Table 1 Agro-climatic description of the location where wheat genotypes NDVI were evaluated for limited water conditions in North China during 2017–2018 and 2018–2019. Modified from (Kamphuis et al. 2004)

Irrigation water source

More than 20 rivers run across Shunyi, all belonging to the North Canal, Chaobai River and Ji Canal water systems. The total length of the rivers equals 232 km, and the total flow rate reaches 170 Million Cubic Metres

Water resources status

The usable surface water in normal years is 43 Million Cubic Metres, and the underground that can be exploited is 400 Million Cubic Metres. Of this, 200 Million Cubic Metres of drinking water is supplied to Beijing. However the last few years` of rainfall have been far below average and the rivers have (almost) dried up

Temperature (Min/Max)

The mean temperature in the NCP region was 15.2 °C,with the lowest and highest temperatures in January and July at − 19.1 °Cand 40.5 °C respectively, However, in Shunyi the average annual temperature was 11.5 °C, with January recording the lowest at 4.9 °C, and July the highest at 25.7 °C

Rainfall

Sub-tropical and sub-humid monsoon climates, with the most rainfall duration from July to September of each year. The frost-free period lasts around 195 days

Sunshine/Humidity

Annual sunshine duration is 2750 h, and average annual relative humidity is about 50%

Mean rainfall (mm)

The overall annual mean precipitation in the NCP is 1230 mm, whereby less than 40% occurs in the winter wheat-growing season. However in Shunyi the average annual precipitation was about 625 mm, of which 75% falls in summer. Thus only about 25% occurs in the winter wheat-growing season

Latitude

40° 00′–40° 18′ N

Longitude

116° 28′–116° 58′ E

Altitude (m.a.s.l)

45 m

Vegetation

Fertile soil, ranging from Sandy to Loamy soils