Yields and Water‐Use Efficiencies of Dryland Winter Wheat and Grain Sorghum Production Systems in the Southern High Plains

Grain yields and water‐use efficiencies were compared for conservation bench terraces, bench terraces, and common systems of dryland production of winter wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) and grain sorghum ( Sorghum bicolor [L.] Moench). Grain production and water‐use efficiency were highest on a bench terrace cropped in continuous grain sorghum. Conservation bench terraces and continuous grain sorghum grown on sloping land also had higher water‐use efficiences and grain production than the common dryland systems of wheat‐sorghum‐fallow on graded terraces and continuous wheat or wheat‐fallow on sloping land. The management factors greatly influencing water‐use efficiencies were crop selection and land leveling to conserve potential runoff.