ABSTRACT
Citrus reticulata cv.Blanco (Nagpur mandarin) production in India is 0.875×106 tons that is grown on 0.148×106 ha (bearing area is 86,200 ha). The average citrus yield is 10-11 tons/ha that is too low compared to other citrus cultivars, due to crop water stress, inadequate method of scheduling, poor irrigation efficiency, lack of modern irrigation technology, and inadequate soil moisture during the critical plant growth and fruit developmental stages. In Nagpur mandarin orchards, the conventional irrigation methods are being replaced with micro irrigation systems, due to increasing scarcity of water. However, the micro irrigation system is not operated regularly to maintain the correct irrigation intervals and irrigation uniformity, which may be due to inadequate maintenance and the manual operation. The crop yield can be increased from 10 to 15 tons/ha with adoption of the modern fully automated micro irrigation system. The adoption of automated microjet irrigation systems in combination with fertigation enhanced the production and yield of the Nagpur mandarin [11], and fruit quality [9, 10, 12].
