Citrus root distribution under water stress grown in sandy soil of central Florida

The experiment was conducted in an orchard located in University of Florida (Citrus Research and Education Center), Lake Alfred, Polk County, Florida, USA. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of water stress in root distribution of 'Valencia' orange tree on 'Swingle' citrumelo rootstock. Three treatments were imposed on the trees: 1) normal irrigation with microsprinklers, 2) no irrigation in winter (November through mid-March) and 3) rainfall exclusion by placing a water repelling fabric (Tyvek) under the trees. Trees in treatments 1 and 2 received normal rainfall during the winter, but treatment 3 received no rain. Normal irrigation was resumed on all treatments in mid March. Soil was collected using root auger head (0.09 m diameter and height 0.25 m) in two opposing quadrants (West and East at 3 horizontal distances from tree trunk (1, 2 and 3 m) and 4 depths (0.0-0.15; 0.15-0.30; 0.30-0.60 and 0.60-0.90 m). The results from root sampling showed that there was a significant difference in root distribution between irrigated treatment and non irrigated/non rainfall.

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Alves Júnior,José, Bandaranayake,Wije, Parsons,Larry R., Evangelista,Adão W. P.
Format: Digital revista
Language:English
Published: Associação Brasileira de Engenharia Agrícola 2012
Online Access:http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0100-69162012000600012
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!