Effect of soil-moisture regime on plant growth, fruiting, fruit quality and nutrient uptake of mango (Mangifera indica).
Ranbir Singh, Chandel J. S., Bhandari A. R.
Author Affiliation: Dr Y S Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Solan, Himachal Pradesh 173 230, India.
Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences 68 : 135-138
Abstract : A field experiment carried out in 1990-92 studied the effect of soil-moisture regimes on plant growth, fruiting, fruit quality and mineral composition and established the irrigation water requirements for mango (Mangifera indica) trees in Himachal Pradesh, India. Plant height, shoot growth, fruit retention, fruit quality, yield and leaf nutrient status were significantly higher in trees irrigated at 20 and 40% depletion of available soil-moisture than those irrigated at 60% depletion of available soil-moisture and unirrigated control. There was an 87 and 79% increase in yield when irrigation was applied at 20 and 40% depletion of available soil-moisture, respectively compared with the unirrigated control. There was an 8.07% saving of water in the 40% irrigation treatment without any adverse effect on tree growth, yield and fruit quality. Trees required 21-23 irrigations amounting to 125.4 cm of irrigation water/year at 40% available soil-moisture depletion level.