Articles
Carry-over effects of long-term water deficit in nectarine
Article number
1395_2
Pages
7 – 14
Language
English
Abstract
Improved irrigation management is important to sustain agriculture faced with climate change and water scarcity.
The aim of this study was to assess the carry-over effect of long-term (6 years) deficit irrigation management in a nectarine orchard exposed to a full-irrigation recovery season.
This study was conducted on mature high-density September Bright (late cultivar) nectarine trees previously subjected to long-term irrigation treatments irrigation with 100% (control) of crop evapotranspiration (ETc), 40% ETc, 20% ETc and no irrigation (0% ETc) during fruit growth stage I, II and III. A ground-based mobile platform sensor system equipped with RGB cameras, LiDAR, GPS and infrared temperature sensors for rapid measurements of tree and fruit metrics was deployed during season 2022-2023 to assess drought recovery under 100% ETc irrigation.
Despite full water supply in the recovery year, historical severe deficit irrigation regimes (0 and 20% ETc) had reduced tree size, produced lower fruit numbers, were more likely to have reduced fruit skin redness development and exhibited higher levels of water stress under peak evaporative demand in clear sky conditions, measured by canopy temperature (Tc) and crop water stress index (CWSI). Fruit yield was not impacted by lower fruit number due to a compensation effect in fruit weight.
Trees previously subjected to regulated deficit irrigation (RDI, 40% ETc during the fruit pit-hardening stage) returned to full production and had equivocal vegetative metrics and crop water status to control (100% ETc) trees.
Our results highlighted that long-term deficit irrigation carried out in stages other than pit hardening has detrimental effects on nectarine orchard performance despite their exposure to full-irrigation recovery.
The aim of this study was to assess the carry-over effect of long-term (6 years) deficit irrigation management in a nectarine orchard exposed to a full-irrigation recovery season.
This study was conducted on mature high-density September Bright (late cultivar) nectarine trees previously subjected to long-term irrigation treatments irrigation with 100% (control) of crop evapotranspiration (ETc), 40% ETc, 20% ETc and no irrigation (0% ETc) during fruit growth stage I, II and III. A ground-based mobile platform sensor system equipped with RGB cameras, LiDAR, GPS and infrared temperature sensors for rapid measurements of tree and fruit metrics was deployed during season 2022-2023 to assess drought recovery under 100% ETc irrigation.
Despite full water supply in the recovery year, historical severe deficit irrigation regimes (0 and 20% ETc) had reduced tree size, produced lower fruit numbers, were more likely to have reduced fruit skin redness development and exhibited higher levels of water stress under peak evaporative demand in clear sky conditions, measured by canopy temperature (Tc) and crop water stress index (CWSI). Fruit yield was not impacted by lower fruit number due to a compensation effect in fruit weight.
Trees previously subjected to regulated deficit irrigation (RDI, 40% ETc during the fruit pit-hardening stage) returned to full production and had equivocal vegetative metrics and crop water status to control (100% ETc) trees.
Our results highlighted that long-term deficit irrigation carried out in stages other than pit hardening has detrimental effects on nectarine orchard performance despite their exposure to full-irrigation recovery.
Authors
M.G. OConnell, A. Scalisi
Keywords
drought recovery, P. persica (L.) Batsch, plant water status, precision agriculture, water stress
Groups involved
- Division Temperate Tree Nuts
- Division Vine and Berry Fruits
- Division Temperate Tree Fruits
- Division Precision Horticulture and Engineering
- Division Plant-Environment Interactions in Field Systems
- Division Tropical and Subtropical Fruit and Nuts
- Working Group Precision Management of Orchards and Vineyards
Online Articles (59)