Reconciling high crop productivity with reduced resource inputs is a primary challenge for sustainable agriculture in water-scarce regions. This study evaluated the feasibility of reducing nitrogen (N) fertilizer application for winter wheat under limited micro-sprinkler irrigation in the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain, China. A field experiment compared five treatments: a non-fertilized and non-irrigated control (CK), conventional flood irrigation with standard N (FI), and limited micro-sprinkler irrigation (80 mm) with standard N (MI), a 20% N reduction (MI1), and a 40% N reduction (MI2). We analyzed grain yield, water and N use efficiency (WUE and NUE) and the apparent soil N balance. WUE in this study was expressed as grain yield per seasonal evapotranspiration (ET), and NUE was evaluated using agronomic indices. The results showed that the MI1 treatment maintained a high grain yield that was not significantly different from the high-input FI and MI treatments. This high yield was sustained by a compensatory mechanism involving enhanced post-anthesis N assimilation and increased extraction of deep soil water, which offset the reduced inputs. Consequently, MI1 significantly improved WUE, irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE), and NUE, while reducing the apparent soil N surplus by 74.5% compared to FI. In contrast, the greater N reduction (MI2) led to a significant yield penalty. In conclusion, a moderate (20%) reduction in N top-dressing under limited micro-sprinkler irrigation presents a viable strategy to maintain high wheat yield, simultaneously enhance resource-use efficiency, and markedly reduce environmental N losses.

Conventional irrigation practices, characterized by excessive water application, have diminished water use efficiency (WUE) and intensified agricultural water consumption. Optimizing irrigation schedules and moderately reducing water input are therefore essential for enhancing WUE while safeguarding stable yields. Micro-sprinkler irrigation, which integrates the benefits of both drip and sprinkler systems, represents a promising technology with substantial water-saving potential. However, its effects on root development and crop yield remain inadequately investigated. Here, we established three micro-sprinkler irrigation regimes—MS20 (20 mm), MS30 (30 mm), and MS40 (40 mm)—alongside flood irrigation (FI) and rainfed (RF) controls, to systematically assess their impacts on soil water content, root growth traits, dry matter accumulation, yield, and WUE. Compared with FI, MS treatments decreased profile soil water content at jointing but increased it in specific layers during grain filling, albeit to varying extents. MS treatments enhanced total root length density (TRLD) and total root dry weight density (TRDD) relative to FI, with MS20 significantly increasing both parameters in the 20–100 cm soil layer. Moreover, MS20 increased pre-flowering dry matter translocation (PDMT) by 9.69% on average and post-flowering dry matter accumulation (PFDMA) by 15.04% during the 2022–2023 season. Yield and WUE under MS treatments exceeded those under FI by 3.46–6.53% and 4.42–21.21%, respectively. Among the MS treatments, MS20 achieved the highest average WUE. No significant yield or WUE differences were observed between MS20 and MS30, with MS30 producing the numerically maximum average yield. MS40 did not significantly affect yield in 2021–2022; however, it substantially reduced both yield and WUE relative to MS20 and MS30 in 2022–2023. A comprehensive TOPSIS analysis identified the combination of micro-sprinkler irrigation with total seasonal irrigation amounts of 80 mm or 120 mm as the optimal strategy for winter wheat production in the eastern Henan region of the North China Plain (NCP).

A long-term positioning experiment was conducted from 2014 to 2021 to determine the appropriate tillage method for rapidly improving soil quality in reclaimed land. Four tillage methods were arranged before winter wheat sowing: deep tillage (DT), shallow tillage (ST), DT-ST alternate rotation (DST) and no tillage (NT). The results showed that: (1) with increasing reclamation years, ST, DT and DST had lower soil bulk density (SBD) and higher soil total porosity (STP) and soil capillary porosity (SCP) compared to NT. In the early stage of reclamation, ST had the lowest SBD and the highest STP and soil non-capillary porosity (NCP) in 0–20 cm soil layer, DT had the highest SCP and lowest NCP. In the 20–40 cm soil layer, DT has the lowest SBD and highest STP and SCP, followed by DST. In the late stage, SBD of each soil layer was NT > ST > DT > DST, while STP and SCP were NT < ST < DT < DST. (2) Different tillage methods influenced soil organic carbon (SOC) accumulation by affecting carbon sequestration rate (CSR). As opposed to NT, DT rapidly increased SOC of 0–40 cm soil layer in the early stages of reclamation, whereas DST facilitates maintaining higher SOC in the later stages. As compared to DT and DST, ST contributed more to SOC accumulation in surface soil, but less to SOC accumulation in deep soil. (3) Different tillage methods had various influences on SOC stratification ratio (SR). During the initial reclamation stage, NT had the lowest SR. Nevertheless, NT and ST maintained their high SR in the subsequent stage, whereas the SR of DT and DST experienced a notable decline due to the increase in SOC in deep soil. (4) It was observed that ST, DT and DST had higher grain yields compared with NT. The correlation analysis showed that DT improved soil properties by promoting SOC accumulation, increasing SCP and reducing NCP, thus increasing grain yield in the early stage of reclamation, while in the later stage of reclamation, DST can maintain better soil quality by reducing SBD and maintaining higher STP, SCP and SOC, and balanced the reasonable distribution of soil nutrients between the upper and lower soil layers by reducing SR of SOC, which helps the crop to maintain higher grain yields over time.