Aerated irrigation (AI) is a method to mitigate rhizosphere hypoxia caused by the wetting front from subsurface drip irrigation (SDI). This study evaluated the impacts of AI on soil aeration, plant growth performance, fruit yield (tomato), irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE), fruit nutrition (lycopene and Vitamin C (VC)) and taste (soluble sugar, organic acid and sugar–acid ratio) quality. A three-factorial experiment including AI and SDI at three irrigation levels (W0.6, W0.8 and W1.0, corresponding with crop-pan coefficients of 0.6, 0.8 and 1.0) and two dripper depths (D15 and D25, burial at 15 and 25 cm, respectively), totaling 12 treatments overall, was conducted in a greenhouse during the tomato-growing season (April–July) in 2016. The AI improved soil aeration conditions, with significantly increased soil oxygen concentration and air-filled porosity relative to SDI. Moreover, the AI improved crop growth performance, with increased root morphology (diameter, length density, surface area and volume density), delayed flowering time, prolonged flowering duration and increased shoot (leaf, stem and fruit) dry weight, and harvest index. Fruit yield per plant, fruit weight, IWUE, the contents of lycopene, VC and soluble sugar, and sugar–acid ratio significantly increased under AI treatments (P < 0.05). As the irrigation level increased, fruit yield, number, and weight increased (P < 0.05), but IWUE and fruit lycopene, soluble sugar, and organic acid content decreased (P < 0.05). The dripper depth had no significant impact on fruit yield, nutrition and taste quality. Principal component analysis revealed that the optimal three treatments in terms of fruit yield, IWUE, and nutrition and taste quality were the treatments W0.6D25AI, W1.0D25AI and W1.0D15AI. These results suggest that AI can improve tomato growth performance and increase fruit yield, nutrition and taste quality, and IWUE through enhancing soil aeration conditions.

中文翻译：

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不同灌溉水平和地下滴头深度的曝气灌溉影响温室番茄的产量、品质和水分利用效率

曝气灌溉 (AI) 是一种缓解由地下滴灌 (SDI) 湿锋引起的根际缺氧的方法。本研究评估了人工智能对土壤通气、植物生长性能、果实产量（番茄）、灌溉用水效率（IWUE）、果实营养（番茄红素和维生素 C（VC））和口感（可溶性糖、有机酸和糖）的影响。 –酸比）质量。一个三因子试验，包括三个灌溉水平（W0.6、W0.8 和 W1.0，对应于作物盘系数 0.6、0.8 和 1.0）和两个滴头深度（D15 和 D25，埋在15 和 25 厘米），总共 12 个处理，在 2016 年番茄生长季节（4-7 月）在温室中进行。 AI 改善了土壤通气条件，与 SDI 相比，土壤氧浓度和空气孔隙率显着增加。此外，人工智能改善了作物生长性能，增加了根系形态（直径、长度密度、表面积和体积密度）、延迟开花时间、延长开花持续时间和增加枝条（叶、茎和果实）干重和收获指数。单株单株产量、单果重、IWUE、番茄红素、VC和可溶性糖含量以及糖酸比在AI处理下显着增加（P < 0.05）。随着灌溉水量的增加，果实产量、数量和重量增加（P < 0.05），但IWUE和果实番茄红素、可溶性糖和有机酸含量下降（P < 0.05）。滴头深度对果实产量、营养和口感品质无显着影响。主成分分析表明，3个处理在果实产量、IWUE、营养和口感品质方面最优的处理为W0.6D25AI、W1.0D25AI和W1.0D15AI。这些结果表明，人工智能可以通过增强土壤通气条件来提高番茄的生长性能，提高果实产量、营养和口感质量以及 IWUE。