Influence of drip irrigation on peach tree growth in the chernozem of Dobrogea, Romania

In arid and semi-arid regions, irrigation should increase water use efficiency and decrease the impact on the environment, specifically in the context of global change. The split-plot experiment described here is bi-factorial: 1) with irrigation strategy having three graduations, and 2) two peach cultivars, namely ‘Southland’ and ‘Cardinal’, three years old. The irrigation regime consists of a fully irrigated treatment (T1, non-stressed) according to the irrigation needs (100% of ETc = ETo×Kc; Penman-Monteith method), a deficit irrigation treatment (T2) irrigated with half the amount of water in T1 (50% of ETc), and a control, non-irrigated treatment (T3). These plots comprised three adjacent fruit tree rows, with the central row containing five trees for measurements and observations. Soil water potential was measured with Watermark resistance blocks installed at four depths: 20, 40, 60 and 80 cm at a 1-m distance from the tree trunk, with two replicates for each tree. The paper describes peach growth in a chernozem of Dobrogea region, Romania. The study was carried out during three years (2010-2012). Irrigation application induced a significant increase in annual shoots in T1 versus the other two treatments, especially in ‘Southland’, under the specific soil and climate conditions of the region. The anticipated shoots and tree volumes were also different, depending on the irrigation amount.