Abstract
The effects of three water management techniques were evaluated on subsurface drip irrigated tomatoes. The three techniques were the intermittent flow (3 pulses), the dual-lateral drip system (two lateral lines per row, at 15 and 25cm below soil surface), and the physical barrier (buried at 30 cm below soil surface). Field experiments were established for two successive seasons. Water movement in soil was monitored using continuously logging capacitance probes up to 60 cm depth. The results showed that the dual lateral technique positively increased the yield up to 50%, water use efficiency up to 54%, while the intermittent application improved some of the quality measures (fruit size, TSS, and Vitamin C), not the quantity of the yield that decreased in one season, and not affected in the other. The physical barrier has no significant effect on any of the important growth measures. The soil water patterns showed that the dual lateral method lead to uniform wetting pattern with depth up to 45 cm, the physical barrier appeared to increase lateral and upward water movement, while the intermittent application kept the wetting pattern at higher moisture level for longer time. The cost analysis showed also that the economic treatments were the dual lateral followed by the intermittent technique, while the physical barrier is not economical. The study recommends researching the effect of the dual lateral method on the root growth and performance. The intermittent application may be recommended to improve tomato quality but not quantity. The physical barrier is not recommended unless in high permeable soils.
Highlights
While the presence of water in the root zone is vital for plants, the soil wetting pattern (WP) has a significant effect on the crop growth [1]
The major shift in crop yield was caused by the dual lateral technique, where it appears to enhance the wetting pattern; this hypothesis, requires more research
The dual lateral technique is recommended for its good yield results especially that it is the most economical treatment above all others despite the increase of its fixed costs
Summary
While the presence of water in the root zone is vital for plants, the soil wetting pattern (WP) has a significant effect on the crop growth [1]. To conserve water within the root zone, some researchers suggested placing an impermeable barrier (made of polyethylene or foil) below the dripper lines to limit the downward movement of water [8,9,10]. The application of such technique in soils with high infiltration rates increased. The installation of such physical barrier is tiring and costly, it may causes root rot or shallow root diseases, in addition to the potential hazards of salts accumulation and other chemical toxicity problems [13]
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