Moisture retention of the soil by superabsorbent and its effect on yield and water use efficiency of tomato

Considering the limited water resources, optimum use of water is necessary in Iran. Good management practices and applying advanced techniques to maintain soil moisture and storage, increased water holding capacity and preventing deep percolation are effective methods to increase water use efficiency and improve water resources utilization in the country. Application of superabsorbent polymers is a proper method to enhance water and increase soil water holding capacity. In this research the effect of superabsorbent polymer on the tomato yield and its water productivity was evaluated in the greenhouse. Trial was conducted using factorial experiment with a completely randomized design layout in which the treatments were three irrigation regimes (including 75 (low irrigation), 100 (full irrigation) and 125 (more irrigation) percent of crop water requirement) and four superabsorbent hydrogel application of 0, 4, 6, 8 and 10 grams per kilogram of pots soil in four replicates. The results showed that irrigation and superabsorbent are effective on yield and water use efficiency and application of 6 g superabsorbent hydrogel per kilogram of soil in 125 %irrigation level had significant effect on tomato yield and its water productivity compared to control (100% of crop water requirement and 0 g superabsorbent per kilogram of pots soil). Therefore mentioned condition is recommended to have maximum tomato yield and its water productivity.