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Panax notoginseng (Burk) F. H. Chen, called Sanqi, is a valuable herbal plant and is widely used in Chinese medicine. However, the yield and saponin content cannot be guaranteed due to irrational irrigation and fertilizer management in low-latitude regions in southwestern China. To obtain suitable irrigation and organic fertilizer modes for improving the yield and saponin content of the plant, a shelter experiment was conducted using a randomized complete block design with a factorial arrangement of treatments with three replications. Three irrigation regimes, D L , D M and D S (irrigation upper/lower limit: 65–50% θ f , 50–35% θ f , and 35–20% θ f , respectively, where θ f is the field capacity), three organic fertilizer levels, F L , F M and F H (33, 48 and 63 t ha−1, respectively), and a control group, CK (65–50% θ f and 3 t ha−1), were applied in the two-year and eight-month growth cycles. With the paired comparison design, the results indicated that the flower dry yield, root dry yield and Panax notoginseng saponins (PNS) were significantly affected by different water deficit irrigation and organic fertilizer treatments, and they first increased and then decreased with increased water deficit or organic fertilizer. Compared with D L F H , D M F M reduced water use by 42.39% and fertilizer use by 23.81%, and the flower dry yield, root dry yield, PNS , water use efficiency and partial factor productivity of fertilizer increased by 19.67%, 22.52%, 54.33%, 149.72% and 91.83%, respectively. Under the D M F M treatment, the dry root yield and saponin content for 3-year-old P. notoginseng were 3039.19 kg ha−1 and 10.85%, respectively, which were higher than those resulting from other treatments. Additionally, the PNS resulting from D M F M exhibited the highest comprehensive score and comprehensive index based on principal component analysis and the TOPSIS model. This combination could create a higher yield of flowers and roots, provide a scientific management for planting, and improve the economic benefits for planters and the local government. • Study highlights role of deficit irrigation and organic fertilizer on Panax notoginseng growth. • Fertigation with highest irrigation and fertilizer amount increase root disease incidence and decrease root dry yield. • Severe drought stress significantly increased the water use efficiency for P. notoginseng. • Organic fertilizer schedule with water irrigation amount of 50~35% θf is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is still a long-term challenge to decrease root rot and improve saponin content of Panax notoginseng , thus economic benefits in Guangxi and Yunnan provinces, China. The objective of this study was therefore to propose a promising abiotic stresses strategy: deficit irrigation combined with sodium chloride (DISC) to cope with the challenge. A two-year field experiment was conducted to explore the effects of deficit irrigation combined with sodium chloride on physiological traits, yield, quality attributes, water use efficiency, and economic benefit of Panax notoginseng in 2018 and 2019. Experiment treatments consisted of two deficit irrigation levels [ D L , light deficit level: irrigation upper∼lower limit (80–65 %) θ FC ; D M , moderate deficit level: irrigation upper∼lower limit: (70–55 %) θ FC , where θ FC represents field capacity] and five NaCl application rates [0 (C 0), 15 (C 1), 30 (C 2), 45 (C 3), and 60 (C 4) mmol L−1], respectively. All treatments were designed using a randomized complete block with three replications. The results indicated that DISC could significantly promote the physiology and growth of Panax notoginseng and improve yield, quality and economic benefits under micro-sprinkler irrigation and shaded conditions in 2018 and 2019. Compared with the D M C 0 and D L C 0 treatments, D L C 1 treatment significantly improved net photosynthetic rate (Pn), stomatal conductance (Gs), root (k r), shoot (k sh), and canopy (k c) hydraulic conductance of Panax notoginseng. The D L C 1 treatment significantly increased root length, surface area, average diameter, and volume of root of Panax notoginseng compared with the D M C 0 and D L C 0 treatments. The D L C 1 treatment significantly improved rood dry matter, yield, saponin content of Panax notoginseng , water use efficiency, and economic benefits by decreasing the incidence of root rot, but reverse results were observed in the D L C 2 , D L C 3 , and D L C 4 treatments. Therefore, this study suggested that deficit irrigation amount [ D L , (80–65 %) θ FC ] combined with NaCl concentration (C 1 , 15 mmol L−1) should be recommended as an appropriate agronomic management strategy to alleviate root rot and improve water use efficiency, saponin content, economic benefits of Panax notoginseng in the seasonally arid region of Southwest China. [Display omitted] • Deficit irrigation combined with sodium chloride (DISC): a strategy to improve Panax notoginseng production. • The DISC decreased root rot and improved physiological features of plant. • The DISC improved yield, quality, and economic benefits of Panax notoginseng. • The DISC [ D L , (80–65 %) θ FC and C 1 , (15 mmol L−1)] should be recommended to promote production of Panax notoginseng. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The excessive rainfall and irrigation amount in the facility herbal medicine production system (FHmPS) in China leading to a severe root rot disease of Panax notoginseng , which endangers root yield and quality, compromise economic profit and waste resources. Therefore, the objective of our research was to seek optimal irrigation and cultivation management strategy for FHmPS to improve Panax notoginseng production and economic benefit. A three-year (2019, 2020 and 2021) field experiment was conducted on Panax notoginseng under two shelter-cultivation [rain-shelter cultivation (Sr) and unrain-shelter cultivation (NSr)] at three deficit irrigation levels [ I 1= 65%W, I 2= 75%W, I 3= 85% W, where W was the irrigation quota when the upper and lower limits of irrigation are (100% ∼ 40%) θ FC under shelter-cultivation] to explore the combined practices effects on yield, quality, economic benefit, water productivity (WP) and nutrients uptake of Panax notoginseng , and to obtain the optimal irrigation and cultivation supply practice by the technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS). The results showed that SrI 2 obtained relatively high plant nutrient uptake, net profit, WP, and quality. SrI 2 significantly decreased the root rot incidence by 6–17.5% in comparison to other treatments. However, compared with rain-shelter cultivation, unrain-shelter cultivation weaken these effects in Panax notoginseng. Deficit irrigation promoted Sr to obtain higher WP than NSr. According to the result of TOPSIS, the comprehensive ranking of SrI 2 and SrI 3 were first and second among the practices, regardless of growing seasons and planting years. The SrI 2 significantly decreased the yield of Panax notoginseng by 5.4%− 20.8% in comparison to other treatments. SrI 2 and SrI 3 were highly recommended for facility herbal medicine production system (FHmPS) in the semi-arid area of Southwest China. [Display omitted] • The study proposed rain-shelter (Sr) based on traditional cultivation (NSr). • Deficit irrigation (I 2) and Sr decreased root rot rate of P. notoginseng. • The SrI 2 improved nutrient uptake and yield of P. notoginseng. • The SrI 2 improved PNS, economic benefit and WP of P. notoginseng [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Water, N and year significantly affect dry matter accumulation, fruit yield, quality, water and N productivity. • The Entropy Weight-TOPSIS method was adopted to achieve the multi-objective optimization of water and N fertilizer. • I80N360 (80% ET 0 - 360 kg N ha−1) is the ideal water and N management strategy for greenhouse cherry tomato. In the context of climate-change and shortage of fresh water resources, improving agricultural productivity has become a major challenge globally, especially in China with large population. In this study, the purpose was to achieve the optimal combination of water and nitrogen (N) rates for greenhouse cherry tomato based on fruit yield, quality, net income and water-N productivity. Herein, during 2019–2021, three irrigation levels (I100: 100% ET 0 ; I80: 80% ET 0 ; I60: 60% ET 0 , where ET 0 was the reference evapotranspiration) and five N rates (450, 360, 270, 180 and 0 kg N ha−1, defined by N450, N360, N270, N180 and N0, respectively) with 15 treatments were set up. The 3-year ANOVA analysis indicated that irrigation, N fertilizer and year had significant effects on dry matter accumulation, fruit yield, quality, water and N productivity of greenhouse cherry tomato. Both the highest fruit yield (56.72 t ha−1, average of 3-year) and net income (60.8 × 104 CNY ha−1) were occurred under I80N360 treatment, though peak N partial factor productivity (PFPN, 294.88 kg−1) was observed under I80N180 treatment. The combined application of water and N fertilizer increased water productivity (WP) by 15.64% (average of 3-year) compared to I60N0 treatment, with I80N360 and I60N270 treatments having the highest WP. N fertilizer addition significantly increased fruit yield and WP irrespective of irrigation level, but the differences between N360 and N450 treatments were not significant in 80% ET 0 and 100% ET 0 irrigation level treatments, and between N270, N360 and N450 treatments in 60% ET 0 irrigation level treatments. Nevertheless, PFPN decreased significantly as the N rate increased. In addition, fruit quality could be improved at some extent under deficit irrigation relative to full irrigation regardless of N rate. More specifically, compared with the full irrigation treatment (I100), the I80 treatment increased the content of total soluble solid (TSS) by an average of 6.68%, soluble sugar (SS) by 11.96%, organic acid (OA) by 4.91%, sugar acid ratio (SAR) by 11.28%, vitamin C (VC) by 14.55%, lycopene by 30.06% and firmness by 7.60%; meanwhile, the I60 treatment increased TSS by an average of 11.17%, SS by 18.60%, OA by 12.04%, SAR by 10.02%, VC by 27.55%, lycopene by -7.93% and firmness by 13.14%, respectively. The increase of N rate largely increased TSS, SS, SAR, VC and lycopene, while these indicators decreased when N rate exceeded a threshold. Nevertheless, OA and firmness increased with increasing N rate, while firmness showed a slight decrease when N rate increased from N360 to N450 treatment. Generally, in a greenhouse cherry tomato production agroecosystem, the optimal amount of N fertilizer applied for each indicator varies with the availability of irrigation water. Furthermore, the Entropy-Weight TOPSIS method was adopted and the results indicated that the optimization of irrigation and N fertilizer supply schedule (I80N360 treatment: 80% ET 0 –360 kg N ha−1) was conducive to increase fruit yield, net income and water-N productivity whilst maintaining fruit quality in greenhouse cherry tomato cultivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rational application of water and fertilizer management practices can not only improve mango (Mangifera indica L.) yield and quality but also improve irrigation water-use efficiency (IWUE). However, few studies have addressed the use of water and fertilizer management practices in hot, dry environments with the aim of achieving relatively favorable levels of these parameters concurrently. We used the technique for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution (TOPSIS) method to identify optimal water and fertilizer management practices that resulted in high fruit yields and high IWUE in Southwest China. A randomized block design study with four irrigation levels [full irrigation throughout the growth period (FI), regulated deficit irrigation during flowering (RDI FS), regulated deficit irrigation during fruit expansion (RDI ES), and regulated deficit irrigation at maturity (RDI MS)] and three fertilization levels [F H , a water-soluble compound fertilizer (N:P 2 O 5 :K 2 O = 12:8:40) applied at 129.0 kg ha−1; F M , 103.2 kg ha−1; and F L , 77.4 kg ha−1] was implemented in 2018 and 2019 to investigate these relationships. The net photosynthesis rate (Pn), transpiration rate (Tr) and stomatal conductance (Gs) of mango under the different water deficit treatments were significantly lower than those under the FI treatment with the same fertilization conditions, but the instantaneous water-use efficiency (WUEi) of the leaves increased. The fresh fruit yield, solids:acid ratio (SOAR), sugar:acid ratio (SUAR), and IWUE under the RDI FS treatment were significantly lower than those under the FI treatment at the same fertilization rates. Averaged over all fertilization rates, the fruit yield under RDI ES was 8.6–22.3% lower than that under FI in both years, but the IWUE significantly increased from 3.7% to 18.6%. Compared with the FI treatment, the RDI MS treatment had no significant effect on fruit yield but significantly increased the IWUE (35.5–44.7%), total sugar (TS) content (3.7–8.5%), and carotenoid content (CC) (1.5–13.1%) in both years. At the same irrigation level, the Pn, Gs and Tr increased with an increasing fertilization rate, while the fruit yield, IWUE, TS, and vitamin C (VC) content of fresh fruit first decreased but then increased with increasing fertilization rate. IWUE was more closely related to photosynthesis characteristics at the flowering stage than at the mature stage, but fruit quality was more closely related to photosynthesis characteristics at the mature stage than at the flowering stage. Compared with the FIF H treatment, the RDI MS F M treatment significantly increased the fruit yield by 10.1% and 6.6% in 2018 and 2019, respectively, and increased the IWUE by 28.1% and 35.6%, respectively. On the basis of the TOPSIS method, the multi-target optimum scheduling of mango was achieved under the RDI MS F M treatment. The identified optimum combination of water and fertilizer can provide a scientific basis for irrigation and fertilization optimization and management in the hot, dry environment of Southwest China. • TOPSIS was used to determine the best water-saving irrigation method for mango. • IWUE was close to photosynthetic characteristics at flowering stage. • Fruit quality was closely related to photosynthetic characters in maturity stage. • The mango yield was significantly increased by RDI at maturity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The yield and quality of Arabica coffee ( Coffea arabica ) cannot be guaranteed due to irrational irrigation and light management in dry and hot regions of southwest China. The objective of this study was to obtain rational irrigation and shading mode for efficient light and water use, suitable yield and high nutritional quality of Arabica coffee. Taking full irrigation (FI) as the control, the effects of deficit irrigation (DI) (DI75 and DI50, 75 and 50% of full irrigation amount, respectively) on photosynthesis, yield, nutritional quality and water use efficiency (WUE) were investigated under four shading levels (Sh0 no shading, Sh30, Sh45 and Sh60, 30, 45 and 60% shading, respectively) using the field experiments, and a comprehensive benefit assessment model of yield, nutritional quality and WUE was established under different irrigation and shading treatments. Results indicated that DI75 increased leaf apparent radiation use efficiency and the contents of crude fat and chlorogenic acid in dry bean if compared to FI. In comparison with Sh0, Sh30 enhanced dry bean yield, WUE and the contents of total sugar and chlorogenic acid in dry bean. Compared with FISh0 (CK), DI75Sh30 raised dry bean yield, WUE, and the contents of total sugar, protein, crude fat and chlorogenic acid, but reduced the caffeine content. Principal component analysis showed that DI75Sh30 had optimal comprehensive nutritional quality, and TOPSIS method indicated that DI75Sh30 had the optimal comprehensive benefit, showing that our results can provide scientific basis for rational irrigation and light management of Arabica coffee in dry and hot regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to obtain water and nitrogen (N) management mode for water saving, high quality and proper yield of Arabica coffee in dry and hot region of southwest China. Taking full irrigation (FI) as the control, the effects of three deficit irrigation (DI) levels (DI 80 , DI 60 and DI 40 , with irrigation amount of 80, 60 and 40% FI, respectively) in dry season on growth, yield, nutritional quality and water use efficiency (WUE) of Arabica coffee were investigated under three N rates (N H : 140, N M : 100 and N L : 60 g N plant −1 ) using field experiments from 2013 to 2015, and the comprehensive benefit of yield and nutritional quality was evaluated using the technique for ordering preferences by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) method. Compared with FI, DI 80 increased two-year averaged contents of protein, crude fat and chlorogenic acid in dry bean by 9.4, 26.0 and 12.5%, respectively, but reduced dry bean yield by 6.4%. DI 60 and DI 40 reduced dry bean yield and water use efficiency (WUE) greatly, but increased the contents of caffeine and crude fiber in dry bean. Compared with N L , enhancing N rate increased dry bean yield, WUE, and the contents of protein and chlorogenic acid in dry bean by 32.9–42.6, 32.1–45.4, 5.9–9.7 and 7.0–12.6%, respectively, and N M level had the largest dry bean yield, WUE and chlorogenic acid content in dry bean. FIN M treatment had the largest two-year averaged dry bean yield of 5587.42 kg ha −1 and 31.8% higher than FIN L treatment. DI 80 N H treatment had the best comprehensive benefit of yield and nutritional quality. Compared with FIN L treatment, DI 80 N H treatment increased two-year averaged dry bean yield, WUE and the contents of protein and chlorogenic acid by 29.5, 42.7, 19.3 and 20.0%, respectively. Thus the treatment of high N (140 g plant −1 ) and moderate deficit irrigation (irrigation amount was 80% of FI) was the suitable mode of water and nitrogen management for Arabica coffee, which could realize water-saving, high quality and proper yield of Arabica coffee simultaneously in the dry and hot region of southwest China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]