Objective  In order to explore the water consumption law and water use efficiency of spring wheat under the condition of shallow drip irrigation in the irrigation area on the south bank of the Yili River, Xinjiang.

  Method  Through shallow drip irrigation (four irrigation quota water treatments:W1 = 450 mm, W2 = 360 mm, W3 = 315 mm and W4 = 270 mm) and surface drip irrigation (irrigation quota CK = 450 mm), spring wheat water consumptions were determined in each growth period, to study the impact of covering soil shallow drip irrigation on the dynamic changes of soil moisture, water consumption characteristics, crop coefficient and water use efficiency in the growth stage of spring wheat.

  Result  The results showed that the shallow (5 cm) drip irrigation of the covering soil could significantly increase the water content of the 20-40 cm soil layer, and the soil moisture change rate of the 0-40 cm soil layer during the whole growth stage of the drip irrigation. This soil layer was the main water absorption layer of the wheat root system. The 40-60 cm soil layer was the stable water absorption layer of wheat root system, and the moisture fluctuation of this soil layer was not obvious. Under the treatment of 360 mm irrigation, the water consumption of wheat covered with shallow soil and drip irrigation during the whole growth period was 482.78 mm, and the average daily water consumption was 4.88 mm d⁻¹. The water consumption showed a parabolic change trend, reaching the highest point of the parabola during the jointing to heading stage. There were significant differences in water consumption during the whole growth period of wheat among treatments. During the whole growth cycle of drip-irrigated wheat, the crop coefficient showed a change pattern of small in the early stage, large in the middle stage, and small in the later stage. The crop coefficient reached the maximum value of 1.5 in the critical water-requiring period of spring wheat from jointing to heading stage. The water use efficiency of W1, W2, W3 and W4 treatments of wheat covered with shallow burying drip irrigation were increased by 16.47%, 38.73%, 36.37% and 13.20%, respectively, compared with surface drip irrigation CK. The treatment of shallow burying drip irrigation with covered soil was significantly higher than that of surface drip irrigation. The yield, water use efficiency, and irrigation water use efficiency of the W2 treatment with a drip irrigation volume of 360 mm all reached the best.

  Conclusion  Under the experimental conditions, the irrigation quota of 360 mm for shallow buried drip irrigation with overlying soil is an ideal high-yield water-saving drip irrigation treatment.