Mulching and clean tillage were compared in an apple orchard during the fruit-bearing phase to determine water use, critical periods of water demand and maximum demand in each phenological phase, when using drip irrigation. Water balance calculations were combined with field experiments using four test pits. An irrigation amount, planned depth of wetting, critical irrigation period, irrigation duration,. wetting pattern and drip irrigation emitter layout were determined. So water-saving arrangements with drip irrigation were established for the apple orchards based on using local rainfall data. The water productivity and financial return for apple trees were established for the three treatments, based on the data collected over 4 years.