High-low seedbed cultivation drives the efficient utilization of key production resources and the improvement of wheat productivity in the North China Plain

High-low seedbed cultivation (HLSC) is a key technique now used by smallholder and large farmers to increase the land utilization rate of wheat production in the North China Plain (NCP). However, little information is available on its superiority in crop productivity, resource utilization efficiency, and net return in comparison with flat cultivation (FC). A field experiment was conducted in the NCP in the 2020–2021 and 2021–2022 wheat seasons to determine whether HLSC would increase crop productivity, evapotranspiration (ET), intercepted photosynthetically active radiation (IPAR), crop nitrogen uptake and resource use efficiency. Two treatments were established, i.e., FC and HLSC, respectively. The results showed that HLSC significantly increased tiller development, leaf area index (LAI), and aboveground biomass compared with FC. Although HLSC did not increase ET relative to FC (P > 0.05), it increased IPAR by 5.5–6.6 % and grain nitrogen uptake by 12.1–12.6 % (P < 0.05). Pearson correlation analysis indicated that grain yield and biomass yield were regulated by the resource capture of wheat. Therefore, HLSC significantly increased grain yield by 14.5–18.3 % and net return by 45.4–59.3 % and enhanced the efficient use of resources by 13.2–15.6 % in water, 8.5–11.1 % in radiation, and 14.5–18.3 % in nitrogen compared with FC. HLSC is a promising planting system for improving crop productivity and resource use efficiency.