Plant water relations, yield, and water use of papaya (Carica papaya L.) at different evaporation-replenishment rates under drip irrigation

Authors

  • K. Srinivas Water Management Laboratory, Division of Fruit Crops Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR), Hessaraghatta Lake P.O., Bangalore - 560 089, India

Keywords:

Drip irrigation, Papaya, Water use, Subsurface irrigation, Surface irrigation

Abstract

Papaya (Carico papaya L.) water relations, growth, yield, and water use under drip irrigation at different evaporation-replenishment rates (20, 40, 60, 80, 100, and 120% of United States Weather Bureau Class A Pan evaporation) with subsurface drip (at 250 mm depth in the soil) and surface drip irrigation were investigated at Bangalore, India. Increasing the evaporation-replenishment rates from 20 to 120% increased the relative water content (13.2%), transpiration rate (18.8%), plant height (21.9%), stem girth (12.5%), fruit number (88.3%), and yield of papaya (34.6%). Fruit yield differences above 60% evaporation-replenishment rates were not significant. The water use from 0 to 36 months after planting increased with an increase in evaporation-replenishment rates. It was 1651 mm and 4208 mm at the 20% and 120% replenishment rates. Water-use efficiency (WUE) over this period decreased from 58.6 to 30.9 kg ha·1 mm·1 at the 20% and 120% replenishment rates, respectively. Subsurface drip irrigation recorded significantly higher fruit yield (121.4 compared to 110.6 t ha·1) and WUE (40.6 compared to 37 .2 kg ha·1 mm·1) than surface drip irrigation.

How to Cite

Srinivas, K. (1996). Plant water relations, yield, and water use of papaya (Carica papaya L.) at different evaporation-replenishment rates under drip irrigation. Tropical Agriculture, 73(4). Retrieved from https://journals.sta.uwi.edu/ojs/index.php/ta/article/view/2587

Issue

Section

Research Papers