Water saved by wheat-maize relay planting with straw covering

Relay planting is planting seeds of a new crop among the plants of a mature crop so they will have a head start when the mature crop is done. As a consequence more crops per year can be brought to maturity in the same planting space. In northwestern China maize is planted about 40 days after wheat seeding, and this relay planting is popular for high yields. Yin et al. show that relay planting with reduced tillage and stubble mulching increases water use efficiency up to 46%.