Research papers of the week – July 15, 2024

Katarzyna Adamczewska-Sowińska; Józef Sowiński; Grzegorz Pęczkowski; Jan Krężel

Scientia Horticulturae

Ministerial score = 140.0
Journal Impact Factor (2023) = 3.9 (Q1)

Celeriac (Apium graveolens L. var. rapaceum (Mill. Gaudi) belongs to a group with very high sensitivity to water shortages because has a relatively shallow root system. Field experiment conducted at the Research and Didactic Station in Psary, belongs to the Department of Horticulture at the Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences. Three-year field investigation aimed to undertake a comparative analysis of diverse irrigation systems concerning their impact on the growth kinetics of celeriac, yielding and the overarching irrigation efficiency within varying meteorological conditions. The scrutinized water-saving irrigation methods included superficial - surface - drip irrigation (I), sub-surface drip irrigation (II), and injection irrigation (III), their benchmarks juxtaposed against non-irrigated cultivation - the control (IV). Irrigations were instigated upon meticulous appraisals of soil moisture content. A single dose of water applied during surface and sub-surface irrigation was 20 mm. In injected irrigation, the dose also depended on soil moisture and ranged from 550 to 750 cm3 for each plant at a time. Celeriac seedlings of the Diamant celeriac cultivar (BejoZaden) were annually transplanted during the third decade of May. The marketable yield of celeriac in surface- and sub-surface-irrigated system increased by an average of 48.8 %, and with injection irrigation by 32.6 % against the control. The total yield increased by 36.2 and 22.1 %, respectively. The size of the yield and its structure depended largely on the unit weight of the enlarged hypocotyl, which was higher by 28.2 and 27.2 % surface and sub-surface irrigation, respectively, and by 15.6 % under injection irrigation then in control. Irrigation efficiency (WUE), expressed as the ratio of marketable yield in t ha−1 to water consumption per mm, showed favorable results after the injection method (0.121 t z ha mm−1) compared to sub-surface (0.076) and surface (0.073). Research indicate that injection irrigation system can be competitive with drip irrigation systems.

DOI:10.1016/j.scienta.2024.113426

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