Water and nutrient management effects on water use and yield of drip irrigated citrus in vertisol under a sub-humid region

Scarcity of water and nutrients in orchards are the major causes of low productivity and decline of citrus in tropics. With a hypothesis that the optimal amount of water and nutrients application through drip irrigation (DI) could save substantial irrigation and fertilizers comparative to that under traditional basin irrigation (BI) with band placement of fertilizer (BPF), this study was conducted in citrus in vertisol of central India. Three DI regimes: I1, I2 and I3 scheduled at 50% class-A pan evaporation rate (Ep), 75% Ep, and 100% Ep along with three fertilizer doses: F1, F2 and F3 at 50% recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF, N:P2O5:K2O=600 g:200 g:100 g), 75% of RDF and 100% of RDF were applied to mandarin plants respectively. BI with band placement of fertilizer (BPF) at 100% RDF was taken for comparison. All the drip-fertigation treatments (except I1F1) produced higher plant growth and fruit yield, with better quality fruits compared with BI+BPF. The highest fruit yield (16.39 t ha−1), water use efficiency (3.9 kg m−3) and fertilizer use efficiency (87.3 kg kg−1) were observed in I2F2. The concentrations of N, K and Fe in leaves were significantly higher in I2F2 compared to other treatments. The leaf photosynthesis, stomatal conductance (Gs) and transpiration were the highest in I3F3. However, leaf water use efficiency (LWUE, photosynthesis/transpiration) was the highest in I2F2. The overall results of this study demonstrated that the application of optimum quantity of water and fertilizers (I2F2) through DI could be a productive and water efficient option in citrus production in vertisol.