Zonal Alternate Irrigation and Water Deficit Management: Theory and Practice

Author: Kang Shaozhong, Cai Huanjie (editors)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-01-01
Features: Drought Stress Irrigation is a new water-saving irrigation technology that emerged in the middle and late 1970s internationally. Its basic idea is that the physiological and biochemical effects of crops are influenced by their genetic characteristics or growth hormones. At certain stages of crop growth and development, a certain degree of water stress (i.e., intentionally allowing crops to experience moderate drought training) is actively applied, thereby affecting the allocation of photosynthetic products to different tissues and organs. This aims to increase economic yield while sacrificing the growth of vegetative organs and the total amount of organic synthesis. Additionally, the reduction in vegetative growth can also increase crop planting density, improve total yield, reduce pruning workload for crops like cotton and fruit trees, and enhance product quality.
International research on Drought Stress Irrigation has primarily focused on fruit trees and vegetable crops such as tomatoes, with limited studies on field crops. In the research on Drought Stress Irrigation, understanding the mechanisms of how water stress at different stages affects crop growth, development, and physiology has helped theoretically recognize the dynamic processes of water loss, photosynthesis and respiration, and the allocation and conversion efficiency of products to economic yield under water stress conditions. It has also aided in determining the optimal allocation strategies for crop populations' photosynthetic products under Drought Stress Irrigation. Furthermore, exploring the compensatory effects of rewatering after experiencing different levels of water stress at various stages on growth and yield has been investigated.
Based on an understanding of crop water-saving physiological mechanisms, the full utilization of crops' own physiological and biochemical characteristics allows for intentional water stress treatment at certain stages of growth to expose them to moderate water stress. By leveraging the crop's own regulatory and compensatory functions, the ultimate goal is to achieve water conservation and yield increase. Systematic research achievements in this field have filled the gaps in international and domestic studies on Drought Stress Irrigation for field crops.