Water scarcity poses serious threats to agriculture and efficient irrigation practices are essential for mitigating this impact. Such practices should not only consider optimization of crop water consumptions but also the type of soils: sandy soils, in particular, are characterized by low water holding capacity, thus rapid movement of water below the root zone. Short-duration and more frequent (pulsed) irrigation events have been shown to result in better soil water distribution and more efficient crop water uptake. Therefore, a study was conducted in Morocco on blueberry in the greenhouse to assess the performance of pulsed drip irrigation technique (PLS) on soil characteristics, soil water dynamics, as well as yield.
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Within a plastic tunnel (34x30m) 10 strips were selected: 5 strips operated under PLS and 5 strips under continuous drip irrigation practices (NON-PLS) to measure soil water contents and soil electrical conductivity (ECe) and pH. The results indicated that PLS drip irrigation using on average 8 pulses/day increased yield by 10% and fruit size by 8%, and Water and Nutrient Use Efficiency of blueberry by 9%, as compared to NON-PLS irrigation (one-two times/day). Flow pulses followed by breaks also improved water redistribution in the root zone by better controlling soil ECe pattern and maintained pH values within the blueberry soil pH optimal range.
