WATER MANAGEMENT AND SOIL-WATER CONSERVATION IN CITRUS

P. Panigrahi
Directorate of Water Management, Bhubaneswar-23, Odisha, I NDI A

Abstract
Water management including irrigation and drainage is one of the
prime concerns of citriculture. Various recommendations have been
emerged world over on irrigation management such as methods and
scheduling of irrigation and fertigation (application of fertilizers through
irrigation system) aspects under various agro-climatic conditions in
different citrus cultivars. Based on the research done, the micro-irrigation
systems such as drip and micro-jet have produced a significantly higher
tree growth and fruit yield with better fruit quality along with 25-50 %
water saving over conventional surface irrigation methods (flooding,
furrow and basin). As per the irrigation scheduling concerns, soil moisture
depletion based irrigation scheduling gave the superior results over
scheduling based on meteorological parameters, estimated tree evapo-
transpiration rate, and soil and leaf water potential. Fertigation through
micro-irrigation system saved around 25-40 % fertilizers with enhancing
the yield up to 30 % over band placement of fertilizers in different soil,
climate and crop conditions. The review of literature has revealed that the
best promising results in terms of fruit yield and quality is produced
under bedding type of surface drainage system in Nagpur mandarin
grown on Vertisols. Continuous trenching between the rows across the
slope is found to be the most efficient in-situ rainwater, soil and nutrient
conservation treatment, which produced superior tree growth and fruit
yield over other conservation treatments (continuous bunding, staggered
trenching) and control (without conservation measure).

Soil and water are the two vital components of agricultural production. The
conservation of these natural resources with judicious use is a pre-requisite for
sustainable productivity. The supply of water for agricultural purposes is decreasing from
time to time due to increased requirement of water for drinking purpose of enhanced
population and use in industrial growth. Moreover, the dwindling of water resources in
all most all the regions caused by faulty irrigation practices coupled with no concern
regarding rain water conservation causes the water scarcity situation more acute.
Conjunctive use of rain and irrigation water offers one of the best options for optimizing
water use in water scarce regions for better crop production.
As the third most important fruit crop in India, Citrus cultivation in different agro-
climatic situations of the country requires various improved production technologies for
better crop productivity. Out of the production technologies, irrigation management with
2
sustaining soil health is one of the prime concerns of citriculture. Moreover, the large
scale drying of the citrus orchards in different parts of the country such as central India
due to scarce water resources, frequent drought and lowered water table invites more
information regarding water management and soil conservation in citrus. Keeping this in
view, the research achievements in water management and soil conservation in India as
well as in abroad during last fifty years is reviewed.

1. Irrigation
1.1. Irrigation methods
Surface irrigation such as basin, furrow and border strip is the common method of
irrigation to the citrus in various regions of the world. With the advent of micro-
irrigation, the use of it is also gradually gaining popularity amongst the citrus growers.
Drip and micro-jet irrigation have the advantages over surface irrigation methods, being
more efficient in water application and better in productivity. Thus, the through literature
on the research achievements on micro irrigation and its comparison with surface
irrigation in citrus in different agro-pedological condition is necessary to adopt the best
irrigation method and to extend the research further in this line.
Before the 1950s, irrigation was thought to be of little or no benefit to citrus. But,
the classic studies of R.C.J. Koo in 1950 showed that the fruit yield was increased by 15-
45 % through irrigation on sandy loam soil in Florida citrus (Walter, 2003). After that
irrigation studies on different citrus cultivars in various countries were taken up. Eaton
(1970) observed that 4-yr-old lime trees irrigated with 16 gallons of water applied
through drip produced better growth, fruit yield, weed reduction along with less
evaporation and leaching of water over flood irrigation applied at the rate of 320 gallon
water in two weeks interval. Fritz (1970) observed that if water is applied directly to root
zone of the citrus plants, then 20-50 % of water could be saved based on soil and climate
type of the growing environment. Comparing drip with basin irrigation method, it was
observed that the fruits under drip system were more acidic with lower maturity ratio
over fruits with basin-irrigated trees (Raciti and Scuderi 1977). Rondey et al. (1977)
observed the better tree growth with less water use under drip irrigation in Valencia
orange grown on sandy soil. Young Valencia orange trees grown in Australia under
trickle irrigation used 5400 liters of water per tree per year over 23400 liters of water per
tree per year under dragline irrigation system (Slack et a!., 1978).
Raciti and Barbargallo (1982) observed that the fruit yield of lemon under
localized irrigation system (213.2 - 227.23 q/ha.) was superior over fruit yield under
basin irrigation (181.6-195.6 q/ha.). Comparing furrow, under tree and over tree sprinkler
and drip irrigation in lemons, Ozsan et al. (1983) observed that the amount of water
applied were greatest (1286 mm) with under tree method and least (207 mm) with drip
irrigation system. Yield was higher with over tree sprinkling followed by furrow with
higher water use efficiency under drip irrigation. Cevik and Yazar (1985) demonstrated a
new irrigation system i.e. Bubbler irrigation for the orchards and observed that under tree
sprinkling and drip irrigation had the best pomological effects. Amounts of water applied
per tree through over sprinkling, under sprinkling and drip irrigation were 22.01, 17.04
and 10.33 m
3
/season. Except the higher cost, the advantages of drip irrigation include
3
saving in labour, water and power, better orchard uniformity, immediate response to crop
need, better soil-water relationships, rooting environment and better fruit yield with better
quality over surface irrigation method (Pyle, 1985).
Drip and under tree sprinkler irrigation system produced the highest yield with the
least water requirements. The application rate for drip irrigation for 4-years-old lemon
trees was 7400 m
3
/ha annually (Tashbekov, et aI., 1986). Capra and Nicosia (1987)
concluded that the rates of water application affects the rate of growth of fruit diameter.
Increased tree growth and yield were recorded in young Valencia orange under drip
irrigation method with emitter placed at distance of 1 meter from the trunk (Azzena et aI.,
1988). Greive (1988) was of the opinion that under tree microsprinklers increased yield
by 12% and reduced water application by 9.3% compared to conventionally irrigated
method. Interligolo and Raciti (1989) demonstrated that water saving with sub-surface
irrigation was around 32% over the traditional basin irrigation method without any
significant effects on productivity parameters. Marler and Davies (1989) observed that
tree growth was not affected by pattern of irrigation, which suggested that 60 % wetting
is optimum for root system for producing better growth of young Hamlin trees. Zekri and
Parsons (1989) found that fruit size and tree canopy area were 9 to 200 % greater in the
overhead sprinkler treatments over surface irrigation system.
Kumar et al. (1994) found that the drip irrigation produced better fruit yield and
quality along with water economy in sweet oranges. Gangwar et aI. (1997) studied the
economics of investment on adoption of drip irrigation system in Nagpur mandarin
orchards in Central India and concluded that the drip irrigation system is technically
feasible and economically viable with Benefit to Cost ratio as 2.07. Shirgure et al. (2000
b) observed a good response of drip irrigation applied through dripper @ 8 liters per hour
over basin irrigation method in terms of water use and growth of acid lime. Nagpur
mandarin trees grown in central India also showed good response to drip irrgation over
basin irrigation method (Shirgure et al., 2001 a).

1.2. Irrigation scheduling and water requirement
Various methods of irrigation scheduling was tried in differ citrus cultivars to
optimize the irrigation water use for maximizing productivity. The water requirement of
citrus plants varies with cultivars, age, growing season and growing agro-pedological
condition. The preliminary studies on the effect of soil management system on soil
moisture in Sweet orange orchard in India was initiated by Randhawa et al. (1960).
Stolzy et al. (1963) found that the treatments irrigated at 20 Kpa tensiometer readings
were best as compared to calendar scheduling. Hashemi and Gerber (1968) attempted
correlation between actual evapo-transpiration and potential evapo-transpiration
computed with penmans model. Koo (1968) advised Ronda citrus growers to maintain
soil moisture at 55 to 65% of field capacity. Retiz (1968) estimated the water requirement
of citrus as 40-45 inch/year. Richards and Warnke (1968) observed that there was no
significant difference between irrigation at 60 cb and 150 cb soil moisture tension on tree
growth and fruit yield of lemon under coastal conditions. Leyden (1977) found that 610
mm irrigation at 0, 200. 300 and 400 liters/ tree using drip irrigation system gave the
significant difference in total yield and fruit size distribution. Smajstrla et al. (1984)
found that greatest yields were obtained using spray- jet trickle irrigation. Marler and
4
Davies (1990) found that more than 90% of root dry weight was within 80 cm of the
trunk at the end of first growing season and accordingly the irrigation scheduling should
be adopted.
Plessis (1985) observed the highest fruit yields (190 kg/tree) and the largest
average fruit size with irrigation at a crop factor of 0.9 on a 3-day cycle. Makhija et al.
(1986) worked out water need for 6-year-old Kinnow mandarin, which varied from 539
to 1276 mm depending upon the level of irrigation with average consumptive use of
water in 2 years as 61.5 cm. Smajstria et ai.(1986) concluded that the tree growth of
young Valencia orange was greatest when irrigations were scheduled at 20 centibar for
no-grass and 40 centibar for the grass treatments. Autkar et al. (1988) observed that the
distribution of active roots of. Nagpur mandarin as it can be useful in planning irrigation
nutrition, planting density and drainage management. The root depth and radial extent for
trees aged 1- 4 years was 7.5-8.0 cm deep and 5-12.5 cm respectively and for 10 years
old age tree it was 2-3 m and 80-90 cm. Studies on different levels of water stress on
yield and quality of lemon tree showed lower yield in most stressed plot. The number of
flower/m
3
of canopy was higher in most stressed treatment indicating a relationship
between severity of stress and flowering response (Barbera and Carimin, 1988). Mageed
et al. (1988) observed that the consumptive use varied from 66.7 cm to132.5 cm for
Kinnow mandarin.
Studies on mature Valencia orange trees showed that the water use pattern over
the entire season reached to a maximum of 87 lit/day in January. Highest net income was
obtained with tensiometer reading based irrigation scheduling (Plesiss, 1985). Plesiss
(1989) also demonstrated that 690 liters irrigation water scheduled through tensiometer
reading fell to -50kpa gave the highest net income and through this 2000 m
3
/ha irrigation
water could be saved annually over pan evaporation based scheduling (Plessis, 1988).
Autkar et al. (1989) in studied the water requirement of 1-5, 5-8 and above 8 years old
Nagpur mandarin trees over 9 months (October-June) and found that the water
requirement enhanced with age of the trees. Ghadekar et al. (1989) estimated the
consumptive use of Nagpur mandarin trees by modified Penman method. The water
requirement of young, middle age and mature trees was 651.9, 849.0 and 997.3 mm/year
respectively. Sanehez-Blanco et aI. (1989) compared irrigation scheduling through flood
irrigation treatments with daily drip irrigation at 0.475 Epan and concluded that the drip
irrigation produced higher yield over flood irrigation treatments. Castel and Buj (1990)
observed that mature Satstuma trees grafted on Sour orange rootstocks showed a good
response on yield and quality when irrigated with 60 % of the estimated ET over 80% of
estimated ET throughout the year. Evapo-transpiration ranged from 3.78 to 4.42 mm/day
and 1.46 to 1.3 mm/day under irrigation at 85 % and 65 % of field capacity, respectively
(Toledo et a/. 1982). Moreshet et a/. (1983) compared the 100 % and 40 % of soil volume
irrigation in Shamouti orange and found that the water requirement under partially
irrigated plot was 66 % of that of the fully irrigated one. Transpiration and evaporation
from the soil surface from the trees under partially irrigated plots were 72 % and 58 % of
fully irrigated plot, respectively. Fruit TSS and acid contents were higher in partially
irrigated plots.
The response of young Kinnow mandarin to irrigations scheduled at -0.05, -0.1, -
0.2, -0.4 and -0.8 MPa soil water potential 0.8 IW/ CPE ratio was taken by Ray et al.
5
(1990) and observed that the water use increased as the frequency of irrigation increased.
The highest biomass per plant was produced with irrigation scheduled at -0.05 MPa soil
water potential (SWP). The above soil water potential (0.05 M Pa), which used 182.4 cm
water/tree/annum associated with best tree growth in terms of trunk diameter, plant
height, canopy volume, leaf number and shoot growth. Ray et al. (1990) studied the
effect of irrigation on plant water status and stomatal resistance in young Kinnow
mandarin and found that the Leaf water potential (LWP) and Relative water content
(RWC) declined considerably with reduction in soil moisture in root zone due to
differential irrigation schedules. Reduction in RWC was more prominent when soil
moisture dropped below 11% LWP measurements in early morning hours and showed a
significant curvilinear relationship with soil water status. Leaf stomatal values were
lowest in September and highest in January. Irrigation scheduling based on soil moisture
depletion and USWB class-A open pan evaporation proved very good in acid lime
(Shirgure et aI.1998a) and Nagpur mandarin budded on rough lemon (Shirgure et al,
2001). Shirgure et al (2001) observed that the evapo-transpiration of Nagpur mandarin
varied from 413.6 mm to 875.6 mm under Nagpur condition based on age of the plants.
Raina et al (2004) observed higher yield and fruit size with 15 number irrigation (1350
mm) in sweet orange(citrus sinesis osbeck) cv. Pineapple under different levels of
irrigation. Verma et al. (2006) observed that irrigation at IW/CPE =1.0 is optimal for
obtaining higher plant growth and fruit yield of Kinnow in Himachal Pradesh condition.

2. Fertigation
Fertigation is a method to apply various fertilizers in liquid or water soluble forms
along with irrigation water to the plants. It has many advantages like increased fertilizer-
use efficiency through efficient and uniform fertilizer application, water and fertilizer
saving, fruit yield enhancement, and labour saving over conventional fertilizer
application method. It becomes very popular in various horticultural crops including
fruits and vegetables. A good quantum of research works has also been taken in Citrus in
India and abroad regarding fertigation scheduling. Koo (1981) appraised the potential
advantages of micro-irrigation systems and its usefulness in fertigation. Bielorai et al.
(1984) advocated the use of a fertigation technique in citrus, which resulted in higher
production and good quality Shamouti oranges. They also compared N fertigation at 100,
170 and 310 Kg/ha with broadcasting the fertilizer at the rate of 170 kg/ha through
irrigation system. The average yield for 4-years were observed to be 62, 73 and 82 Mg/ha
with 100, 170 and 310 kg N/ha through fertigation. Koo and Smjstrala (1984) observed
that partial fertigation of N and K resulted in lower N contents of leaves with higher TSS
and acid concentration in fruit juice and fruit yield remained unaffected in Valencia
orange. Haynes (1985) discussed the principles of fertilizer use for trickle-irrigated crops.
Haynes (1988) found that tree growth and fruit yields were greatest at the low rate of N
applied through irrigation or as a combination of broadcasting and fertigation.
Fouche and Bester (1987) observed that the highest fruit yield with fertigation of
NPK through a water soluble fertilizer Triosol (3 : 1 : 5) + 350 gm urea over complete
broadcasting of NPK fertilizers. No significant differences were observed in fruit size,
acidity, juice content and TSS among treatments. Ferguson et al., (1990) showed the low
to deficient leaf concentrations of N, K, Mn and Zn with both N treatments involving
6
0.66 N, 1.32 IbN/ha in 2-year-old Citrus reticulata x C. paradisi cv. Sunburst. Zekri and
Koo (1994) observed that inorganic forms (NO
3
and SO
4
) were ineffective in evaluating
micro-nutrient levels in oranges. But, chelated sources of Fe, Mo, Zn and Cu were very
effective and their rates of application were more comparable with rates especially when
applied through foliar applications.
In a lysimetric study Syvevtsen and Smith (1996) observed that canopy volume
and leaf N concentration increased with N rate application through irrigation water, but
there was no effect of N rate on fibrous root dry weight. A very little work was done on
fertigation in India. Effect of differential doses of nitrogen fertigation in comparison with
band placement of fertilizer application on leaf nutrients, plant growth and fruit quality of
acid lime during pre-bearing stage showed that the per cent increase in plant height, stock
girth and canopy volume was more with 100 % N fertigation followed by 80 % N of
recommended dose in acid lime (Shirgure et al.,1998b). The effect of N fertigation on
soil and leaf nutrient build-up and fruit quality of acid lime was noted very distinct
(Shirgure al.,1999).

3. Mulching

Mulching is one of the in situ soil moisture conservation technique in which the
ground area around the fruit tree is covered with organic/ synthetic materials. This
reduces evaporation loss of water from the root zone, in resultant reduces weed growth,
regulates the soil temperature, improves the soil structure and thereby improves the
productivity of the plants. A lot of study has been taken on mulching aspects in citrus in
India and abroad.
Singh et al. (1993) studied the response of six types of mulches (black and white
polyethylene, paddy straw, raw dust, dry mango leaves and paddy husk) to newly planted
lemon cuttings at the end of February. Cuttings survival was highest with white
polyethylene mulch (49.3%) and black polyethylene mulch and dry mango leaves
reduced cutting survival compared with no mulch. Weed density was lowest with black
and white polyethylene (63 and 56 g weeds/m
2
). Polyethylene mulch also resulted in
greatest cutting growth. Banno et al. (1996) studied that the optimum mulching material,
period and combination of mulching with other cultural practices. A white porous
waterproof sheet increased brix, but it did not raise the soil temperature any more than the
colourless vinyl film on fair days. When the film mulch was removed at late September,
the acid content of the fruit decreased. By combining mulching and fruit thinning in
September, fruit brix was high. Nakhalla and Galli (1996) conducted a field experiment
for two successive seasons of 1993-94 with drip irrigation in Washington Navel Orange
tree on a loamy sand soil. Transparent UV-absorbent perforated polyethylene mulch was
applied to the soil, covering 0, 25, 50, 75 or 100% of canopy area. Bulk density of soil of
surface layer (0-20 cm) decreased and total soil porosity increased with increasing mulch
cover. Soil salt concentration immediately before irrigation increased with decreasing
mulch cover and increasing distance from dripper. At harvest, the salt concentration was
lower than during the early stage of fruit development. Soil total N and available P and K
generally decreased with increasing soil depth. Total N and available P increased with
increasingly mulch cover. Root dry weight and N concentration were highest with 75%
mulch cover. Sodium and chloride contents at the effective root zone did not differ
7
significantly between the treatments. Differences in average fruit weight between mulch
treatments significantly increased total yield per tree compared with controls. The best
result being obtained with 50% and 75% covering rates. The highest fertilizer use
efficiency (FUE) was also obtained in these 2 treatments, followed by 100 and 25% rates.
Yield and FUE values were greater in second season of mulch use than in the first. Jiang
Ping et al.(1997) conducted an experiment in Rongjiang country, Guzhou, China, during
1992-94 in a row irrigated orchard of 13 to 15-year-old satsuma and Dahons sweet
orange trees on poncirus tirfoliata rootstocks. Each June, the orchard was covered with a
20 cm thick layer of grass. After mulching for 3 years, soil humus content was increased
by 67.9%, available N, P and K contents were increased by 66.7%, 85.6% and 107.1%,
respectively. Mulching reduced soil temperature in summer and increase in winter, the
tree growth and production was increased by 17-20%. Mulching also reduced fruit
cracking from 12.6-16.3% over control.
Mustaffa (1989) suggested the mulching of dry leaves in Coorg manadrin for
improved fruit quality. Takase and Mizuno (1997) stuided the effect of soil drying and
reflection of light caused by a white, porous, water proof sheet mulch in autumn flower
bud formation in Satsumas mandarin grown in plastic house. The film roof of the plastic
house was removed after pruning. Mulching under the tree crown and between the trees
were done to avoid percolation of rainwater into the soil. Mulching for 38 days
immediately after greening of summer shoots was effective for stimulating flowering
than mulching for 33 days later. There was little difference in light reflection and flower
bud formation between mulching with a 20 cm opening between trees to allow rainwater
to percolate into the soil and close mulching. The light environment in the lower part of
the crown was 6000-7000 lux with mulching (10 times higher than in control). Mulching
had a clear effect on flower bud formation which was greater in the lower than in the
upper part of tree crown. Peng Young and Rabe (1999) studied the effects of irrigation
methods and Tyvek mulching on fruit quality and yield and fruit size of satsuma trees in
1994/95 and 1995/96 in the western Cape region of South Africa. Fruit colour, TSS and
juice percent were not affected by any of the treatments in either seasons. However, drip
irrigation with or without Tyvek mulching decreased fruit total acidity. Mohanty et al.
(2002) and Shirgure et al (2005) evaluated different mulches viz., black polyethylene
sheet (100 ), white polyethylene sheet (100 ), soybean straw (5 tons /ha or 8 Kg
/basin), paddy straw (3 tons/ha or 11 Kg/basin) and local grasses (11 Kg/basin) both in
Nagpur mandarin and acid lime plants, respectively, at Nagpur. All mulches had
significantly higher moisture content than control (without mulching). Fruit yield of
Nagpur mandarin and acid lime plants was highest under black polyethylene sheet.
Lowest value of acidity was observed under black polyethylene sheet. The mulches do
not have any significant effect on juice content, TSS and fruit weight. Panigrahi et al.
(2006 b) also observed that around 10-12 % irrigation water was saved under black
polythene mulch with drip irrigation over only drip irrigation in young Nagpur mandarin.


4. Drainage

Like irrigation, drainage is also an important component in citrus water
management. As citrus is very sensitive to excess soil moisture in root zone of the plants,
8
so drainage of excess water in monsoon period is must in citrus orchards. An adequate
aeration is necessary to keep citrus orchards healthy and problem free and oxygen
diffusion rate should be greater then 3010
8
g/cm
2
/min and 0
2
concentration of soil air at
least 10 % down the depth of genetic root limit of the crop growth. So drainage must be
provided to fine textured soils also (Oswal, 1983). Hunzikar (1959) found that water
logging cause loss of feeder roots followed by defoliation. Ford and Smith (1960) relates
poor growth and root development with drainage. Ford (1969) attributed it to the
production of sulphides and bacterial metabolics. Very less research studies are found in
drainage studies in citrus of India and abroad.

Birlorai (1978) reported that drainage is most important in citrus growth and
production. He found that in heavy soil, problem of water logging and poor aeration are
there which cause root damage due to fungi phytophthora, iron chlorosis and low 0
2
. So
that the growth and regeneration of roots are affected. Cahoon and story (1966) found
that irrigation scheduling as well as infiltration rates affect density and rooting pattern of
citrus. Ziglar and Wolfe (1961) suggested that inadequate drainage induced early decline
of citrus trees in south India, the similar observations were made in florida citrus
orchards. Labanauskar et.al. (1966) reported that decreasing the soil O
2
level was
accompanied by decrease in plant dry weight. The dry weight of roots affected drastically
than the plant dry weight. Burnett et.al. (1982) found that poor drainage found to be main
cause for poor root volume and blight diseases in citrus of Florida. Kalbande et. el.
(1983) and Anantwar (1986) conducted a survey of orange gardens around Nagpur region
and found that well drained soils produce significantly more yield over un-drained plots.
Under black clay soil conditions the surface drainage offers maximum scope to alleviate
the drainage problem and consequently improve the productive level. Hermsmeir (1965)
found that in heavy soils having high clay percentage the tile drainage did not help much
in alleviating the drainage problem. Land forming and shallow ditch drains as surface
drainage were found beneficial. Dhruvanarayana et.al. (1977) advocated a three tier
surface drainage to tackle the alternating problem of water stagnation and drought
condition that prevails during rainy season. Gupta and Ranade (1988) observed good
feasibility of surface drainage because of vertical heterogeneity in root zone during
erratic distribution of rain, building of perched water table just below the root zone, and
cost effectiveness. Marathe et al. (2005) recommended the bedding type surface drainage
system of 6m width keeping the tree at the centre with 0.30m bed height and slopping in
both the direction produced the best response on tree growth and leaf nutrients up take in
Nagpur mandarin.

5. Rainfall runoff harvesting and soil conservation

Precipitation either in rain or snow / ice / glacier forms is the only source of water to the
earth surface. Some part of it is evaporated and percolated down ward and other is
utilised. The efficient harvesting and use of this water is utmost important for agricultural
production in this water scarce era. Along with water flow on land surfaces, the loss of
top fertile soil from the cultivated areas is a serious threat to sustainable agriculture.
Thus, checking the soil quality deterioration and to make the water scarce to water
sufficiency situation, soil and water conservation is very necessary in each and every crop
9
including citrus. Very less work is found in literature regarding soil and water
conservation in citrus.
Arora and Mohan (1985) experimented various rainwater conservation measures in
sweet orange at Dehra Dun and recommended V-type micro catchment and circular basin
with 5.5 % in ward slope for efficient rainwater conservation for better vegetative growth
of the plants. Pradhan (1986) suggested cup and saucer type of land configuration for
growing lime on Vertisols. Ghosh (2002) experimented different rain water conservation
treatments viz., pits, elliptical trench surrounding tree basin, circular trench surrounding
tree basin in sweet orange on laterite soil of West Bengal and observed that circular
trenches around the tree basin produced the maximum yield which is 20 % higher than
control. Different soil and water conservation treatments such as continuous bunding,
continuous trenching, and staggered trenching were made across the slope (3.8 %) in
between the rows and compared with control (without conservation measure) in bearing
acid lime on Vertisols at Nagpur (Panigrahi et al 2005). Panigrahi et al (2006 a) laid out
various soil and water conservation practices such as continuous bunding, continuous
trenching, staggered trenching across the slope (3.2 %) in between the rows and
compared with control (without conservation measure) in pre-bearing Nagpur mandarin
on Vertisols at Nagpur. It was observed that continuous trenching produced the best
response in enhancing the plant growth along with highest runoff (35%) and soil (32 %)
over control. The conservation of various nutrients (N,P,K, Mn, Zn, Cu, Fe) was also
highest under continuous trenching due to highest soil conservation under this treatment.
Continuous trenching was found superior in conserving runoff (32%) and soil along with
various available nutrients (28%). Moreover continuous trenchin produced 15-20 %
higher fruit yield over control. Panigrahi et al (2006 c) also experimented the rainwater
harvesting through a farm pond and recycling the same to young pre-bearing Nagpur
mandarin through drip irrigation with black polythene sheet during post monsoon stress
period successfully.

6. Future research works needed

Following future strategies are suggested to transform water management
research in citrus into a more meaningful and quality production oriented coupled with
prolonged orchard longevity :

Variable irrigation scheduling based on crop growth stages should be conducted to
reduce irrigation water use and better yield.

Plant factor (pre-dawn leaf water potential, mean canopy temperature) based
irrigation scheduling for precise irrigation scheduling for better fruit yeild and quality.

Evaluating sub-surface drip irrigation (SDI) scheduling and its comparison with
surface drip irrigation under various soil conditions.

Soil moisture sensor based automatic drip irrigation scheduling in various citrus
cultivars.

10
Comprehensive research on fertigation response in relation to soil moisture and
fertility distribution pattern.
Standardization of Micronutrients fertigation in various citrus cultivars.

Recharging of treated rainwater to ground water through wells may be explored for
citrus irrigation.

Rainwater harvesting through farm pond and recycling in citrus orchards in stress
period should be experimented in various citrus grown areas.

Artificial ground water recharging through rainwater harvesting and development of
integrated use of rain and ground water model in citrus based cropping pattern.

Runoff, soil and nutrients loss study under various conservation treatment in macro-
scale (watershed scale) and their impact evaluation in orchards


All these strategies mentioned above will definitely make efficient use of water as well as
other resources leading to enhanced productivity of citrus crops.


REFERENCES

Arora, Y.K. and Mohan, S.C. 1985. Water Harvesting and Water Management For Fruit
Crops in Waste Lands. Third National Workshop Arid zone fruit Research,
Mahatme Phule Agricultural University, Rahuri, 5-8 July 1985. Tech.Doc No. 17,
104 112.
Anantwar, S.G. (1986) Study of orange gardens soil around Karanja and Wardha district
of Maharashtra. M.Sc. thesis (unpublished) Punjabrao Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola,
M.S.
Autkar, V.N., Kolte, S.O., and Bagade,T.R. (1988). Distribution of active rooting zone in
Nagpur mandarin and estimates of WR for Vertisoles of Maharashtra. Ann. Pl.
Physiol. 2 (2) : 219 -222
Autkar,V.N., Patel,V.S., Deshpande, S.L. and Bagade.T.R. (1989). Management of Drip
irrigation in Nagpur mandarin. Ann. Pl. Physiol. 3(10) : 74
Azzena, M; Deidda, P. and Dettori. (1988). Drip and micro-sprinkler irrigation for young
Valencia orange trees. Proc. Sixth Intern. Citrus Cong., Tel Aviv, Israel, Vol.
2,pp. 747-751
Banno, M., Takeuchi, M., and Narita, A. (1996). Effect of mulching on fruit quality of
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