Influence of drip irrigation regime on biometric characteristics of a young cherry orchard in the conditions of the Central Non-Black Earth Region

The aim of the study was to identify patterns in the influence of drip irrigation regimes on the formation of soil water balance and biometric parameters of young cherry trees of the Molodezhnaya and Volochaevka varieties in the Central Non-Black Earth Region. Field studies were conducted from 2023 to 2025, with pre-irrigation soil moisture maintained at 60-80, 70-90, and 80-100% of the HB, as well as in a control condition without irrigation. Analysis of meteorological conditions revealed uneven precipitation distribution during the growing seasons, which resulted in fluctuations in soil moisture and differences in the number of irrigation applications and irrigation rates from year to year. Drip irrigation provided more stable maintenance of optimal soil moisture compared to the control, especially during dry summer periods. It was found that the irrigation regime of 70-90% of HB contributed to the formation of the highest values of stem height, leaf surface area and trunk diameter in both varieties. A regime of 80-100% of the HB was inferior to the optimal regime in some cases, and the positive effect of irrigation was weaker with a regime of 60-80% of the HB. The control variant demonstrated minimal biometric indicators across all study years. The Volochaevka variety showed a more pronounced responsiveness to the improvement of the water regime, while the Molodezhnaya variety was distinguished by a smoother reaction. Statistical processing of the data confirmed the reliability of the effect of drip irrigation regimes on the biometric indicators of cherry trees. The results obtained indicate the expediency of using drip irrigation with maintaining soil moisture at the level of 70-90% of the NW when growing a young cherry orchard in the conditions of the Central Non-Black Earth Region.

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