
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Garside, AL 
A1  - Lawn, RJ 
A1  - Muchow, RC 
A1  - Byth, DE 
T1  - Irrigation management of soybean (<I>Glycine max</I> (L.) Merrill) in a semi-arid tropical environment. II. Effect of irrigation frequency on soil and plant water status and crop water use
JF  - Australian Journal of Agricultural Research
JO  - Aust. J.  Agric. Res.
Y1  - 1992
VL  - 43
IS  - 5
SP  - 1019
EP  - 1032
KW  - water use;irrigation;water status;soybean;tropics
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1071/AR9921019 
N2  - Plant and soil water status, crop water use and water use efficiency, as affected by irrigation treatment, were monitored over two seasons for soybean cv. Ross, sown in the late wet season in the Ord Irrigation Area in north Western Australia. Irrigation treatments were, in both seasons, furrow irrigation after cumulative open pan evaporative losses of 30, 60 120 and 240 mm, and in the second year, an additional treatment, saturated soil culture (continuous furrow irrigation, analogous to irrigation after 0 mm pan evaporation). As expected, during periods of strong evaporative demand plant water status, as indicated by leaf water potential and leaf conductance of water vapour, was consistently greater in the more frequently irrigated treatments, while soil water depletion occurred to greater extent and depth in the less frequently irrigated treatments. However, total soil water use was directly proportional to crop growth, so that there was little evidence that water use efficiency was enhanced by restricting water supply in this environment. Indeed, efficiency of water use even under the continuous furrow irrigation system was comparable with that from other irrigation treatments. The responses are interpreted to imply that there is unlikely to be any economic advantage to the use of limited supplemental irrigation in this environment. 
ER  -

