Impact of Different Irrigation Regimes on Leaf Characteristics and NPK Levels in Sweet Cherry under High Density Orcharding System in Kashmir, India

The present study was carried out on drip irrigation scheduling in sweet cherry cv. Regina in Kashmir valley where this fruit crop is exclusively being grown under the rain fed conditions. The treatment combinations I₃ T₃ (100 percent ETc level of irrigation applied at fruit growth stage) and I₃ T₄ (100 percent ETc level of irrigation applied at fruit bud differentiation stage) significantly improved growth, yield, quality, leaf characteristics and nutrient levels in sweet cherry. Crop evapotranspiration (ETc) was minimum during winter (December-February) and maximum in summer months (June-August).The average crop water requirement in sweet cherry varied from 13.48 to 22.21 litres/tree/day. Leaf area as well as leaf chlorophyll were significantly higher in plants receiving highest irrigation level as compared to control trees. The maximum leaf N content (2.107%), P content (0.193%) and K content (1.538%) were recorded when 100 per cent ETc (I₃) level of irrigation was used, which was significantly at par with leaf N and P content of sweet cherry at 75 per cent ETc (I₂) level of irrigation. On applying the higher irrigation levels (75 and 100 %), the nutrient contents in the sweet cherry leaves were significantly higher in comparison to the lower water levels (50 and 0%).The results can be utilized to manage the water requirement of sweet cherry especially during the periods of water scarcity as it defines the appropriate amounts of water requirement at different growth stages of sweet cherry thereby help in conserving the water resources to a larger extent for their use in future.