The Influence of Supplemental Irrigation on Soil Water, Fig Yield and Fig Growers’ Income under Drought Conditions in Rainfed Fig Orchards

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Ph.D. Student of Water Engineering Department, School of Agriculture, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran

2 Professor, Water Engineering Department, School of Agriculture, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran

3 Associate Professor, Water Engineering Department, School of Agriculture, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran

Abstract

Introduction
Iran is the fourth world producer of figs with an average of 75,833 tons  from 1993 to 2013 (FAO, 2016). Estahban area provides about 90% of dried fig in Iran (Jafari, Abdolahipour-Haghighi and Zare, 2012). The rainfed fig orchards in this area have been extremely affected by severe drought in recent years, leading to 10% to 80% reduction in fig trees and fruit in 2010, respectively (Jafari, Abdolahipour-Haghighi and Zare, 2012). For this reason, the tendency to apply supplemental irrigation in Estahban fig orchards has increased in previous years. However, the lack of information about the amount, timing, and application position of supplemental irrigation to achieve efficient use of water in this area makes it difficult to deal with this issue in the study area. The main objective of this study was, thus, to investigate the effect of different amounts and times of supplemental irrigation at different distances from tree trunk on soil water variation, quantity of fruits, and fig growers’ income under drought conditions.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

1-    Abdel Razik, M.S. and El-Darier, S., 1991. Functional adaptations of fig trees (Ficus carica, L.) In agroecosystems of the western Mediterranean desert of Egypt. Qatar University Science Journal, 11, pp.183-199.
 
2-    Abdolahipour, M. and Kamgar-Haghighi, A.A., 2015. Sustainable use of groundwater for supplemental irrigation of rainfed fig trees of Estahban, Shiraz, Iran. Technical Rep. Shiraz University. (In Persian).
 
3-    Aksoy, U., Can, H.Z., Hepaksoy, S. and Sahin, N., 2001. Fig cultivation. TARP Turkey Agricultural Research Project Press, İzmir, Turkey.
 
4-    Bagheri, E. and Sepaskhah, A.R., 2014. Rain-fed fig yield as affected by rainfall distribution. Theoretical and Applied Climatology, 117(3-4), pp.433-439.
 
5-    Bremen, H. and Kessler, J.J., 2012. Woody plants in agro-ecosystems of semi-arid regions with emphasis on the Sahelian countries. Springer Science & Business Media.
 
6-    Condit, I., 1941. Fig characteristics useful in the identification of varieties. California Agriculture, 14(1), pp.1-69.
 
7-    Demirevska, K., Zasheva, D., Dimitrov, R., Simova-Stoilova, L., Stamenova, M. and Feller, U., 2009. Drought stress effects on Rubisco in wheat: changes in the Rubisco large subunit. Acta Physiologiae Plantarum, 31(6), p.1129.
 
8-    Domínguez, A.F., 1990. La higuera frutal mediterráneo para climas cálidos (No. 634.37 F5).
 
9-    Faghih, H. and Sabet Sarvestani, J.S., 2001. Fig: planting, cultivation and harvesting. Rahgosha press (In Persian).
 
10- Falkenmark, M. and Rockström, J., 2004. Balancing water for humans and nature: the new approach in ecohydrology. Earthscan.
 
11- FAOSTAT, F., Available online: http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data (accessed on 17 June 2016).
 
12- Flaishman, M.A., Rodov, V. and Stover, E., 2007. The Fig: Botany, Horticulture, and Breeding. Horticultural Reviews, 34, pp.113-196.
 
13- Gholami, M., Rahemi, M. and Rastegar, S., 2012. Use of rapid screening methods for detecting drought tolerant cultivars of fig (Ficus carica L.). Scientia Horticulturae, 143, pp.7-14.
 
14- Hallaç Türk, F. and Aksoy, U., 2011. Comparison of organic, biodynamic and conventional fig farms under rain-fed conditions in Turkey. Journal of Cell and Plant Sciences, 2(3), pp.22-33.
 
15- Honar, T. and Sepaskhah, A.R., 2015. Effect of Using Potassium on Increasing Resistance of Fig Trees to Drought, Shiraz, Iran.  Technical Rep. National Drought Research Institute. (In Persian).
 
16- Inglese, P., Basile, F. and Schirra, M., 2002. Cactus pear fruit production. In Cacti: biology and uses. University of California press.
 
17- İrget, M.E., Aksoy, U., Okur, B., Ongun, A.R. and Tepecik, M., 2008. Effect of calcium based fertilization on dried fig (Ficus carica L. cv. Sarılop) yield and quality. Scientia Horticulturae, 118(4), pp.308-313.
 
18- Jafari, M., Haghighi, J.A.P. and Zare, H., 2012. Mulching impact on plant growth and production of rainfed fig orchards under drought conditions. Journal of Food, Agriculture & Environment, 10(1), pp.428-433.
 
19- Kamgar-Haghighi, A.A. and Sepaskhah, A.R., 2015. Effects of Different Levels of Supplementary Irrigation and Pruning Times on Rainfed Fig Trees in Wet and Dry Years, Shiraz, Iran.  Technical Rep. National Drought Research Institute.(In Persian).
 
20- Keleg, F.M., El Gazzar, A.M. and Zahran, M.A., 1981. Studies on root distribution of Jordan almond and Sultani fig trees grown in a deep soil [Egypt]. Alexandria Journal of Agricultural Research, 29, pp.219-224.
 
21- Oweis, T., 1997. Supplemental irrigation: A highly efficient water-use practice. ICARDA.
 
22- Rostami, A.A. and Rahemi, M., 2013. Screening drought tolerance in caprifig varieties in accordance to responses of antioxidant enzymes. World Applied Sciences Journal, 21(8), pp.1213-1219.
 
23- Sepaskhah, A.R. and Fooladmand, H.R., 2004. A computer model for design of microcatchment water harvesting systems for rain-fed vineyard. Agricultural Water Management, 64(3), pp.213-232.
 
24- Stover, E., Aradhya, M., Ferguson, L. and Crisosto, C.H., 2007. The fig: overview of an ancient fruit. HortScience, 42(5), pp.1083-1087.
 
25- Tehrani, M.M., Kamgar-Haghighi, A.A., Razzaghi, F., Sepaskhah, A.R., Zand-Parsa, S. and Eshghi, S., 2016. Physiological and yield responses of rainfed grapevine under different supplemental irrigation regimes in Fars province, Iran. Scientia Horticulturae, 202, pp.133-141.
 
26- Traub, H.P. and Stansel, R.H., 1930. The lateral root spread of the fig tree. Proceedings of the American Society for Horticultural Science, 27, pp.109-113.
Irrigation Sciences and Engineering
Volume 42, Issue 4
December 2019
Pages 61-74

Files

History

  • Receive Date: 11 October 2017
  • Revise Date: 13 January 2018
  • Accept Date: 16 January 2018
  • Publish Date: 22 December 2019

Share

How to cite

Statistics