Effect of partial rootzone drying on growth and yield of mango plants

Abstract

The partial rootzone drying (PRD) is a promising method of irrigation in which wetting of one half of the root zone is done leaving the other half dry, thereby utilizing reduced amount of irrigation water. The wetted and dry sides are interchanged in the subsequent irrigations. In the current study, PRD irrigation technique was evaluated for its effect on vegetative growth, fruit yield, quality and water use efficiency (WUE) in drip irrigated bearing mango plants in a subtropical Indian condition. The experiment was conducted at Research Farm of ICAR-Indian Institute of Water Management, Bhubaneswar in eastern India during the period 2011-2014. The irrigation treatments imposed in mango plants were full irrigation (at 100% ET ), PRD at 80% ET , PRD at 60% ET , PRD at 40% c c c ET and control (rainfed). The increase in vegetative growth parameters (plant c height, 0.35-0.49 m; collar diameter, 15-21.4 mm and canopy volume, 9.81-9.82 m3) were higher in full irrigation treatments, followed by 80% PRD; whereas, the highest fruit yield (9.6 t ha-1) was observed in 80% PRD treatment followed by full irrigation (9.3 t ha-1). However, the fruit yield in 60% PRD treatment (9.0 t ha-1) was statistically at par with both full irrigation and 80% PRD treatments. The fruit quality was best under 60% PRD treatment (TSS, 21.7 0Brix; acidity, 0.42%). Highest WUE was observed in 60% PRD treatment which is 85% improvement over full irrigation treatment. Overall, the study suggests for adoption of PRD at 60% ET in drip-irrigated mango orchards of eastern India.