In arid and semi-arid regions, desertification threatens crop production because it reduces the soil’s capacity to retain water and soil nutrients. At two fertilizer levels (90 kg N hm⁻² and 45 kg P hm⁻² and 270 kg N hm⁻² and 135 kg P hm⁻²), the effects of soft rock (sand: soft rocks = 3:1) and biochar (4500 kg hm⁻²) applications on soil moisture, soil nutrients, and millet (Setaria italica L.) photosynthesis, yield, and its agronomic traits (biomass, thousand kernel weight, harvest index) were investigated in a field experiment in the Mu Us Sandy Land of China in 2018–2019. The addition of biochar and soft rock singly increased soil water content, alkali-hydrolyzed nitrogen (AN), total nitrogen (TN) and phosphorus (TP), and organic matter content significantly, suggesting that their application may increase the nutrient and water holding capacity of soil. Application of biochar and soft rock singly increased the net photosynthesis rate of millet flag leaf, at the flowering stage, from 15.97% to 56.26%. Biochar and soft rock application increased the yield range (2109.0 kg hm⁻² to 5024.7 kg hm⁻²) from 5.26% to 54.60% under the same fertilizer level. Correlation analyses showed grain yield was significantly correlated with photosynthesis rate at the flowering stage, which was significantly correlated with soil AN at flowering, soil TP at flowering and harvest, and soil TN at flowering. These results indicated that the application of biochar and soft rock singly could increase soil fertilizer holding capacity to improve the photosynthesis rate at flowering, and, therefore, lead to improvements in crop yield.

Foxtail millet is an important crop in Northwest China; however, the mechanism responsible for regulating root adjustment, including water uptake, sugar transport, or metabolism, in foxtail millet remains unclear. Two millet cultivars (the drought-resistant Yugu1 [YG] and the drought-sensitive An04 [An]) were used to detect physiological, molecular, and agronomic traits under two different soil water conditions. Water use efficiency increased by 18.4% and 63.2% under drought stress in An and YG, respectively. Under drought stress, YG and An root exudation (RE) decreased by 66.7% and 89.0%, the photosynthesis rate decreased by 34.3% and 61.8%, and the grain yield decreased by 40.6% and 62.6%, respectively. An contained a high ratio of soluble sugar to starch, whereas YG remained consistent. RNA-seq data showed a lower expression of beta-amylase 2 in YG than in An. The expression levels of three SWEET genes involved in sugar transport and four plasma membrane intrinsic protein (PIP) genes were higher in YG than in An, allocating more photosynthetic sugar to the roots to prevent a significant elevation in the ratio of soluble sugar to starch. The high expression levels of SiPIPs also enhanced root water transport capacity. Based on the above-mentioned adaptations, millet maintains high RE, stomatal conductance, and net photosynthetic rate in drought stress conditions.