Summary
In a concurrent study we reported that cowpea (Vigna unguiculata [L.] Walp.) had the ability to maintain seed yields when subjected to drought during the vegetative stage provided the subsequent irrigation interval was not too great. A 4 day irrigation interval produced maximum vegetative and seed yields, while an 8 day interval following a vegetative stage drought produced maximum seed yields and water-use-efficiency.
Soil and plant measurements were made during flowering and podfilling to develop general methods for scheduling irrigation. Tensiometers provided adequate resolution for maintaining either shoot biomass production or seed yield. Predawn estimates of leaf water potential provided adequate resolution for maintaining seed yield but not biomass production. Measurements of percent actual depletion of available soil water or afternoon values for temperature differences between canopy and air divided by the vapor pressure difference gave adequate resolution for maintaining biomass production. However, nominal depletion of available soil water based upon predicted evapotranspiration appears to be the most practical procedure for scheduling irrigation of cowpeas.
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References
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The research leading to this report was supported in part by the OFFICE OF WATER RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY, USDI, under matching grant 14-34-0001-1278 Program of Public Law 95-467, and by the University of California Water Resources Center, as part of Office of Water Research and Technology Project No. R-219-CAL and Water Resources Center Project UCAL-WRC-W-602. Contents of this publication do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Office of Water Research and Technology, U.S. Department of the Interior, nor does mention of trade names or commercial products constitute their endorsement or recommendation for use by the U.S. Government
Research Assistant and Professor, University of California, Riverside. This study represents a part of a thesis submitted by L. H. Ziska in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the M.S. degree of the University of California, Riverside, USA
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Ziska, L.H., Hall, A.E. Soil and plant measurements for determining when to irrigate cowpeas (Vigna unguiculata [L.] Walp.) grown under planned-water-deficits. Irrig Sci 3, 247–257 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00272840
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00272840