PJB-2021-641
Effect of deficit irrigation on water status, metabolic characters, fruiting, yield, and quality of clementine trees under Tunisian semi-arid conditions
Mohamed Karim Aounallah, Neirouz Ben Krima, Naziha El Bey, Chahine Karmous, Taoufik Bettaieb and Ali Sahli
Abstract
Water scarcity is one of the most serious threats facing humanity, and it is primordial to adopt water-saving strategies to improve irrigation efficiency in agriculture. The current study sought to determine the impact of a partial root-zone drying technique (PRD) used during fruit growth phases II and III (50% of crop water requirement) on water status, yield, and metabolic and technological characteristics of Citrus clementine MA3 during two consecutive seasons (2016-2017 and 2017-2018) under a Mediterranean semi-arid climate. The results of this research revealed that compared to control irrigation, the partial root drying irrigation system decreased the leaf water potential (Ψl) by 35.9% and 12.9%, the leaf water content by 5.2% and 3.2%, and the chlorophyll index by 8.3% and 4.3%, but increased leaf temperature by 2.3% and 3.2%, leaf sugar content by 6.5% and 7.1%, proline content by 8.4% and 18%, and membrane permeability by 6.4% and 7.5%, respectively, in fruit growth stages II and III. The reaction of clementine trees to the application of PRD appeared clearly in the second year by reducing the fruit size by 7.1% and 7.3%, respectively, in phases II and III of fruit growth. PRD did not affect fruit number or yield in the first year but reduced them by 18% and 16% in the second year, respectively. PH was affected by the partial root drying and showed an increase of 0.9% in the second year of the experiment. Fruit weight, TSS, total sugar content, titratable acidity, and maturity index were maintained under partial root drying. Although the non-significant effect of PRD on quality attributes increased slightly, the TSS by 1.7 %, the total sugar content by 1.8 %, the maturity index by 2.5 %, and titratable acidity by 0.6 %. Despite the decrease in chlorophyll index, some water status-related characteristics, and a slight decrease in fruit size and yield, PRD was considered an effective water-saving strategy with no discernible effect on fruit technological attributes.
To Cite this article:
Aounallah, M.K., N.B. Krima, N. El Bey, C. Karmous, T. Bettaieb and A. Sahli. 2023. Effect of deficit irrigation on water status, metabolic characters, fruiting, yield, and quality of clementine trees under Tunisian semi-arid conditions. Pak. J. Bot., 55(3): DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.30848/PJB2023-3(11)
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