The response of apricot to water deficit in semi-arid environment of Dobrogea

摘要

The aim of the present work was to evaluate the impact of irrigation with water deficit applied to the apricot plants. Irrigation is a major activity in arid and semi-arid regions for many crops, including orchards, and is the most intensively practiced operation throughout the growing season. In the context of global warming, water saving is a major objective. Therefore, deficit irrigation is an alternative. The crop studied was apricot, 'Orizont' cultivar, 13 years old, grafted on the 'Constanta 14' rootstock. The planting distance was 4 m between the rows and 5 m between trees in the row. Soil management system was represented by clean cultivation both between tree rows and in the row. The split-plot experiment described here is mono-factorial with irrigation strategy having three graduations. The irrigation regime consists of a fully irrigated treatment (Tl, non-stressed) according to the irrigation needs (100% of ETc = ETo x Kc, Penman-Monteith method), a deficit irrigation treatment (T2) irrigated With half the amount of water in Tl (50% of ETc), and a control, non-irrigated treatment (T3). These plots comprised three adjacent fruit tree rows, with the central row containing three trees for measurements and observations. Soil water matric potential was measured with resistance blocks installed at four depths: 20,40,60 and 80 cm at a 1.50 m distance from the tree trunk, with two replicates for each tree. The paper describes fruit quality in semi-arid region of the Dobrogea, Romania. The study suggests that a moderate water stress can be profitable for enhancing key fruit quality characteristics (firmness, soluble solids concentration).