Soil water distribution, water use, and yield response to partial root zone drying under a shallow groundwater table condition in a pear orchard

Abstract

Partial root zone irrigation was tested for its soil water distribution, water uptake, and water use efficiency (WUE) on pear trees in a commercial orchard (Goulburn Valley, central Victoria, Australia) in 1998-1999. Irrigation was applied through in three ways: conventional flood irrigation (CFI), fixed partial root zone irrigation (FPI), and alternate partial root zone irrigation (API). CFI means that both sides of the root zone were flood-irrigated. Under FPI, flood irrigation was fixed to one side of the root zone, and the other side was kept dry. The API means that one of the two sides of the root zone was alternately flood-irrigated during consecutive watering. A total of four irrigati..