Jena et al. (2025) Effects of Deficit Irrigation and Growth Regulators on Physio‐Biochemical Changes, Yield, Fruit Quality and Water Productivity in Pomegranate ( Punica granatum ) Growing in Shallow Basaltic Soils

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Identification

• Journal: Irrigation and Drainage
• Year: 2025
• Date: 2025-10-15
• Authors: Goutam Guruprasad Jena, Dhananjay D. Nangare, V. D. Kakade, Amrut Morade, Sonal Jadhav, S. B. Chavan, Aliza Pradhan, V. Rajagopal, K. Sammi Reddy
• DOI: 10.1002/ird.70044

Research Groups

Not specified in the abstract.

Short Summary

This field study evaluated the impact of deficit irrigation strategies and plant growth regulators on pomegranate yield, water use efficiency, and physiological responses in shallow basaltic soils. It found that irrigation at 80% of crop evapotranspiration combined with salicylic acid and naphthalene acetic acid significantly increased fruit yield and water use efficiency, particularly under partial root-zone drying.

Objective

• To evaluate the effects of deficit irrigation (60% and 80% of crop evapotranspiration) and plant growth regulators (salicylic acid and naphthalene acetic acid) on fruit yield, water use efficiency, and physiological responses of pomegranate grown in shallow basaltic soils.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Pomegranate plants in shallow basaltic soils in semiarid regions.
• Temporal Scale: Two growing seasons (2021–2022).

Methodology and Data

• Models used: None mentioned; field study.
• Data sources: Field observations of fruit yield, water use efficiency, relative water content, membrane stability index, normalized difference vegetation index, photosystem II efficiency, chlorophyll content, photosynthetic rate, and leaf surface temperature.

Main Results

• Irrigation at 80% of crop evapotranspiration (ETc) combined with salicylic acid (SA) and naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) significantly increased fruit yield by 32% under deficit irrigation (DI) and 40% under partial root-zone drying (PRD).
• Water use efficiency (WUE) improved by 65% under DI and 75% under PRD when irrigated at 80% ETc with SA and NAA.
• PRD outperformed DI, yielding 8.56% higher fruit and 6.25% higher WUE at the same irrigation level without plant growth regulators.
• Physiological parameters including relative water content, membrane stability index (MSI), normalized difference vegetation index, photosystem II efficiency, chlorophyll content, and photosynthetic rate showed strong correlations with fruit yield (r = 0.90–0.97).
• Under stress conditions, SA application increased the photosynthetic rate by 6%, MSI by 8%, and reduced the leaf surface temperature by 2% compared to untreated plants.
• Foliar application of SA (300 ppm) + NAA (45 ppm) under DI-80 or PRD-80 enhanced water productivity and fruit yield in pomegranates in challenging soil conditions.

Contributions

• Demonstrates the synergistic benefits of combining specific deficit irrigation strategies (especially PRD at 80% ETc) with plant growth regulators (salicylic acid and naphthalene acetic acid) for enhancing pomegranate yield and water use efficiency.
• Provides quantitative evidence of physiological improvements (e.g., increased photosynthetic rate, membrane stability, reduced leaf temperature) induced by plant growth regulators under water stress in challenging soil environments.
• Offers practical recommendations for improving pomegranate cultivation in semiarid regions with shallow basaltic soils.

Funding

Not specified in the abstract.

Citation

@article{Jena2025Effects,
  author = {Jena, Goutam Guruprasad and Nangare, Dhananjay D. and Kakade, V. D. and Morade, Amrut and Jadhav, Sonal and Chavan, S. B. and Pradhan, Aliza and Rajagopal, V. and Reddy, K. Sammi},
  title = {Effects of Deficit Irrigation and Growth Regulators on Physio‐Biochemical Changes, Yield, Fruit Quality and Water Productivity in Pomegranate ( <scp> <i>Punica granatum</i> </scp> ) Growing in Shallow Basaltic Soils},
  journal = {Irrigation and Drainage},
  year = {2025},
  doi = {10.1002/ird.70044},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/ird.70044}
}