GEOMETRY OF ROOT SYSTEMS OF APPLE TREES GROWING ON IRRIGATED SLOPING LANDS

• Published in: Naučnyj žurnal Rossijskogo NII problem melioracii Vol. 37; no. 1
• Main Authors: Shtanko, A. S., Udovidchenko, Ya. Ye
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English; Russian
• Published: Russian Scientific Research Institute of Land Improvement Problems 01-02-2020
• Subjects: apple plants; root system; roots buriedness; roots extension; sloping lands; the roots location
• ISSN: 2222-1816; 2222-1816
• DOI: 10.31774/2222-1816-2020-1-87-104

Purpose: to establish the qualitative features and quantitative characteristics of the geometry of the root systems of apple trees cultivated on sloping landscapes by drip irrigation. Materials and Methods. To develop the methodology and form the experimental database, the root systems of apple plants varieties Idared, Golden Delishes and Renet Simirenko of different ages which grew on flat and sloping land plots with slope steepness up to 9 degrees were drawn. The soil cover is represented by the southern medium-power heavy loamy chernozem. Results. As a result of the study, the presence of the planned and altitudinal asymmetry in the form of the root system of apple trees, characterized by a greater buriedness and elongation of the root branches of the plant in the direction of the earth's slope was established. Experimental dependences that make it possible to estimate the degree of asymmetry of the planned and vertical location of the apple plants roots depending on the slope steepness are obtained. The use of these dependencies made it possible to adapt the well-known method for predicting the shape, location and geometric parameters of root systems obtained for steady landscapes to the conditions of sloping land. Conclusions. The use of the methodology for predicting the geometry of apple root systems is assumed in the design of the irrigation network of drip irrigation systems and allows establishing the number and rational location of drip micro-outlets within the nutrition zone of apple plants. The methodology takes into account the main climatic conditions and phenological parameters of the studied plants determining the geometric characteristics of the root systems of apple trees growing on sloping lands with acceptable accuracy.