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• Entropy weight method was used to determine the best water saving method for mango. • Sugarcane leaf mulching was significantly increased fruit yield and IWUE. • Sugarcane leaf mulching decreased the titratable acid by 31.3%. • Sugarcane leaf mulching with 50% ETC had the best fresh fruit quality. Rational application of field-management technology can not only improve mango (Mangifera indica L.) fresh fruit yield and quality but also improve irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE). However, few studies have involved the simultaneous use of mulch and irrigation-management techniques in hot and dry environments to achieve a relatively good level of performance. We used the entropy weight method (EWM) to explore an optimal mulching and irrigation-management technology for mango production in a dry hot environment. Three irrigation levels [FI, 100% mango evapotranspiration (ET C); DI 75 , 75% ET C ; DI 50 , 50% ET C ] were designed with (SM) and without (NM) sugarcane leaf mulching in 2018 and 2019 in a dry hot environment. The results showed that the photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, transpiration rate, leaf water-use efficiency, and carboxylation efficiency in the SM treatment were 12.5% to 83.7% higher than those in the NM treatment in both years. Compared with the NM treatment, the SM treatment increased the fresh fruit yield and IWUE by 45.7% and 49.7% in 2018 and by 46.1% and 63.2% in 2019. The solid-to-acid ratio and sugar-to-acid ratio in the SM treatment were 48.5% and 50.4% higher than those in the NM treatment, respectively, but the titratable acid content decreased by 31.3%. Compared with FI, DI 75 increased carotenoid content, total soluble solids, solid-to-acid ratio and sugar-to-acid ratio by 8.4%–40.7%, while it reduced titratable acid by 22.8%. Compared with FI, DI 50 reduced fresh fruit yield by 24.3% and 21.9% in 2018 and 2019, respectively, while it increased IWUE by 13.6% and 17.7%. The fresh fruit yield of SMDI 75 was the highest, which was 1.42 and 1.44 times that of NMFI in both years, respectively. A comprehensive evaluation by EWM also showed that the SMDI 50 treatment had the highest comprehensive scores of mango yield, quality and water-use efficiency, which could provide a basis for the scientific management of mango fertiliser in dry and hot areas of China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Micro-moistening irrigation (MM) significantly increased dry mass (DM) accumulation and water-fertilizer use efficiency of young mango tree. • Moderate fertilization rate (F M) had the highest leaf net photosynthetic rate (P n), hydraulic conductivity and healthy index (H i). • MMF M treatment was the suitable coupling mode of irrigation and fertilization management for young mango tree. Unsuitable irrigation and soil nutrient deficiency affect the normal physiology and growth of mango (Mangifera indica L.) of tropical fruit tree in Southwest China. To obtain optimal fertigation mode for mango, the effects of three micro-irrigation methods (i.e., micro-sprinkler irrigation (SI), drip irrigation (DI) and micro-moistening irrigation (MM)) on photosynthetic characteristics, hydraulic conductivity, growth and water-fertilizer use efficiency of young mango tree were investigated under four fertilization rates (i.e., 0 g plant−1 (F N), 9.3 g plant−1 (F L), 18.6 g plant−1 (F M) and 27.9 g plant−1 (F H), a compound water-soluble fertilizer) using a randomized block design experiment. The results indicated that DI and MM increased net photosynthetic rate (P n) by 17.50 and 28.95%, root hydraulic conductivity (K r) by 39.65 and 52.69%, shoot hydraulic conductivity (K sh) by 48.63 and 82.38%, total dry mass (DM) by 27.44 and 47.13%, water use efficiency (WUE ET) by 43.27 and 73.17%, fertilizer agronomic efficiency (FAE) by 45.92 and 95.41%, and partial factor productivity of fertilizer (PFP) by 33.96 and 54.44%, but reduced transpiration rate (T r) by 6.61 and 16.38%, leaf with petiole hydraulic conductivity (K l+p) by 13.11 and 30.32%, and water consumption (ET) by 10.38 and 14.85% when compared with SI. Compared with F N , enhancing fertilization rate significantly increased P n , T r , total hydraulic conductivity (root to leaf), total DM , healthy index (H i) and WUE ET , and their maximum values appeared in the F M. FAE firstly increased and then decreased, while PFP gradually reduced with the increase of fertilization rate. MMF M had the highest total DM and WUE ET , 2.32 and 2.58 times of SIF N (CK), and the largest FAE of 4.95 kg−1. Thus, MMF M (micro-moistening irrigation with moderate fertilization rate of 18.6 g plant−1) significantly promoted growth and improved water-fertilizer use efficiency of young mango tree, which was the best coupling mode of irrigation method and fertilization rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]