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The 2011 ASHS Annual Conference

6913:
Effect of Irrigation Regime On Yield and Quality of Three Cultivars of Taro (Colocasia esculenta)

Monday, September 26, 2011
Kona Ballroom
Jensen Uyeda, Tropical Plants and Soil Science, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI
Theodore J.K. Radovich, Tropical Plant and Soil Science, CTAHR, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI
Jari Sugano, Plant and Environmental Protection Science, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI
Ali Fares, Natural Resources and Environmental Management, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI
Robert E. Paull, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI
To better understand the relationship of irrigation regimes on components of plant growth and quality, three taro cultivars (‘Bun long’, ‘Lehua’ and Pa’akala’) were irrigated based on reference evapotranspiration (ET0) replaced. Irrigation treatments consisted of 50%, 100%, 150%, 200% and 250% of ET0 replaced. Irrigation rates significantly affected all growth characteristics, with the greatest differences between 50%-100% and 150%-250% ET0 replaced. On average plants receiving 150%-250% ET0 were heavier, with larger leaf area and more cormels than plants receiving 50%-100% ET0. Plants that received 150% ET0 showed no significant differences than treatments receiving larger amounts of water. A positive quadratic relationship (r2 = 0.94-0.99) for each cultivar was found between dry weight and percent ET0 replaced. Across cultivars, no significant relationships were found between irrigation and components of quality. Supplying irrigation at 150% ET0 replaced is sufficient in maximizing yield of ‘Bun long’ and ‘Pa’akala’. However, replacing irrigation up to 250% ET0 to a lowland cultivar such as ‘Lehua’ did not result in yields comparable to flooded systems. In addition, the potential to predict corm weight based on its relationship to percent ET0 replaced can assist in crop modeling and irrigation scheduling for maximizing water use efficiency. These models can also help to estimate cost benefit analysis, which is important for determining whether the increase in yield is worth the increase in water cost.