The objective of this study is to clarify relationships of sulfur requirement to grain yield, and sulfur concentration of leading wheat cultivars (lines) in main wheat production regions in China, and to provide a strategy for ensuring reasonable sulfur fertilizer application and high yield and good quality. To study the relationships of grain yield, sulfur concentration and sulfur requirement of wheat cultivars (lines) under intensive agricultural cultivation, field experiment were conducted during 2017-2020 in the dryland wheat growing area in Northwest China (Dryland Wheat Regions), wheat-maize rotation area in North China (Wheat-Maize Regions), rice wheat rotation area in South China (Rice-Wheat regions). The grain yield of leading wheat cultivars (lines) in these regions were 4.1-6.9, 6.2-9.3, and 4.4-7.1 t hm-2, with the average of 5.9, 8.1, and 5.9 t hm-2; and the grain sulfur concentration was 1.73-2.27, 1.59-2.01, and 1.42-1.73 g kg-1, with the average of 1.98, 1.78, and 1.53 g kg-1, respectively. There were significant differences in grain sulfur concentration among different wheat cultivars (lines) under the same yield level. The sulfur requirement of leading wheat cultivars (lines) was 3.7-5.3, 3.1-4.2, and 2.1-6.1 kg Mg-1, with the average of 4.5, 3.7, and 3.7 kg Mg-1 in Dryland Wheat Regions, Wheat-Maize Regions, and Rice-Wheat regions, respectively. With the increase in yield from the very low to the very high levels, the sulfur requirement average declined by 16.3% and 23.4% in Dryland Wheat Regions and Rice-Wheat regions, respectively, while increased by 7.6% in Wheat Maize Regions. Moreover, with the increase in sulfur concentration from 1.5 g kg-1 to 1.8 g kg-1, the sulfur requirement of wheat cultivars (lines) increased by 17.2% in Dryland Wheat Regions, when the sulfur concentration was increased from 1.2 g kg-1 to 1.8 g kg-1, the sulfur requirement of wheat cultivars (lines) increased by 21.4% and 116.5% in Wheat-Maize Regions and Rice-Wheat regions, respectively. Therefore, the optimization of sulfur fertilizer application should be based on grain yield, sulfur concentration of wheat cultivars (lines), and soil sulfur supply capacities of soils in specific region.
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