Carrot irrigation: problems and prospects
Purpose: to study modern approaches to the determination of irrigation regimes and water consumption for carrots during sprinkler irrigation. Discussion. Carrot is a vegetable crop in demand in the modern food market. In Russia, no more than 1-1.5 million tons of carrot root crops are currently cultivated, which covers the country's needs only by 70-80 %. The rest is replenished through imports. Under modern conditions, the increase of the vegetable crops yield, including carrots, is impossible without irrigation. Numerous studies confirm that, along with biological characteristics, climatic and other factors, irrigation affects the carrot yield, significantly increasing it in comparison with rainfed. The analysis of the recent research made it possible to note that the most common method of carrot crops watering is sprinkling. However, this requires significant volumes of irrigation water, and therefore, water-saving irrigation modes are in demand under modern conditions. It is known that the optimal soil water regime on carrot crops is formed when the moisture content is maintained at least 75-80 % HB. The critical period for moisture provision is from the carrots sowing to the appearance of their shoots, as well as the periods of the greatest frondescence and intensive root formation. Conclusions. Water regime management is achieved by irrigation differentiation by the plant growth and development phases, soil moisture regimes, as well as the depth of the wetted layer. The use of this methodological approach helps to reduce the total water consumption, to increase the efficiency of moisture use by crops. Using computational approaches to determine the elements of water balance, which make it possible to control the water regime of carrot crops is promising.