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  • Author or Editor: S.R. Grattan x
  • Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science x
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Effects of deficit irrigation and irrigation with saline drainage water on processing tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill, cv. UC82B) yields, fruit quality, and fruit tissue constituents were investigated in two field experiments. Deficit irrigation reduced fruit water accumulation and fresh fruit yield, but increased fruit soluble solids levels and' led to higher concentrations of hexoses, citric acid, and potassium. Irrigation with saline water had no effect on total fresh fruit yield or hexose concentration, but slightly reduced fruit water content, which contributed to increased inorganic ion concentrations. Fruit set and marketable soluble solids (marketable red fruit yield × percent soluble solids) were generally unaffected by either irrigation practice. Water deficit and salinity increased starch concentration during early fruit development, but, at maturity, concentrations were reduced to < 1%, regardless of treatment. Higher fruit acid concentrations resulted from water deficit irrigation and from irrigation with saline water relative to the control in one year out of two. These results support the contention that deficit irrigation and irrigation with saline drainage water may be feasible crop water management options for producing high quality field-grown processing tomatoes without major yield reductions. Appropriate long-term strategies are needed to deal with the potential hazards of periodic increases in soil salinity associated with use of saline drainage water for irrigation.

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Performance of `Kerman' pistachio (Pistacia vera L.) trees on three rootstocks (P. atlantica Desf., P. integerrima Stewart and `UCB-1', a P. atlantica × P. integerrima hybrid) was evaluated with 2-year-old trees grown in sand-tank lysimeters under combined SO4 2- and Cl- salinity and boron (B) stress for 6 months. Four salinity treatments were imposed by irrigating the plants with water at electrical conductivity (ECiw) of 3.5, 8.7,12, or 16 dS·m-1 each containing B at 10 mg·L-1. Growth of `Kerman' was evaluated based on increase in total leaf area, increase in trunk diameter, and total above-ground biomass production. All growth parameters decreased as salinity increased, but were not significant until ECiw exceeded 12 dS·m-1. However, growth of `Kerman' on P. atlantica and `UCB-1' was considerably better than on P. integerrima at 16 dS·m-1. The onset and severity of foliar injury differed among scions and treatments and was attributed primarily to B toxicity, rather than the effects of salinity. Concentrations of B in injured leaf tissue ranged from 1000 to 2500 mg·kg-1. Leaf injury decreased with increasing salinity, although leaf B was not significantly reduced suggesting an internal synergistic interaction between B and other mineral nutrients. However for P. vera on P. integerrima, the highest level of salinity produced the greatest injury, possibly as a combination of B plus Cl- and/or Na+ toxicity. Leaf transpiration, stomatal conductance, and chlorophyll concentration of P. vera, determined by steady-state porometry, were also reduced to a greater degree by combined salinity and B when budded on P. integerrima than on the other two rootstocks.

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