WATER-SAVING EXPERIENCE DURING IRRIGATION OF VEGETABLE CROPS OF OPEN GROUND

Abstract

Purpose: on the basis of study and analysis of scientific sources to summarize the experience of water saving and to determine the features of modern irrigation regimes for vegetable crops in open ground. Discussion. Tomatoes and cucumbers are popular vegetable crops. The main areas of their cultivation in the country are the Southern and North Caucasian Federal Districts, where it is impossible to obtain yields without irrigation. The requirements of vegetable crops for moisture increase significantly during the periods of flowering, fruit setting and formation. Its deficiency during these periods leads to a decrease in productivity and a shortage of output. At present, both intensive irrigation with full irrigation rates and differential irrigation are practiced where irrigation is carried out with reduced irrigation rates and the inter-irrigation periods and the number of watering are changed. An analysis of the results of studies on tomato and cucumber cultivation on irrigated lands made it possible to determine that as a rule, under full irrigation, pre-irrigation soil moisture sill for these crops are maintained at least 80 % of the minimum moisture capacity. With differentiated regimes, water saving is achieved by reducing the amount of irrigation water used. In this case, the differentiation criteria are the pre-irrigation soil moisture sill, the phases of crop growth and development, the depth of the calculated soil layer, the magnitude of irrigation rates, and the total evapotranspiration. The disadvantage of differentiated irrigation regimes is the lack of production, which can reach 14 % compared to the intensive irrigation regimes. Conclusions. An analysis of the water-saving experience during irrigating vegetable crops in open ground confirmed the effectiveness of differentiated irrigation regimes. Under such regimes, the yield decrease is not so significant, however, the most efficient use of irrigation water and higher product quality are noted. The combination of the optimal soil water regime and fertilization system contributes to the increase in the efficiency of production process of vegetable crops.

Keywords

• tomatoes
• cucumbers
• vegetables
• water saving
• irrigation
• irrigation technology
• irrigation method
• water saving irrigation regime