ISHS Acta Horticulturae 119: III International Symposium on Water supply and Irrigation in the open and under Protected Cultivation
AMOUNT OF WATER FOR DRIP IRRIGATION OF TOMATOES GROWN UNDER COVER |
| Author: | J. Catzeflis |
| Abstract:
Previous experiments with drip irrigation have led us to the spacing of one dripper per tomato plant (plant spacing; 1 m x 0.4 m) and to the timing of irrigation according to the soil moisture status, i.e. when soil suction reaches 0.2 – 0.3 bar, at 20 cm deep in the wetted bulb. But the water consumption exceeded far more the expected evapotranspiration. This experiment tried to ascertain that an amount calculated on root depth and spread of water from the dripper can be as successfull as the previous, empirical amount. In seven replicates, amounts of 2.1 per plant were checked against 6 1. Each treatment had separate pipes, so that it could be watered accordingly to the soil needs. Whilst the larger amount had to be given 32 times in 90 days, leading to a water consumption of 5.16 mm/day, the smaller amount had not to be given more than 41 times in the same period, using only 2.33 mm/day. This latter consumption was well correlated to free water evaporation outside the greenhouse (r =0.845, significant at P = 0.01). In spite of this economy of water, there were no significant differences neither in the number of fruits nor in the total yield. The smaller amount treatment gave smaller tomatoes in the first harvest period, but larger fruits in the last one (both significant). | |
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