Water shortage problems in arid and semi-arid regions of Iran affect severely the sustainability of agricultural systems. Various irrigation methods such as deficit irrigation, partial irrigation and alternate partial root zone irrigation have been recommended for the region. In irrigation technique, called “partial root zone drying” (PRD), half of the root system is kept near field capacity, while the other half is under water deficit. The use of PRD has been shown to increase water use efficiency. This research was carried out on tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum L., cv. Ps), soybean ( Glycine max L., cv. Zarfam) and safflower ( Carthamus tinctorious L., cv. Kooseh) under greenhouse conditions in College of Agriculture, Isfahan University of Technology, in 2009-2010. The experiments contained soil, stabilizing material and irrigation treatments, and were performed in wooden boxes, as complete randomized design with three replications. Soil factor had two levels of S 1 = clay loam and S 2 = sandy loam soil texture; stabilizing material had two levels of B 1 = application of sodium salicylate (1 gr/lit) and B 2 = control (no stabilizing material); irrigation treatments included three levels of T1: irrigation at the right and left sides of the boxes, T2: partial root zone drying with a central plate in box containers, and T3: partial root zone drying without central plate in the boxes. For tomato plant, comparing T1 and T2 treatments showed that PRD increased titrable acidity by 10.7%, pH by 2.4% and water use efficiency by 9.85%, but decreased plant height by 19.74%, no. of lateral branches by 29.24%, no. of flower stems by 15.24%, biomass by 40%, no. of fruits by 34.43%, diameter of fruits by 1.2%, yield by 46.68% and irrigation water use by 50%. Water use efficiency in treatment T3 was decreased by 71.37% as compared with T2 treatment. Tomato yield was increased by 19.52% and water use efficiency by 25.45% in sandy loam soil as compared with clay loam. Application of sodium salicylate on tomato leaves under irrigation managements of T1, T2 and T3 increased water use efficiency by 12.86%, 18.59% and 22%, respectively. For soybean plants, comparison of T1 and T2 showed that PRD increased proline content by 16.3% and water use efficiency by 38.4%, but decreased plant height by 53.77%, no. of pods by 40.65%, no. of seeds per pod by 36%, 1000-seed weight by 19.83%, dry mass by 2.72%, grain yield by 18.65%, harvest index by 15.38% and water consumption by 50%. Water use efficiency in T3 treatment was decreased by 26.44% as compared with T2 treatment. In boxes with clay loam soil, the grain yield was reduced by 14% but water use efficiency was increased by 7.56% as compared with sandy loam soil. Interaction of deficit irrigation and soil texture caused the highest water use efficiency (2.76 kg/m 3 ) in T2 treatment in clay loam soil.