Search results for "Water potential"
showing 10 items of 50 documents
Sustainability of pistachio production (Pistacia vera L.) under supplemental irrigation in a Mediterranean climate
2018
Abstract The objective of this study was to examine the effects of supplemental micro-irrigation, in a commercial rainfed orchard, on tree water status, gas exchange and productivity of Pistacia vera L. (cv Bianca) grafted on P. terebinthus. Irrigating with 10–15% of estimated full evaporative demand significantly increased average annual productivity by increasing yield in the on-crop year of this alternate bearing species. Irrigation increased yield by 30%, resulting in 1600 kg of in-shell product per ha. Irrigation delayed leaf senescence while flower bud abscission was not reduced until the third year of experiment. Irrigation did not improve gas exchange during Stage I (pericarp growth…
Fruit and Leaf Sensing for Continuous Detection of Nectarine Water Status
2019
Continuous assessment of plant water status indicators provides the most precise information for irrigation management and automation, as plants represent an interface between soil and atmosphere. This study investigated the relationship of plant water status to continuous fruit diameter (FD) and inverse leaf turgor pressure rates (pp) in nectarine trees [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch] throughout fruit development. The influence of deficit irrigation treatments on stem (Ψstem) and leaf water potential, leaf relative water content, leaf stomatal conductance, and fruit growth was studied across the stages of double-sigmoidal fruit development in ‘September Bright’ nectarines. Fruit relative grow…
Growth and water relations of field-grown ‘Valencia’ orange trees under long-term partial rootzone drying
2017
Climate, soil water potential (SWP), leaf relative water content (RWC), stem water potential (WPstem), stomatal conductance (g s), trunk, shoot and fruit growth of ‘Valencia’ orange trees were monitored during five consecutive seasons (2007–2012) to study water status and growth responses to irrigation placement or volume. 48 adult trees were exposed to conventional irrigation (CI, 100% of crop evapotranspiration on both sides of the rootzone), partial rootzone drying (PRD, 50% of CI water only on one alternated side of the rootzone) and continuous deficit irrigation (DI, 50% of CI water on both sides of the rootzone). Reducing irrigation volumes by 55% (DI) over CI increased leaf water def…
Comparing actual evapotranspiration and plant water potential on a vineyard
2011
Agricultural water requirement in arid and semi-arid environments represents an important fraction of the total water consumption, suggesting the need of appropriate water management practices to sparingly use the resource. Furthermore the quality and quantity of some crops products, such as grape, is improved under a controlled amount of water stress. The latter is related, on a side to actual evapotranspiration (ET) through water demand, on the other side to plant water content through leaf water potential. Residual energy balance approaches based on remote sensing allow to estimate the spatial distribution of daily actual ET at plant scale, representing an useful tool to detect its spati…
Predicting soil and plant water status dynamic in olive orchards under different irrigation systems with Hydrus-2D: Model performance and scenario an…
2018
The paper analyzes the performance of Hydrus-2D model to simulate the dynamic of soil water contents and transpiration fluxes in an olive orchard in which two different irrigation systems were used in 2011 and 2012. The relationship between measured midday stem water potential, MSWP, and simulated relative transpiration (ratio between simulated actual and maximum crop transpiration), Ks, was also identified with the aim to use the model for crop water status predictions. Finally, a scenario analysis was carried out for irrigation management purposes, by considering the level of crop water stress achieved in the different phases of the vegetative growth. The results evidenced that active roo…
Towards Estimation of Seasonal Water Dynamics of Winter Wheat from Ground-Based L-Band Radiometry
2021
The vegetation optical depth (VOD) parameter contains information on plant water content and biomass, and can be estimated alongside soil moisture from currently operating satellite radiometer missions, such as SMOS (ESA) and SMAP (NASA). The estimation of water fluxes, such as plant water uptake (PWU) and transpiration rate (TR), from these Earth system parameters (VOD, soil moisture) requires assessing potential (suction tension) gradients of water and flow resistances in the soil, the vegetation and the atmosphere, yet it remains an elusive challenge especially on global scale. Here, we used a field-scale experiment to test mechanistic models for the estimation of seasonal water fluxes (…
Grapevine physiological response to row orientation-induced spatial radiation and microclimate changes
2020
Terroir factors and vineyard practices largely determine canopy and root system functioning. In this study, changes in soil conditions, multi-level (vertical, horizontal) light interception (quantitative, photographic, schematic, 3D modelled), leaf water potential and photosynthetic activity were measured during the grape ripening period on NS, EW, NE-SW, and NW-SE orientated (Southern Hemisphere) vertically trellised Shiraz grapevine canopies. It was hypothesised that the spatial radiation interception angle and radiation distribution of differently orientated and vertically trained grapevine rows would affect soil conditions and vine physiological activity. Soil water content showed an in…
Comparative responses of ‘Gala’ and ‘Fuji’ apple trees to deficit irrigation: Placement versus volume effects
2012
Aims: Climate, soil water potential (SWP), leaf relative water content (RWC), stomatal conductance (gs), fruit and shoot growth, and carbohydrate levels were monitored during the 2008 and 2009 growing seasons to study the responses of 'Gala' and 'Fuji' apple trees to irrigation placement or volume. Methods: Three irrigation treatments were imposed, conventional irrigation (CI), partial root-zone drying (PRD, 50% of CI water on one side of the root-zone, which was alternated periodically), and continuous deficit irrigation (DI, 50% of CI water on both sides of the root-zone). Results: After each irrigation season, DI generated twice the soil water deficit (SWDint) than PRD (average of dry an…
Recurrent deficit irrigation and fruit harvest affect tree water relations and fruitlet growth in ‘valencia’ orange
2019
Background – Partial rootzone drying is an irrigation strategy known for increasing water use efficiency without significantly affecting tree water status. ‘Valencia’ oranges have a very long development period and nearly mature fruit and new fruitlets may be present at the same time on the tree, competing for water and assimilates. Objectives – The present study investigates the effect of recurrent deficit irrigation and fruit harvest on tree water status and fruitlet growth of ‘Valencia’ orange. Methods – Forty-eight adult trees were exposed to three irrigation treatments for seven years (2007–2013): irrigation with 100% of ETc (CI), continuous deficit irrigation (DI, 50% of CI) and parti…
E.O.-based estimation of transpiration and crop water requirements for vineyards: a case study in southern Italy
2014
An efficient use of water for irrigation is a challenging task. From an agronomical point of view, it requires establishing the optimal amount of water to be supplied, at the correct time, based on phenological phase and water stress spatial distribution. Indeed, the knowledge of the actual water stress is essential for agronomic decisions, vineyards need to be managed to maintain a moderate water stress, thus allowing to optimize berries quality and quantity. Methods for quickly quantifying where, when and in what extent, vines begin to experience water stress are beneficial. Traditional point based methodologies, such those based on Scholander pressure chamber, even if well established ar…