Evaluating the Effect of Three Water Management Techniques on Tomato Crop

PLoS One. 2015 Jun 9;10(6):e0129796. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0129796. eCollection 2015.

Abstract

The effects of three water management techniques were evaluated on subsurface drip irrigated tomatoes. The three techniques were the intermittent flow (3 pulses), the dual-lateral drip system (two lateral lines per row, at 15 and 25 cm below soil surface), and the physical barrier (buried at 30 cm below soil surface). Field experiments were established for two successive seasons. Water movement in soil was monitored using continuously logging capacitance probes up to 60 cm depth. The results showed that the dual lateral technique positively increased the yield up to 50%, water use efficiency up to 54%, while the intermittent application improved some of the quality measures (fruit size, TSS, and Vitamin C), not the quantity of the yield that decreased in one season, and not affected in the other. The physical barrier has no significant effect on any of the important growth measures. The soil water patterns showed that the dual lateral method lead to uniform wetting pattern with depth up to 45 cm, the physical barrier appeared to increase lateral and upward water movement, while the intermittent application kept the wetting pattern at higher moisture level for longer time. The cost analysis showed also that the economic treatments were the dual lateral followed by the intermittent technique, while the physical barrier is not economical. The study recommends researching the effect of the dual lateral method on the root growth and performance. The intermittent application may be recommended to improve tomato quality but not quantity. The physical barrier is not recommended unless in high permeable soils.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Agricultural Irrigation* / economics
  • Climate
  • Costs and Cost Analysis
  • Crops, Agricultural / economics
  • Crops, Agricultural / growth & development*
  • Seasons
  • Soil
  • Solanum lycopersicum / economics
  • Solanum lycopersicum / growth & development*
  • Water*

Substances

  • Soil
  • Water

Grants and funding

The study was funded by the National plan of science and technology (http://npst.ksu.edu.sa/en) in the King Saud University along with King Abdulaziz City for science and Technology (kacst.edu.sa). This fund is for the two year project #10-WAT985-02. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.