Grain number responses to pre-anthesis dry matter and nitrogen in improving wheat yield in the Huang-Huai Plain

Wheat yield components vary between different ecological regions and yield levels. Grain number responses to pre-anthesis dry matter (DM) and nitrogen (N) in increasing yield were always investigated in spike organs, neglecting the effect of non-spike organ nutrition or overall distribution. This paper determined the relationships between grain number and pre-anthesis DM and N in spike and non-spike organs under different yield levels, with using two sorts of field experiments (different water-nitrogen modes and cultivation management patterns) from 2012–2015 in Huang-Huai plain. The results indicated that improving yield under yield of <7500 kg ha(−1) depends on increasing grain number per spike (GNs) or spike number (SN) or both, increased yield under higher yield of >7500 kg ha(−1) mainly depends on GNs. GNs showed significant positive relationships with above-ground DM accumulation from jointing to anthesis under high or low yield levels. Rapid DM growth in spring achieves higher GNs. Spike and non-spike DM and N contents both demonstrated strong positive relationships with GNs, spike DM distribution also shows a positive correlation, but spike N distribution ratio show negatively correlation with GNs. Improved N distribution in non-spike organs and DM partition in spike organs conduce to increasing GNs.