Zhu et al. (2026) Identifying Suitable Irrigation Thresholds at Different Growth Stages to Improve Yield, Water Productivity and Quality of Drip-Irrigated Kiwifruit in Southwest China

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Identification

• Journal: Agronomy
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-09-17
• Authors: Bin Zhu, Zongjun Wu, Shenglin Wen, Liwen Xing, Ningbo Cui, Yaosheng Wang, Daozhi Gong, Bihang Fan
• DOI: 10.3390/agronomy16181826

Research Groups

• Institute of Agricultural Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)
• Key Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Molecular Biology, CAS
• College of Horticulture, Southwest University

Short Summary

This study employed structural equation modeling to investigate the relationships between physiological responses, growth indicators, and yield of kiwifruit under drip irrigation. The research found that specific irrigation thresholds can optimize water productivity and fruit quality.

Objective

• Investigate the effects of different irrigation levels on kiwifruit yield, water use efficiency, and fruit quality

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Field experiment conducted in a seasonally dry region of Southwest China
• Temporal Scale: Two-year field experiment (2018–2019)

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Structural equation modeling (SEM)
• Data sources: Physiological responses, growth indicators, and yield data collected from the field experiment

Main Results

• Specific irrigation thresholds can optimize water productivity and fruit quality: 55%FC for stage I, 80%FC for stages II and III, and 60% FC for stage IV.
• Irrigation treatments significantly increased leaf instantaneous water use efficiency (WUEi) by up to 9.55%.
• Kiwifruit yield was directly influenced by stomatal conductance, leaf relative chlorophyll content, fruit volume, and shoot growth.

Contributions

• This study provides a scientific basis for precise soil moisture regulation of kiwifruit for similar production conditions.
• The findings can help optimize irrigation management to balance yield, water productivity, and fruit quality.

Funding

• National Key Research and Development Program of China (2018YFD1700300)
• Science and Technology Innovation Fund of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CXJJ-SSW2021A01)

Citation

@article{Zhu2026Identifying,
  author = {Zhu, Bin and Wu, Zongjun and Wen, Shenglin and Xing, Liwen and Cui, Ningbo and Wang, Yaosheng and Gong, Daozhi and Fan, Bihang},
  title = {Identifying Suitable Irrigation Thresholds at Different Growth Stages to Improve Yield, Water Productivity and Quality of Drip-Irrigated Kiwifruit in Southwest China},
  journal = {Agronomy},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.3390/agronomy16181826},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy16181826}
}