Investigation the effect of deficit irrigation on root distribution and vegetative growth of Rosmarinus Officinalis L.

In order to investigation the root distribution and plant growth of Rosmarinus Officinalis L., an experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with three replications under using subsurface irrigation system in 2016. In this study treatments are full irrigation (FI), regulated deficit (RDI75 and RDI55) and partial root zone drying irrigation (PRD75 and PRD55). The results showed that deficit irrigation at 75 and 55 percent of full irrigation resulted in saving 17.1 and 32.6 percent water consumption respectively. Comparison of FI and PRD75 showed that dry weight, height of plants and number of shoots per plant decreased 5.3, 9.8 and 8.9 percent respectively. However, proper development of root in PRD75 increased 12.8 percent of water productivity, 7.3 percent of root fresh weight, 2.7 percent of root depth and 10.7 percent of root volume. Therefore, considering the problems of water scarcity, it is possible to provide PRD75 as a superior treatment and a suitable strategy to cope with the water crisis, to move towards a sustainable agricultural system.