Water scarcity, especially in countries like Egypt, is one of the biggest challenges facing agricultural development. Pomegranate (Punica granatum) is drought-resistant but only if the irrigation can be optimized. This can be a crucial approach toward the country’s agricultural development. The impact of deficit irrigation on pomegranate growth, yield, and overall fruit quality was observed during this study, which focused on two consecutive years from 2023 to 2024 at a private farm located in El Khatatba, Egypt. It was determined that deficit irrigation of pomegranate was able to achieve a high level of water productivity whilst also achieving a reasonable yield. Trees receiving moderate deficit irrigation had a yield decrease of 10% in comparison to full irrigation; however, this yield decrease did not have a huge overall impact because the level of water saved during the process made up for the reduced yield. Moreover, fruit soluble solids content (SSC) was high when trees received moderate deficit irrigation. Trees that were given severe deficit irrigation had the lowest fruit yields with less juice content, which limits targeted uses like the juice market. Still, these trees produced the highest SSC indicating that sugar becomes concentrated in the fruit when plants are water-stressed. In general, the most efficient treatment was moderate deficit irrigation as it balanced the yield and quality parameters with less water. The resulting data provide assurance that moderate deficit irrigation can be effectively and suitably implemented for pomegranate production in arid regions where water conservation and market quality standards must be satisfied in order to be economically viable. There is also a need to examine the longer-term effects of DI on economic sustainability, plant physiology, and soil biomes.
Read full abstract