Wheat production in semi-arid regions increasingly relies on irrigation to buffer yield losses

The gap

Evidence profile

Sourced from the stated challenges and stated research gap and abstract of the source papers, classified as general, drawn from work published between 2025 and 2026, spanning 4 journals. Those papers have been cited 17 times in total.

Supporting evidence — 5 representative gaps

• Manure in combination with optimal topdressing with nitrogen fertiliser improved growth, grain yields and the efficiencies of water and nitrogen use in winter wheat in the Xinjiang Oasis drylands (2025) · PeerJ · cited 4× · doi

  The study faced challenges in terms of scarce long-term precipitation in the Xinjiang Oasis drylands, which limited crop yields and resource utilisation. The research had to overcome the difficulty of quantifying the effects of different fertilisation strategies on crop yields, water use efficiency, and nitrogen use efficiency. The study encountered technical challenges in measuring leaf area index, crop nitrogen uptake, and water use efficiency.

  generalstated challenges
  Keywords: study faced challenges terms scarce long-term precipitation xinjiang
• Analysis of Temporal and Spatial Variations in Cropland Water-Use Efficiency and Influencing Factors in Xinjiang Based on the XGBoost–SHAP Model (2025) · Agronomy · cited 5× · doi

  Research on water-use efficiency in arid regions remains relatively limited. There is a need to identify the primary drivers of water-use efficiency change in drylands. Understanding the nonlinear responses of water-use efficiency to varying conditions is crucial for accurately predicting its behavior.

  generalstated research gap
  Keywords: research water-use efficiency arid regions remains relatively limited
• Improvement of the Photosynthetic Characteristics and Yield of Wheat by Regulating the Proportion of Nitrogen Fertilizer Base and Topdressing (2025) · Agronomy · cited 7× · doi

  Water scarcity is a major constraint to agricultural productivity in Xinjiang, an arid-to-semi-arid region. The need to optimize nitrogen fertilizer application to improve photosynthetic characteristics and yield of wheat. The challenge of developing a scalable solution for sustainable wheat production in arid farming systems.

  generalstated challenges
  Keywords: water scarcity major constraint agricultural productivity xinjiang arid-to-semi-arid
• Sprinkler irrigation timing drives water loss tradeoffs in an urban, semi-arid environment (2026) · Irrigation Science · doi

  One challenge is the complexity of measuring water loss and crop response in an urban, semi-arid environment. Another challenge is the need to consider multiple factors such as microclimate, evaporative demand, and soil moisture. The study also faced challenges in terms of data analysis and interpretation.

  generalstated challengesevidence 5/5
  Keywords: one challenge complexity measuring water loss crop response
• Irrigation volume controls nitrogen use efficiency and nitrous oxide emission peaks in semi-arid wheat (2026) · Environmental Technology & Innovation · cited 1× · doi

  Wheat production in semi-arid regions increasingly relies on irrigation to buffer yield losses from recurrent drought, yet soil N 2 O emissions from combined irrigation and nitrogen (N) fertilization remain poorly quantified, particularly in developing countries such as Morocco.

  generalabstractevidence 4/5
  Keywords: irrigation wheat production semi arid regions increasingly relies buffer yield losses recurrent drought soil emissions

Questions about this gap