**1. Introduction**

Irrigation is one of the major agricultural activities because the plant production is proportional to water use. It is becoming a limiting factor not only in Indian subtropics but its reduction has been observed globally. The current decrease of predicted water resources are leading to urgent need to adopt a strategy which could be applied to efficiently utilize water without affecting the growth, yield and quality of a plant in agroecosystem. In fruit agroecosystem,

© 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2018 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

sometime introduced plants have different water needs than the ability of ecosystem provide for naturally. The water need of the fruit tree is governed by the annual phenological and soil-water-plant relationship. Fruit trees require frequent irrigation during fruit development and mismanagement of water supply to trees at critical stages leads to fruit drop, reduced fruit size and quality. So, proper irrigation is essential in maintaining a healthy and productive fruit orchard. Whereas over irrigation slow root growth, increases the potential for iron chlorosis in alkaline soils, and leaches nitrogen, sulfur and boron out of the root zone leading to nutrient deficiencies. It can also induce excessive vegetative vigor. Excessive soil moisture also provides an ideal environment for crown and collar rots in peach. On the other hands applying insufficient irrigation water results in drought stress and reduced fruit size and quality [1]. Many studies on irrigation management under different agroecological system on fruit crops e.g. peach [2–4], cherry [5], pummelo [6], olive [7, 8] and mango [9] reported that moderate water restriction do not effect morphological and physiological processes of tree. In fact, enhance the bearing, maturation and fruit tree features.

conditions (control) were also evaluated. Irrigation water requirements (IWRs) for peach crop was calculated by subtracting effective rainfall (calculated using the CROPWAT Programme, [12]) from Etc, without taking account of the variation in soil water content during both experimental year. Estimation of crop coefficients (Kc1 = 0.20, Kc2 = 0.5, Kc3 = 0.7, Kc4 = 1.0) mean values given by [13] were used. Et requirement by the crop has been computed using

Irrigation Management Practices and Their Influence on Fruit Agroecosystem

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.79569

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Water stress significantly reduces trunk growth and shoot extension growth of peach tree [14], so both vegetative characters was closely linked to irrigation volume and showed significant differences when compared under different trials. Shoot extension growth was measured on weekly bases, while trunk girth development measured at 15 days intervals in all the treatments. In both the year of study maximum trunk girth and shoot extension growth was attained by plants irrigated at 40 mm PET level, whereas minimum trunk girth and shoot extension growth observed under rainfed condition (**Figures 1** and **2**). Peach shoot growth reduced in proportion to the magnitude of the water deficit and with the replacement of 12.5% of the evaporation, there was more than 75% reduction in shoot weight [15]. Shoot growth and limb diameter were limited whenever water supply was restricted in Merrill Sundance cultivar of peach [16]. Water stress affected the growth and dry matter partitioning of young peach trees, whereas total dry matter production reduced with each incremental decrease in applied water and attributed to lower leaf conductance in the unirrigated conditions. Reduction or halting of lateral branching and new leaf production soon after water stress is the major factor that contributes to differences in tree biomass production [17]. Regulated deficit irrigation applied at stage II as well as combined regulated irrigation at stage II and postharvest stage

**2.1. Effect of different irrigation levels on vegetative growth of crop**

**Figure 1.** Effect of irrigation on trunk girth of peach cultivars.

the equation: Etc = Kc × Eto.

In irrigated agroecosystem, irrigation systems have been under pressure to produce more with lower supply of water. Majority of developed/developing countries implement technological, economical and regulative irrigation strategies for efficient use of hydro-resources and reusing wastewater in agriculture sector. Decreased water due to global warming along with uneven rainfall patterns have increased the requirement of optimum and efficient use of irrigation by means deficit irrigation practices. Deficit irrigation supplies reduced water volume depending upon evapotranspiration (Et) percentage throughout fruit crop irrigation season with the minimal impact on fruit production. Evapotranspiration is key factor in irrigation scheduling as a management tool, Et (actual, potential and reference) rate either directly measured or indirectly estimated are of crucial importance for determining crop water requirement. Among numerous indirect methods for Et estimation, initial Penman equation is probably the most modified one. Modified Penman-Monteith approach is the most used mathematical approach for Et determination accepted by research as well as in practice of water management and planning. The P-M method can be successfully applied for Et calculations and water management in field conditions [10].
