@article{fdi:010078937,
  title = {{F}actors affecting crop water use efficiency : a worldwide meta-analysis},
  author = {{M}bava, {N}. and {M}utema, {M}. and {Z}engeni, {R}. and {S}himelis, {H}. and {C}haplot, {V}incent},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{W}ater is a limiting natural resource for agricultural production. {W}hile it is well accepted that crop types differ in their water use efficiency ({WUE}), there is no consensus on the main factors affecting {WUE} of main field crops, which was the motivation of the current study. {T}he effects of rainfall pattern, soil type and climatic regime on crop {WUE} were evaluated using data from 514 experiments around the world published in {ISI} journal papers. {T}he results confirmed that crop type had a significant effect (p < 0.05) on {WUE} with cereals producing on average 2.37 kg of dry grain per cubic meter (m(-3)) of water followed by oilseeds (0.69 kg m(-3)), fibre crops (0.45 kg m(-3)) and legumes (0.42 kg m(-3)). {A}mongst cereals, maize (3.78 kg m(-3)) and sorghum (2.52 kg m(-3)) were more water-use efficient than wheat (1.02 kg m(-3)), barley (1.21 kg m(-3)) and millet (0.47 kg m(-3)). {O}verall, maize was the most water use efficient crop under well-watered conditions (9.90 kg m(-3)), but sorghum was the most efficient under dry conditions (5.99 kg m(-3)). {WUE} of crops increased from desert to tropical through sub-tropical climate. {M}oreover, {WUE} tended to correlate positively with soil organic carbon content (r = 0.86) and negatively with clay content (r=-0.78) and soil bulk density (r=-0.85). {T}hese results provide information that is important for making decisions on crop selection in a context of increased climate variability and for crop variety development with enhanced {WUE}. {H}owever, there is need for more research to gain more understanding of the mechanisms responsible for the observed trends and causes of the unexplained variability.},
  keywords = {{C}limate variability ; {C}rop water use efficiency ; {C}rop management ; {P}hotosynthetic process ; {S}oil water availability ; {MONDE}},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{A}gricultural {W}ater {M}anagement},
  volume = {228},
  numero = {},
  pages = {art. 105878 [11 p.]},
  ISSN = {0378-3774},
  year = {2020},
  DOI = {10.1016/j.agwat.2019.105878},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010078937},
}