Review: partial root zone drying an approach to increase water use efficiency of horticultural crops and chlorophyll fluorescence

Abstract Nowadays, lack of irrigation water is critical factor that reduce horticultural crop production and productivity. This serious shortage of irrigation water requires improvement of our irrigation methods and irrigation management techniques. “One of the possible methods to maximize crop production with limited irrigation water was deficit irrigation one way of deficit irrigation was partial rootzone drying”. Therefore, the objective of the review was to assess impact of partial root zone drying on soil water content, and physiology of plants mainly, water absorption, movement, its use efficiency by plants and to suggest role chlorophyll fluorescence on partial root zone dying irrigation management. Result of different studies showed that partial rootzone drying irrigation preserve soil moisture lessening and irrigation water absorption by compensating water absorbed from dry part of the root zone to the wetter part and dry part is irrigated or rewetted alternatively. When we use partial root-zone drying irrigation ABA mediated aquaporin activity increases, which in turn increase the movement of water upward in to stem and leaf. This occurs in both the wet to dried zones. Partial rootzone drying irrigation saves 518 m3 ha−1 irrigation water in moisture deficit year and increase irrigation water use efficiency by 70%, and it reduce grain yield by only 10% compared to full irrigation. Chlorophyll fluorescence may help in early detection of plant water stress and ultimately to irrigation scheduling o f partial rootzone drying irrigation. Generally, this review highlights some importance of partial rootzone drying irrigation and suggests methods to manage it mainly chlorophyll fluorescence.