Drip irrigation guidelines for citrus in northern Zimbabwe

This book consists of literature and research findings on citrus irrigation. The literature covers different irrigation strategies that can be used for citrus trees. Emphasis is given to the strengths and limitations of these methods. Special attention was given to the various methods that can be used to determine citrus crop water requirements. The research component is focused on the production of irrigation calendars for citrus in northern Zimbabwe. This was done using the micro Climatological data of the area and the determination of site specific crop coefficients. Different drip irrigation strategies were also evaluated in terms of fruit growth. These strategies include the partial root zone drying, watering both sides of the tree with each side receiving half the crop water requirement, watering one side of the tree only and using the growers' practice. The irrigation calendars were developed using a crop water productivity model (BUDGET, version 6.2).