Abstract:
Improvement of water productivity from irrigated tomatoes while maintaining yield and soil
health is a global challenge. This study aimed to examine the effect of varying water quality and
water stress (deficit irrigation) scenario on different soil parameters of tomatoes in a greenhouse
setting to establish an optimum soil-water-plant environment for sustainable production. The
study was completed by simulating tomato growing conditions in the Northern Adelaide Plains
of South Australia in two consecutive years (2017-2018 and 2018-2019). Three water sources
selected as varying water quality were: groundwater, recycled wastewater and mixed of both.
Water was applied via drip irrigation system in four irrigation scenarios maintaining irrigation
frequency of two days. The results showed that irrigation with recycled wastewater had the
highest residual nutrients accumulated in soil after completion of a crop growth season. The
study also indicated that the residual soil macronutrients in the 80% FC treatment were not
significantly different to that of the 100% FC regardless of water quality. The results thus
suggested that a considerable amount of water and fertilizer can be saved through application of
DI technique - especially at 80% FC level without having a significant difference of soil
macronutrient compared to full irrigation. This study also found that salt accumulation in the
effective root-zone was affected by both water quality and irrigation scenarios and was highest in
the case of recycled wastewater |
