Effects of row orientation and irrigation and their interaction on tomato traits and water use efficiency

Effects of row orientation and irrigation and their interaction on tomato traits and water use efficiency | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Effects of row orientation and irrigation and their interaction on tomato traits and water use efficiency Ji Shi, Xiao Yang, Yalong Song, Jianfei Xing, Guansan Zhu, Wentao Li This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8792330/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 11 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study evaluated the interactive effects of row orientation and deficit irrigation on tomato yield, fruit quality, and water use efficiency under sandy-substrate conditions in arid regions, and quantitatively assessed the comprehensive evaluation indices using the entropy weight method, the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), and the Nash equilibrium approach. A two-year, two-factor full factorial experiment was conducted in a solar greenhouse in southern Xinjiang, involving two row orientations—east–west (E–W) and north–south (N–S)—and four irrigation regimes: excessive irrigation I1 (120% ETc), full irrigation I2 (100% ETc), moderate deficit irrigation I3 (80% ETc), and severe deficit irrigation I4 (60% ETc). The results showed that the E–W orientation significantly increased tomato yield by 6.27% compared with the N–S orientation; the mean yields under E–W were 89.92 t·hm⁻ 2 and 88.73 t·hm⁻ 2 in 2024 and 2025, respectively, whereas the mean yield under N–S was 84.56 t·hm⁻ 2 . Moderate deficit irrigation (I3) significantly improved tomato flavor and nutritional quality, with soluble solids content, vitamin C, and lycopene increasing by 18%, 38%, and 129%, respectively, while nitrate content decreased by 30%. Yield exhibited a nonlinear bell-shaped relationship with irrigation amount: excessive irrigation did not increase yield but led to greater water waste, whereas severe deficit irrigation saved water but reduced yield by 20.89% compared with full irrigation. The comprehensive evaluation indicated that the E–W orientation combined with moderate deficit irrigation (I3) was the optimal strategy for improving water–fertilizer management, achieving higher yield while increasing water use efficiency by 29% and significantly enhancing fruit quality. These findings provide a theoretical basis and practical guidance for precision water management and spatial layout optimization in protected agriculture in arid regions. Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences Biological sciences/Plant sciences irrigation levels protected agriculture tomato quality tomato yield water use efficiency Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files Summaryofreplicateindicatordata.xlsx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 04 May, 2026 Reviews received at journal 29 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 22 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 06 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 30 Mar, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 23 Mar, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 17 Mar, 2026 Editor invited by journal 17 Feb, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 12 Feb, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 11 Feb, 2026 First submitted to journal 11 Feb, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8792330","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":607408320,"identity":"346533f0-3ddb-4e9c-829c-c64d3da50e10","order_by":0,"name":"Ji Shi","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Tarim University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ji","middleName":"","lastName":"Shi","suffix":""},{"id":607408321,"identity":"abc146e5-6790-4d3a-b7ea-1d1689154756","order_by":1,"name":"Xiao Yang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Tarim 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efficiency","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"scientific-reports","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"scirep","sideBox":"Learn more about [Scientific Reports](http://www.nature.com/srep/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Scientific Reports","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Scientific Reports","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"irrigation levels, protected agriculture, tomato quality, tomato yield, water use efficiency","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8792330/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8792330/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThis study evaluated the interactive effects of row orientation and deficit irrigation on tomato yield, fruit quality, and water use efficiency under sandy-substrate conditions in arid regions, and quantitatively assessed the comprehensive evaluation indices using the entropy weight method, the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), and the Nash equilibrium approach. A two-year, two-factor full factorial experiment was conducted in a solar greenhouse in southern Xinjiang, involving two row orientations\u0026mdash;east\u0026ndash;west (E\u0026ndash;W) and north\u0026ndash;south (N\u0026ndash;S)\u0026mdash;and four irrigation regimes: excessive irrigation I1 (120% ETc), full irrigation I2 (100% ETc), moderate deficit irrigation I3 (80% ETc), and severe deficit irrigation I4 (60% ETc). The results showed that the E\u0026ndash;W orientation significantly increased tomato yield by 6.27% compared with the N\u0026ndash;S orientation; the mean yields under E\u0026ndash;W were 89.92 t\u0026middot;hm⁻\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e and 88.73 t\u0026middot;hm⁻\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e in 2024 and 2025, respectively, whereas the mean yield under N\u0026ndash;S was 84.56 t\u0026middot;hm⁻\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e. Moderate deficit irrigation (I3) significantly improved tomato flavor and nutritional quality, with soluble solids content, vitamin C, and lycopene increasing by 18%, 38%, and 129%, respectively, while nitrate content decreased by 30%. Yield exhibited a nonlinear bell-shaped relationship with irrigation amount: excessive irrigation did not increase yield but led to greater water waste, whereas severe deficit irrigation saved water but reduced yield by 20.89% compared with full irrigation. The comprehensive evaluation indicated that the E\u0026ndash;W orientation combined with moderate deficit irrigation (I3) was the optimal strategy for improving water\u0026ndash;fertilizer management, achieving higher yield while increasing water use efficiency by 29% and significantly enhancing fruit quality. These findings provide a theoretical basis and practical guidance for precision water management and spatial layout optimization in protected agriculture in arid regions.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Effects of row orientation and irrigation and their interaction on tomato traits and water use efficiency","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-03-18 10:12:29","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8792330/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2026-05-04T18:18:53+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-04-29T17:57:50+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"280534878282676475328511860311896463327","date":"2026-04-22T07:25:24+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-04-06T09:30:02+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"271602689198578252944698797199451298460","date":"2026-03-30T15:51:24+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"288065465569459473643003766630664114945","date":"2026-03-23T13:27:18+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2026-03-17T07:36:18+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"","date":"2026-02-17T19:09:27+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2026-02-12T18:28:39+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2026-02-11T20:40:01+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Scientific Reports","date":"2026-02-11T20:36:16+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"scientific-reports","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"scirep","sideBox":"Learn more about [Scientific Reports](http://www.nature.com/srep/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Scientific Reports","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Scientific Reports","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"20fe7cc7-f145-43d2-a32a-ccf11943f5b0","owner":[],"postedDate":"March 18th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2026-05-04T18:18:53+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-04-29T17:57:50+00:00","index":78,"fulltext":""}],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[{"id":64632921,"name":"Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences"},{"id":64632922,"name":"Biological sciences/Plant sciences"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-05-19T01:08:08+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-03-18 10:12:29","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8792330","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8792330","identity":"rs-8792330","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}