Effects of drip irrigation methods on the growth, yield and root distribution of apple trees on the Loess Plateau
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DOI:10.7606/j.issn.1000-7601.2020.04.08
Key Words: apple tree  drip irrigation  alternate root drip irrigation  root distribution  yield  water use efficiency
Author NameAffiliation
LIU Xing College of Water Conservancy and Architectural Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Key Laboratory of Agricultural Soil and Water Engineering in Arid and Semiarid Areas of Ministry of Education, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China 
CAO Hongxia College of Water Conservancy and Architectural Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Key Laboratory of Agricultural Soil and Water Engineering in Arid and Semiarid Areas of Ministry of Education, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China 
LIAO Yang College of Water Conservancy and Architectural Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Key Laboratory of Agricultural Soil and Water Engineering in Arid and Semiarid Areas of Ministry of Education, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China 
ZHOU Chenguang College of Water Conservancy and Architectural Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Key Laboratory of Agricultural Soil and Water Engineering in Arid and Semiarid Areas of Ministry of Education, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China 
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Abstract:
      To explore the effect of different drip irrigation methods and irrigation rates on the growth and water consumption of apples in mountainous areas on the Loess Plateau and to provide a basis for decision\|making to achieve reasonable irrigation of apple orchards in the mountainous areas of Loess Plateau and improve water use efficiency, an experiment used 8 a raw apple(Fuji)as the material and three drip irrigation methods, alternate root drip irrigation (ADI), single\|pipe drip irrigation (UDI), and double\|pipe drip irrigation (BDI). There were three irrigation rate treatments including high (W1), medium (W2), and low water (W3). The effects of different drip irrigation methods and irrigation rates on biomass and yield of apple aboveground and belowground inthe field trials were investigated. The results showed that the water consumption of apple at four growth stages in the mountain area in northern Shaanxi was in the order of fruit expansion (III)>flowering and fruiting (II)>germination and leafing (I)> fruit ripening (IV). The order of water consumption was W1>W2> W3, and the water consumption of ADI treatment was the smallest compared with other drip irrigation methods.The length, thickness and LAI of the new shoots at the middle and later stages of apple growth showed an overall trend of increasing first and then decreasing with increasing drip irrigation. The ADI-W2 had the largest apple diameter, length of the new shoots, and growth of LAI at the middle and growing stages.Apple roots were mainly distributed in the 0~80 cm soil layer, but, mainly distributed in 20~60 cm soil layer. The soil layer of 40~60 cm reached the maximum value (137.9 g·m-3and 163.7 g·m-3), and the absorption root length density reached the maximum value in the soil layer of 40~60 cm on the north and south sides (820.1 m·m-3 and 959.9 m·m-3) in 2018-2019. There was a significant correlation between the yield of apple trees and the new length,thickness, and LAI at the later growth stage, as well as the root dry weight density of the 20~60 cm soil layer on the north and south sides and the root length density (p<0.05). The yield and efficiency of ADI-W2 were the highest in both years, reaching 43970.08 kg·hm-2 and 7.12 kg·m-3 in 2019, respectively. Considering the growth of new shoots, root distribution, yield and water use efficiency of apples, it is suggested that the optimal drip irrigation mode should be ADI-W2 treatment. This study can provide theoretical and technical reference for apple water management in mountainous areas in northern Shaanxi.