Objective The aim of this study is to explore the a high-efficient production irrigation model in arbor cultivation of apple orchards suitable for Aksu region in Xinjiang.

Methods 'Changfu 2' apple trees were taken as the research object, and three treatments were set up: convention irrigation (CK), convention irrigation + alternate inter-row irrigation (T1), and convention irrigation + double-pipe drip irrigation (T2). Then, the responses of different irrigation methods on shoot growth, photosynthesis, quality, yield and irrigation water use efficiency were studied.

Results Compared with the control, the increase of shoot growth length and internode growth of the three treatments decreased with the decrease of irrigation amount, and the increase of T1 treatment was the least. Under different irrigation methods, the intercellular CO₂ concentration (Ci) and photosynthetic rate (Pn) of T1 treatment increased the most. Compared with the control, the fruit hardness, soluble sugar and Vitamin C contents of T1 treatment increased the most, and the irrigation water utilization efficiency increased by 40.5%, significantly higher than that of T2 treatment.

Conclusion The convention irrigation + alternate inter-row irrigation model can reduce shoot growth, improve photosynthesis, fruit quality and irrigation water utilization efficiency, so the model can be used as an irrigation practice model for arbor planting apple orchards in Aksu region in Xinjiang.