Limited and erratic precipitation in arid and semiarid regions can affect soil water storage, water use, and dryland crop performance. Our objective was to examine soil water content, crop yield, and water‐use efficiency (WUE) with crop rotations and cultural practices for 6 yr in the northern Great Plains. Crop rotations were durum wheat (or durum) (Triticum turgidum L.)−durum−canola (Brassica napus L.)−pea (Pisum sativum L.) (DDCP), durum−durum−flax (Linum usitatissimum L.)−pea (DDFP), durum−canola−durum−pea (DCDP), and durum−flax−durum−pea (DFDP). A continuous durum (CD) was also included for comparison. Cultural practices were traditional (a combination of conventional tillage, recommended seeding rate, broadcast N fertilization, and reduced stubble height) and improved (a combination of no‐tillage, increased seeding rate, banded N fertilization, and increased stubble height) practices. Pre‐plant and postharvest soil water contents at the 0‐ to 122‐cm depth were 19−39 mm lower with DDFP than other crop rotations. Pre‐plant soil water was 21−39 mm greater in the improved than the traditional cultural practice in 3 out of 6 yr. Annualized grain yield was 207−370 kg ha⁻¹ lower with DDFP than CD and DCDP. Overall water use and WUE (yield/water use) for the rotation system were not affected by treatments, but varied for each crop as the growing season precipitation (GSP) increased. Pre‐plant and postharvest soil water, water use, grain yield, and WUE for each crop in the rotation varied with treatments and years. Alternate‐year rotations and CD can enhance dryland soil water storage and crop yield compared to stacked rotations.

中文翻译：

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轮作和文化习俗的土壤水和作物用水

干旱和半干旱地区的降雨有限且不稳定，会影响土壤水的储存，用水和旱地作物的生长。我们的目标是在大平原北部进行6年的轮作和养殖实践，以检查土壤水分，作物产量和水分利用效率（WUE）。轮作方式为硬粒小麦（或硬粒小麦）（Triticum turgidum L。）-硬粒双低油菜籽（Brassica napus L。）-豌豆（Pisum sativum L.）（DDCP），硬粒硬质小麦（Linum usitatissimumL。）-豌豆（DDFP），硬质双低油菜籽硬质豌豆（DCDP）和硬质亚麻-硬质硬质豌豆（DFDP）。还包括连续硬质木（CD）进行比较。耕作方式是传统的（传统耕作，推荐播种量，氮肥播种和降低残茬高度的组合）和改良（免耕，增加播种率，氮肥带状施肥和增加秸秆高度的组合）。DDFP种植前和收获后0至122 cm深度的土壤含水量比其他轮作低19-39 mm。在6年中的3年中，改良前的种植前土壤水比传统耕作方法增加了21-39 mm。粮食年产量为207−370 kg公顷^-1DDFP比CD和DCDP低。轮作系统的总体用水量和WUE（产量/用水量）不受处理的影响，但随着生长期降水（GSP）的增加，每种作物的使用量也有所不同。轮作中每种作物的种植前和收获后的土壤水，水分利用，谷物产量和WUE随处理方式和年份的不同而不同。与叠置轮作相比，轮作和CD交替耕作可以提高旱地土壤的水储量和作物产量。