Effect of Preharvest Deficit Irrigation on Second Crop Watermelon Grown in an Extremely Hot Climate
Publication: Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 135, Issue 2
Abstract
As a second crop, watermelons (Citrullus vulgaris, Crimson sweet) were grown in 2003 and 2004 in the Sanliurfa-Harran Plain in southeastern Turkey to determine the effect of preharvest water stress on fruit yield, quality (i.e., soluble solids contents and fruit size), leaf temperature, and some other physiological parameters. Preharvest drip irrigation treatments included (1) complete irrigation cutoff, dry (D); (2) full irrigation based on replenishment of soil water depleted from 0 to soil profile (C); (3) 75% full irrigation (IR1); (4) 50% full irrigation (IR2); and (5) 25% full irrigation (IR3) with 3-day irrigation interval. Treatment plots received the same level of irrigation water until the fruit formation stage, except for Treatment D. Then, different water stress levels were imposed on treatment plots. Irrigation water applied to the five respective treatments were 636, 511, 395, 245, and in 2003 and 648, 516, 403, 252, and in 2004. Results indicated that fruit yield was significantly lowered by reduced water rates. The seasonal average yield response factor for both years was 1.0, but it was 0.97 for 2003 and 0.98 for 2004. The highest marketable fruit yield, obtained from treatment C, was in 2003 and in 2004. D, IR2, and IR3 treatments reduced most measured parameters, except for soluble solids contents (SSC). Both the fruit size and SSC were significantly affected by late-season irrigation management; individual fruit weights were significantly reduced, whereas SSC increased in the IR2 and IR3 treatments compared to the control values. The writers’ results clearly indicated that reduced preharvest irrigation was detrimental. Water use efficiency (WUE) was significantly affected by irrigation treatments. Even a 25% reduction in the irrigation amount caused a 15% reduction in marketable yield. This indicates that deficit irrigation in the ripening stage significantly increased water use efficiency. The study demonstrated that a moderate deficit irrigation, which is replenishment up to 50% of soil water depleted in the root zone, can be successfully used to improve WUE under semiarid climatic conditions.
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Acknowledgments
The writers appreciate the contributions of Dr. Peter Reiss and Dr. Abdulbaki Bilgic for editing the manuscript.
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Published In
Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 135 • Issue 2 • April 2009
Pages: 141 - 148
Copyright
© 2009 ASCE.
History
Received: Mar 24, 2008
Accepted: Sep 4, 2008
Published online: Apr 1, 2009
Published in print: Apr 2009
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