Irrigation regime and soil conditioner to improve soil properties and pomegranate production in newly reclaimed sandy soil

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted during the two successive seasons of 2014 and 2015 on pomegranate trees cv. Wonderful (Punica granatum L.). The trees were grown in newly reclaimed sandy soil located at the 64 km on the Cairo-Alexandria desert road, El-Behira Governorate, Egypt. The studied soil was treated with different levels of soil conditioner (polyacrylamide polymer) i.e. 500 and 1000 g/tree/two years, in addition to control (without polymer addition). Also, different levels of irrigation water were applied i.e. 70% (3610 m3/fed), 85% (4105 m3/fed) and 100% (4790 m3/fed) of ETo. The experiment was designed in a split plot with three replicates. Irrigation water levels were randomly arranged in the main-plots and the applied polymer treatments were distributed randomly in the sub-plots. Data revealed that using irrigation water level 85% of ETo gave, in general, the highest values of growth and yield indices compared to other treatments. Soil conditioner level at 1000 g/tree showed, also, the highest values, followed by 500 g/tree with significant difference between the studied treatments. The irrigation water treatment of 4105 m3/fed with soil conditioner 1000 g/tree was the best combined treatment in giving high fruit yield. This treatment caused, also, significant effect on water and nutrients saving, and improved the tested soil physical and chemical properties rather than the other treatments.