Abstract: This paper presented results of water consumption at different growth stages of winter wheat by means of field experiment and model simulation. Meanwhile, the widely adopted irrigation water management strategies of winter wheat in the north western plain of Shandong province was discussed according to the model simulation results of soil water dynamics and crop water consumption process. Totally, water consumption of winter wheat during its growth season from 1998 to 1999 was 438mm in depth. Those consumed during the period from seedling to end of reviving, from shooting to grain filling, and from grain filling to harvest accounted for 20%, 67% and 13% of the total, respectively. Soil water dynamics simulation revealed that soil water drainage beneath 100cm was closely related to the soil water content before irrigation and water amount applied each time. The currently adopted irrigation practices should be checked on the basis of the field capacity and soil water status prior to irrigation. Otherwise, large amount of drainage will occur and lead to the low irrigation water use efficiency.

Key words: Bowen ratio, evapotranspiration, irrigation, soil water, winter wheat