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Response of olive and almond orchards to partial irrigation under dry-farming practices in semi-arid regions:

II. Plant-soil water relations in olive during the growing season

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Summary

The response of elements of the water balance of olive plants grown in desert farms to partial irrigation was investigated. Among these are transpiration, leaf relative water content, the number of leaves carried by trees and the osmotic pressure of the leaf sap. The proper time for irrigation and suitable ways of its application were also studied. A method of applying subsurface irrigation, to minimize direct evaporation from the soil, is described. The results show a slight decrease in transpiration rate of irrigated plants compared to the controls. However, an increase in the number of leaves as a result of irrigation was found to result in increased total transpirational water loss. An inverse relation seem to exist between the amount of foliage and its relative water content in periods of no active growth. This relation is reversed during active growth. The osmotic pressure of leaf sap also responded inversely to changes in leaf water content during periods of inactive growth. On time of active growth, relative water content and osmotic pressure rose more or less together. The results indicate that among the methods of irrigation studied, summer subsurface irrigation is more favourable for the water balance of the plant.

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Authors
  1. A. A. Abdel-Rahman
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  2. H. M. El-Sharkawi
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Botany Departments, Faculty of Science, Cario and Assiut Universities, Egypt

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Abdel-Rahman, A.A., El-Sharkawi, H.M. Response of olive and almond orchards to partial irrigation under dry-farming practices in semi-arid regions:. Plant Soil 41, 13–31 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00017940

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00017940

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