ABSTRACT

Citrus is the third important fruit crop in India after banana and mango. The mandarin (Citrus reticulata) occupies the top position in terms of area and production among citrus cultivars in India. Nagpur mandarin (Citrus reticulata Blanco), a well-known commercial citrus cultivar is extensively grown in around of 185,000 hectares area of central India as an irrigated crop [11]. The acreage under the crop is increasing exponentially each year due to its high production economics, as well as the cultivar suitability in this region. The crop is basically irrigated by bore well or dug well through conventional basin or furrow irrigation method. For the last few years, the water level in present bore wells and dug wells is declined alarmingly creating water shortage in summer for sustaining the crop. So every year thousand hectares of area under the crop is permanently wilted due to water shortage, which is a great economical loss to the orchard growers of this region. Hence, proper irrigation water management by optimum use of available water resource is quite necessary in this crop condition.