Pedosphere 14(2): 205--212, 2004
ISSN 1002-0160/CN 32-1315/P
©2004 Soil Science Society of China
Published by Elsevier B.V. and Science Press
| Tomato root response to subsurface drip irrigation |
ZHUGE Yu-Ping 1, ZHANG Xu-Dong1, ZHANG Yu-Long2, LI Jun2, YANG Li-Juan2, HUANG Yi2 and LIU Ming-Da2 |
1 Key Laboratory of Terrestrial Ecological Process, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang 110016 (China). E-mail: zgyp@tom.com
2 Land and Environmental College, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang 110161 (China) |
| ABSTRACT |
| Four depth treatments of subsurface drip irrigation pipes were designated as 1) at 20, 2) 30 and 3) 40 cm depths all with a drip-proof flumes underneath, and 4) at 30 cm without a drip-proof flume to investigate the responses of a tomato root system to different technical parameters of subsurface drip irrigation in a glass greenhouse, to evaluate tomato growth as affected by subsurface drip irrigation, and to develop an integrated subsurface drip irrigation method for optimal tomato yield and water use in a glass greenhouse. Tomato seedlings were planted above the subsurface drip irrigation pipe. Most of the tomato roots in treatment 1 were found in the top 0-20 cm soil depth with weak root activity but with yield and water use efficiency (WUE) significantly less (P = 0.05) than treatment 2; root activity and tomato yield were significantly higher (P = 0.05) with treatment 3 compared to treatment 1; and with treatment 2 the tomato roots and shoots grew harmoniously with root activity, nutrient uptake, tomato yield and WUE significantly higher (P = 0.05) or as high as the other treatments. These findings suggested that subsurface drip irrigation with pipes at 30 cm depth with a drip-proof flume placed underneath was best for tomato production in greenhouses. In addition, the irrigation interval should be about 7-8 days and the irrigation rate should be set to 225 m3 ha-1 per event. |
| Key Words: greenhouse, root system response, soil water, subsurface drip irrigation |
| Citation: Zhuge, Y. P., Zhang, X. D., Zhang, Y. L., Li, J., Yang, L. J., Huang, Y. and Liu, M. D. 2004. Tomato root response to subsurface drip irrigation. Pedosphere. 14(2): 205-212. |
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