Growth and Reproduction
A plant growth experiment was performed in the experimental garden from
October 2017 to October 2018 in Yining City
(43°50′–44°09′N,80°04′–81°29′E), located in the Yili Valley. This
locale has an average annual temperature of 10.5°C and an average annual
precipitation of 280 mm. Three irrigation treatment gradients were
established in the experimental garden: (1) no irrigation with 280 mm of
annual precipitation; (2) 2800
m3/hm2 of irrigation during the
growth period (equivalent to 560 mm of annual precipitation supplemented
by 400 m3/hm2 of irrigation every
month from April to October 2018), and (3) 5600
m3/hm2 of irrigation during growth
period (equivalent to 840 mm of annual precipitation supplemented by 800
m3/hm2 of irrigation every month
from April to October 2018). Each water treatment was tested with three
plots, and eighteen plots were randomly arranged with 3 m × 3 m plots
for each irrigation sample area. Plastic film was buried vertically to a
depth of 40 cm in the soil around each irrigation plot to separate the
water received in each plot. Each plot was uniformly sprinkled with 900
seeds of A. artemisiifolia or A. trifida .