Abstract

Intermittent drip water application is a water management technique that maximizes the supply of oxygen, water and nutrients in the soil to enhance the plant´s physiological activity. The research was conducted in the Tumbaco Valley, Ecuadorian Andeans, to study the effect of the continuous and intermittent drip irrigation on the soil-water-plant relationship. Two variables (water application methods and fertilizer doses) were evaluated in an experimental design of split plots: Drip is the continuous drip water management (100% fertilizer dose) and RPro is the intermittent water application (50% fertilizer dose). Result: i) crop yield: Drip, 3.11t ha-1 and RPro, 4.38t ha-1; ii) gross water depth: Drip, 368.15mm and RPro, 236.40mm; iii) days to harvest: Drip, 120 days and RPro, 105 days. In conclusion, RPro in contrast to Drip provided for a 40.80% increase in crop production with 50% of the fertilizer dose, a 55.73% reduction in water use and a two-week reduction in the vegetative cycle.

Keywords: Conventional drip irrigation; Low volume drip irrigation; Fert irrigation; Beans var. “Rojo del Valle”