ABSTRACT
Nagpur mandarin (citrus reticulata var. Blanco) is commonly cultivated in India under furrow or basin method of irrigation [8, 10, 12]. Recently, water table is declining in bore wells creating water shortage in summer for sustaining the crop. Therefore, every year thousands of hectare of orchards is permanently wilted due to short of water, causing economical loss. Water management studies in Nagpur mandarin show that optimum soil water regime under drip irrigation can increase growth and yield [6, 9]. Plastic PE mulching has also proved its effectiveness in conserving the soil moisture and in increasing growth, yield and quality of different citrus cultivars [1, 3-5, 7]. However, information on the interactive effect of drip irrigation and mulching for Nagpur mandarin is meager. Therefore, this study was undertaken to evaluate the performance of drip irrigation in conjunction with plastic mulch in young Nagpur mandarin.
