Zhang et al. (2026) Quantitative response and underlying mechanisms of tomato yield to irrigation lower limit and soil salinity

Identification

• Journal: Agricultural Water Management
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-07-07
• Authors: Xiaoman Qiang, H J LIU, Taisheng Du
• DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2026.110617

Research Groups

• Institute of Farmland Irrigation of CAAS (China)
• State Key Laboratory of Efficient Utilization of Agricultural Water Resources (China)
• National Field Scientific Observation and Research Station on Effcient Water Use of Oasis Agriculture (China)
• Center for Agricultural Water Research in China, China Agricultural University (China)

Short Summary

This study investigated the yield response and underlying mechanisms of processing tomato under different irrigation lower limits and soil salinity levels during two growing seasons. The results showed that soil salinity and irrigation lower limit jointly regulated leaf ion accumulation, water status, abscisic acid content, gas exchange, photosynthetic enzyme activity, dry matter accumulation, yield, leaf-level water use efficiency, and irrigation water productivity.

Objective

• Investigate the effects of different irrigation lower limits and soil salinity levels on tomato yield and underlying physiological mechanisms.
• Identify the optimal irrigation lower limit for each soil salinity level to improve crop water productivity in saline soils.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Field scale, with experiments conducted at the National Field Scientific Observation and Research Station on Effcient Water Use of Oasis Agriculture, Wuwei, Gansu Province, China.
• Temporal Scale: Two growing seasons (2019 and 2020).

Methodology and Data

• Models used: None mentioned in the paper.
• Data sources: Field measurements, including soil salinity, irrigation water content, leaf ion accumulation, plant water status, gas exchange parameters, photosynthetic enzyme activity, dry matter accumulation, yield, and irrigation water productivity.

Main Results

• Soil salinity and irrigation lower limit jointly regulated leaf ion accumulation, water status, abscisic acid content, gas exchange, photosynthetic enzyme activity, dry matter accumulation, yield, leaf-level water use efficiency, and irrigation water productivity.
• The optimal irrigation lower limits were 65%, 60%, and 65% θFC for soils with initial ECe values of 4.07, 11.17, and 18.26 dS m⁻¹ , respectively.

Contributions

• This study provides a physiological basis for developing soil salinity-specific deficit irrigation strategies to improve crop water productivity in saline soils.
• The results can be used to optimize irrigation management for processing tomato cultivation in areas with varying levels of soil salinity.

Funding

• National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 31872046)
• Key Research and Development Program of Gansu Province, China (Grant No. 20JR2RA001)

Citation

@article{Zhang2026Quantitative,
  author = {Zhang, Xianbo and wang, Yahan and Qiang, Xiaoman and LIU, H J and Du, Taisheng},
  title = {Quantitative response and underlying mechanisms of tomato yield to irrigation lower limit and soil salinity},
  journal = {Agricultural Water Management},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1016/j.agwat.2026.110617},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2026.110617}
}