Abstract:  The insufficiency of water is the important factor that limits the growth and yield of winter wheat in middle Sichuan Province hilly area. In this paper, we analyzed the yield and water use efficiency of winter wheat in different water-saving cultivation conditions by studying water consumption, potential evapotranspiration,and crop coefficient. The results indicated as follows: In the whole growth period of winter wheat the water consumption of regular irrigation with 75% field water capacity to be ensured was the highest which reached 421 mm ,while the water consumption of dependent on rainfall was the lowest which was only 348 mm . The average day-to-day potential evapotranspiration in growth period of winter wheat ranged from 0.93mm/d to 3.81mm/d,which presented stability in earlier stage and increased in mid-and late-period. Furthermore, in the whole growth period of winter wheat the K_c values in different treatments ranged from 0.23 to 1.92, which presented a parabola character. The K_c value reached the highest value in jointing stage while it did the lowest value in maturity stage. Besides,the average K_c value in straw mulch plus regular irrigation cultivation treatment was the highest while it was the lowest in contrast treatment. The yield of winter wheat was the highest in straw mulch plus regular irrigation cultivation treatment which reached 6 222.53 kg/hm², while the yield was the lowest in contrast treatment which was only 3 852.00 kg /hm² . The water productivity and irrigation productivity of winter wheat was the highest in straw mulch plus water saving irrigation cultivation treatment which reached 55 kg/m³ and 3.62kg/m³.

Key words:  middle Sichuan Province hilly area   , water-saving cultivation  ,  , winter wheat  ,  water productivity