Water-saving and high-yield mechanism of tomato under different irrigation methods

The objective of this article was to study the effect of different irrigation methods (non-pressure subsurface irrigation, drip irrigation and furrow irrigation) on photosynthetic physiology, yield, water use efficiency and root hydraulic conductance of tomato. The results show higher root hydraulic conductance of tomato under non-pressure subsurface irrigation (characterized as less water for many irrigation times) than under drip and furrow irrigations. Non-pressure subsurface irrigation adjusts root-zone soil moisture to a suitable range for crop growth which improves crop water absorption capacity. Compared to furrow irrigation, non-pressure subsurface and drip irrigations respectively increase tomato chlorophyll content by 16.2% and 12.8%, reduces stomatal conductance and transpiration dehydration, maintain relatively stable photosynthetic rate and increase WUE by 51.3% and 17.2%. A comprehensive evluation of investment and output indicates that non-pressure subsurface irrigation has the highest benefits, followed by drip irrigation while furrow irrigation is the lowest.