functional period. These physiological advantages translated into greater assimilate supply and efficient partitioning, supported biochemically by the upregulation of nadp-mdh and nadp-me expression during grain filling. Importantly, NTIMI2 optimized the yield-water relationship: water-use efficiency was maximized and comparable yields were maintained relative to high irrigation, but with reduced water input. Discussion: Our findings provide mechanistic evidence that coordinated tillage and irrigation strategies regulate canopy source-sink dynamics and enzyme-mediated carbon assimilation, thereby reconciling the trade-off between yield stability and water conservation. This study highlights no-tillage intercropping with medium irrigation as a scalable pathway toward climate-resilient and water-efficient maize production in arid regions.
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Claims 11
Claim · model-written summary
NTIMI2 had the highest maize yield, 10.5% above CTIMI2.
- Treatment
- No-tillage intercropping under medium irrigatione0
- Outcome
- yielde0
- Direction
- exceedinge0
- Value
- 10.5%e0
- Comparator
- CTIMI2e0
Zea maysOrganisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“No-tillage intercropping under medium irrigation (NTIMI2) consistently achieved the highest yield, exceeding CTIMI2 and NTSMI2 by 10.5% and 27.2%, respectively”
t0“intercropped maize”
Claim · model-written summary
NTIMI2 maize yield was 27.2% above NTSMI2.
- Treatment
- No-tillage intercropping under medium irrigatione0
- Outcome
- yielde0
- Direction
- exceedinge0
- Value
- 27.2%e0
- Comparator
- NTSMI2e0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“No-tillage intercropping under medium irrigation (NTIMI2) consistently achieved the highest yield, exceeding CTIMI2 and NTSMI2 by 10.5% and 27.2%, respectively”
t0“intercropped maize”
Claim · model-written summary
NTIMI2 increased maize ear number and thousand-kernel weight.
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“mainly through increases in ear number and thousand-kernel weight”
t0“No-tillage combined with deficit irrigation improves canopy photosynthesis and water use efficiency to stabilize yield in intercropped maize”
e1“No-tillage intercropping under medium irrigation (NTIMI2)”
Claim · model-written summary
NTIMI2 sustained higher leaf area index, leaf area duration and crop growth rate during silking-filling.
- Organ / stage
- silking-fillinge0
- Treatment
- NTIMI2e0
- Outcome
- leaf area index, leaf area duration, crop growth ratee0
- Direction
- highere0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“NTIMI2 sustained higher leaf area index, leaf area duration, crop growth rate, and net assimilation rate during silking-filling”
t0“intercropped maize”
Claim · model-written summary
NTIMI2 sustained a higher net assimilation rate during silking-filling.
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“NTIMI2 sustained higher leaf area index, leaf area duration, crop growth rate, and net assimilation rate during silking-filling”
t0“intercropped maize”
Claim · model-written summary
NTIMI2 was associated with greater assimilate supply and efficient partitioning.
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“These physiological advantages translated into greater assimilate supply and efficient partitioning”
t0“intercropped maize”
Claim · model-written summary
NTIMI2 upregulated nadp-mdh and nadp-me expression during grain filling.
- Organ / stage
- grain fillinge0
- Treatment
- NTIMI2e1
- Gene
- nadp-mdh and nadp-mee0
- Outcome
- nadp-mdh and nadp-me expressione0
- Direction
- upregulatione0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“upregulation of nadp-mdh and nadp-me expression during grain filling”
t0“No-tillage combined with deficit irrigation improves canopy photosynthesis and water use efficiency to stabilize yield in intercropped maize”
e1“No-tillage intercropping under medium irrigation (NTIMI2)”
Claim · model-written summary
NTIMI2 maximized maize water-use efficiency.
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“NTIMI2 optimized the yield-water relationship: water-use efficiency was maximized”
t0“intercropped maize”
Claim · model-written summary
NTIMI2 maintained comparable maize yield to high irrigation with reduced water input.
- Treatment
- NTIMI2e1
- Outcome
- yieldse0
- Direction
- comparablee0
- Qualifier
- reduced water inpute0
- Comparator
- high irrigatione0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“comparable yields were maintained relative to high irrigation, but with reduced water input”
t0“No-tillage combined with deficit irrigation improves canopy photosynthesis and water use efficiency to stabilize yield in intercropped maize”
e1“No-tillage intercropping under medium irrigation (NTIMI2)”
Claim · model-written summary
NTIMI2 reduced maize irrigation input relative to high irrigation.
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“relative to high irrigation, but with reduced water input”
t0“No-tillage combined with deficit irrigation improves canopy photosynthesis and water use efficiency to stabilize yield in intercropped maize”
e1“No-tillage intercropping under medium irrigation (NTIMI2)”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors propose no-tillage intercropping with medium irrigation for water-efficient maize production in arid regions.
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“This study highlights no-tillage intercropping with medium irrigation as a scalable pathway toward climate-resilient and water-efficient maize production in arid regions.”
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