Water-saving technologies for vegetables in the south of Russia

Abstract

The article presents the results of studies, showing that to obtain the planned yield of table beets and carrots with drip irrigation 60-80 t/ha on the light brown soils in the south of Russia, water-saving technologies were applied. These technologies, combining the application of the developed irrigation regimes simultaneously with the introduction of calculated doses of mineral fertilizers, allow significantly reduce the total water consumption (Water Total Consumption Coefficient -WTCC) and Irrigation Water Expense (IWE) to produce 1 ton of harvest. It was established that maintaining a constant Soil Pre-Irrigation Moisture (SPIM) 80% of Full Moisture Capacity (FMC) and an increase of the mineral fertilizer doses to N210P100K260 allowed to obtain the highest yield of carrot in our field experience 81.6 t/ha. It happened simultaneously with the reduction of water total consumption coefficients to a minimum of 7.22 and the irrigation water expenses to 5.52 mm/ton. In variants with a differentiated wetting depth of 0.3-0.5 m the maintaining an optimal irrigation regime of 80% of FMC and increasing fertilizer doses to N230P180K100, the yield of table beet increased to 84.1 t/ha. It caused the maximum reduction of WTCC to 5.98 and IWE – to 4.51 mm/ton.