Effect of irrigation regimes on water use efficiency and tomato yield (Lycopersicon esculentumMill.) grown in an arid environment

Abstract

2011) Effect of irrigation regimes on water use efficiency and tomato yield (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) grown in an arid environment, Archives of Agronomy and Soil Science, 57:1, 105-114, This study was conducted to determine the influence of irrigation regimes on yield of two tomato cultivars -TY-DANA and GS12. Experimental treatments were three irrigation intervals (2, 4, and 6 days), and three irrigation quantities (50%, 75%, and 100% of pan evaporation [Ep]). The total yield increased with increasing amount of irrigation water for both cultivars. The total yield increased about 10% and 17% for 100% of Ep treatment compared with 50% Ep treatment for TY-DANA and GS12 cultivars, respectively. The 100% Ep treatment showed the lowest irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE) (16.7 and 10.4 kg m 73 ), while 50% Ep showed the maximum IWUE (23.9 and 17 kg m 73 ) for TY-DANA and GS12 cultivars, respectively. The average fruit weight for 100% Ep treatment was usually higher than the other treatments. Generally, yield decreased using 50% Ep, however, the benefits of increasing IWUE and saving around 50% of irrigation water will help to grow crops in more areas and in managing the limited water resources in arid environments.

Effects of deficit irrigation on tomato and eggplant and their infection with the root-knot nematode under controlled environmental conditions

“…Deficit irrigation was applied successfully on field crops and fruit tree orchards (Kriedemann & Goodwin 2003;Zegbe et al 2004;Mohawesh & Al-Absi 2009;Mahadeen et al 2011). Another advantage of deficit irrigation is that it can be utilized to reduce the level of plant pests and diseases infection especially those that are affected by irrigation and soil moisture content (Shin 2005).…”

“…In many regions, renewable sources have already been exceeded, resulting in falling groundwater levels (Lant 2003). The exhaustion of water resources, due to unwise irrigation or irrigation overuse, could reach a crisis magnitude (Gleik 2000;Mahadeen et al 2011). Therefore, for sustainable irrigation uses, it has become an urgent issue to improve crop water use efficiency (WUE) through proper irrigation design and management.…”

“…Deficit irrigation has been widely investigated as a valuable strategy for dry regions (Mohawesh & Al-Absi 2009;Mahadeen et al 2011) where water is the limiting factor in crop cultivation. Deficit irrigation was applied successfully on field crops and fruit tree orchards (Kriedemann & Goodwin 2003;Zegbe et al 2004;Mohawesh & Al-Absi 2009;Mahadeen et al 2011).…”

“…To sustain the rapidly growing world population, agricultural production should be increased (Howell 2001), so far the share of fresh water available for agriculture (72%) is decreasing (Cai & Rosegrant 2003;Mohawesh 2011;Mohawesh et al 2013). Consequently, sustainable methods to increase crop-water productivity are gaining higher value in arid and semi-arid regions (Debaeke & Aboudrare 2004;Mahadeen et al 2011).…”

Root-Knot Nematode (Meloidogyne javanica) – Deficit Irrigation Interactions on Eggplant Cropped under Open Field Conditions

“…Deficit irrigation has been widely investigated as a valuable and sustainable production strategy in dry regions (Geerts & Raes 2009). Although deficit irrigation has been effectively used in fruit tree orchards (Zegbe et al 2004;Shin 2005;Kriedemann & Goodwin 2009;Mahadeen et al 2011), there is potential for improving water productivity in many field crops, and there is sufficient information available for devising the best deficit irrigation strategy in many situations (Fereres & Soriano 2007). Also, deficit irrigation could have the ability to control soil moisture-sensitive plant pests and diseases (Shin 2005;Mohwesh & Karajeh 2013).…”