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Trickle Irrigation and Fertilization of Tomatoes in Sand Dunes: Water, N, and P Distributions in the Soil and Uptake by Plants 1
Author(s) -
BarYosef B.
Publication year - 1977
Publication title -
agronomy journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.752
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1435-0645
pISSN - 0002-1962
DOI - 10.2134/agronj1977.00021962006900030038x
Subject(s) - drip irrigation , irrigation , soil water , agronomy , nutrient , water content , environmental science , human fertilization , dry matter , moisture , field experiment , volume (thermodynamics) , chemistry , biology , soil science , geotechnical engineering , organic chemistry , engineering , physics , quantum mechanics
Trickle irrigation has a special advantage in sandy soils where the accurate control of water and ions in the plant's root volume is critical. The purpose of the present work was to investigate the simultaneous migration of water and nutrients from a drip source in the field, to study the plant's response to various moisture and concentration distributions in the soil and to define optimal conditions for maximum yields. Tomato plants ( Lycopersicum esculentum Mill.) grown in a field of fine sand received various daily rates of water, N, and P applied through a trickle irrigation system. Highest fruit yield (about 110 tons/ha) was obtained, when the daily average water content in the soil root volume was about 5% (w/w), the N concentration in the soil solution 140 ± 40 ppm N, and the N uptake rate about 100 mg N plant −1 day −1 . The estimated daily water consumption by the plants varied between 0.4 and 1.0 liter plant −1 day −1 , depending on the plants leaf area and climatic conditions. The estimated water quantity used to produce 1 g dry matter was similar in all the treatments — about 250 ± 40 g H 2 O/g d.m.