Water relations of lysimeter-grown peach trees are sensitive to deficit irrigation

Abstract

To compare peach tree water use with soil and plant water status measurements, two trees in a large weighing lysimeter were deficit irrigated with insufficient amounts of water for 3 weeks. Transpiration decreased soon after the deficit irrigation began and evaporation from the soil became relatively more important. Due to shallow, sparse rooting, high-frequency drip irrigation and high evaporative demand, allowable depletion in the wetted soil zone of the lysimeter was only 15% to 20% of available soil water. This indicates the small margin for error in managing irrigation of trees in this situation.