TITLE:
Sustained Deficit Irrigation and Mulching on Growth of Sourani Olive Trees in Kuwait
AUTHORS:
A. Al-Shatti, Habibah S. Al-Menaie
KEYWORDS:
Mulch, Olive, Deficit Irrigation
JOURNAL NAME:
World Journal of Engineering and Technology,
Vol.3 No.3B,
August
25,
2015
ABSTRACT: Olea europaea, a native plant of the
Mediterranean region, is of great interest to agronomists worldwide, owing to
its health beneficial properties and tolerance to harsh environmental conditions,
along with its economic importance. The productivity and production efficiency
of olive is linearly related to both the level of transpiration and the amount
of water supplied. Under conditions of limited supply of good quality water for
irrigation in Kuwait, deficit irrigation applied at selected phenological
stages can maximize economic gains and minimize environmental damage. Moreover,
mulching contributes to a significant reduction in water requirements via
reducing soil water losses and increasing soil water retention. In this study,
the effects of different irrigation levels, a restitution of 50%, 75% or 100%
of the estimated evapotranspiration rate (ETc), and the application of mulching
on plant growth under the Kuwait environmental conditions were determined to
evaluate the possibilities of reducing the amounts of water supplied with
irrigation. Various parameters determining the vegetative growth of the trees
such as average height, stem girth and number of branches were recorded at
three months intervals. Both the irrigation level and mulching were shown to
possess a significant impact on growth of Sourani olive cultivar under the
Kuwait environmental conditions. Statistical analysis revealed no significant
difference in the height of the trees under all the three irrigation treatments
with mulch and trees under 100% ETc devoid of mulch. In contrast, a significant
difference was exhibited by trees under 100% ETc with mulch and 50% ETc without
mulch. Within each irrigation treatment, trees with mulch presented higher
values for plant height, stem girth and number of shoots. Thus deficit
irrigation of 50% ETc along with organic mulch was shown to enhance vegetative
growth close to its maximum potential by conserving the scarce water resources.