Abstract
There is tittle information regarding optimum water requirement for tanier grown under semiarid conditions with irrigation. A study was conducted to determine the growth, nutrient uptake and yield performance of tanier plants irrigated with the equivalent of fractions of evapotranspiration. The irrigation regimes were based on class A pan factors ranging from 0.33 to 1.32 with increments of 0.33. Tanier plants grown under field conditions were harvested for biomass production about every 6 weeks during the growing season. At each harvest, plants were separated into various plant parts to determine dry matter accumulation, N, P, K, Ca, Mg, and Zn uptake and yield. During the first 278 days after planting, plants replenished with 99 and 132% of the water lost through evapotranspiration (WLET) exhibited similar total dry matter content; however, their dry matter content was significantly greater than that in plants supplied with 33 and 66% WLET. The amount of N, P, K, Ca, Mg, and Zn taken up by plants replenished with 99 and 132 WLET was similar, whereas the content of these nutrients in plants replenished with 33 and 66% WLET was considerably lower. The yield of plants replenished with 99% WLET was considerably greater than that of plants supplied with 33 and 66% WLET, but significantly lower than that from plants receiving 132% WLET. Maximum cormel yields of 19,479 kg/ha were obtained from plants replenished with 132% WLET.