Water Conservation and Productivity Improvement of "Le Conte" Pear Trees Utilizing a Partial Root-Zone Drying Technique Combined with Anti-Transpiration Materials and Polyethylene Mulch

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Pomology Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt.

Abstract

Irrigation water scarcity is a major issue that reduces horticultural crop output and productivity. As a result, efforts must be made to improve irrigation technologies, irrigation management techniques, and the usage of water-saving materials. As a result, the goal of this research is to justify the use of water in irrigating "Le-Conte" pear plants under desert soil 
conditions while minimizing the negative influence on production and fruit quality. The partial root drying (PRD) technique, as well as antitranspiration products and plastic mulch, are used to accomplish this aim. During the study seasons, trees were irrigated with PRD technology at levels of 75 or 50 % of the irrigation requirement (IR) without any 
additives, or with kaolin or green miracle as anti-transpiration, or by covering the soil surface with black polyethylene, as opposed to irrigation with 100 % of the IR by the traditional way. The results showed that under the drip irrigation system, water can be conservation by reducing irrigation amounts by 25% of the optimal rate using PRD technique, especially when combined with the use of mulching or the use of anti-transpiration materials, it gave superior or similar results to the results achieved with the use of full irrigating rate in the normal way without any additional treatments for studied traits such as total leaf macro nutrient content, total chlorophyll content, carbohydrates, and IAA and GA3 content which achieved the highest yield with the best fruit characteristics in terms of fruit weight and a good percentage of fruits with red cheek.

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