Yield and Root Growth Responses of Papaya to Partial Root Volume Irrigation by Drip or Microsprinkler Irrigation Systems

Abstract

`Tainung 2' papaya seedlings were transplanted on 30 Jan. 1996 and irrigated with one, two, or three drip irrigation lines per row in one study and with 90°, 180°, or 360° microsprinkler spray patterns in a second study to determine the reproductive and vegetative growth responses to irrigation design. Variable irrigation duration was used to supply a homogeneous amount of water to each plant in the drip irrigation study. The trench profile method was used in the drip irrigation study, and a monolith method was used in the microsprinkler study to determine root distribution at the end of the dry season (30 May to 2 June). All fruits were harvested and weighed on 26 Aug. Roots proliferated underneath the drip lines during the dry season, and root concentration on the profile walls was inversely related to the number of drip lines. Root concentration underneath one drip line was 3.7 times greater, underneath two drip lines was 2.3 times greater, and underneath three drip lines was 1.9 times greater than root concentration in the non-irrigated zones. Roots also proliferated in the wetted zones of the microsprinkler spray patterns. Mean fruit weight and total harvested fruit weight did not differ among the irrigation treatments within each study. The results indicate that papaya roots are highly morphoplastic and proliferate in wetted zones under partial root volume irrigation. One drip line per row supplied ample irrigation coverage under the conditions of this study.