Articles
Precision irrigation strategy for climate change adaptation of kiwifruit
Article number
1444_23
Pages
171 – 180
Language
English
Abstract
Global climate change significantly affects seasonal rainfall distribution, annual temperature, and reference evapotranspiration, thereby altering crop water requirements and representing one of the major challenges for modern agriculture.
In this scenario, the increasing trend of temperatures and evapotranspiration, on the one hand, can lead to daily water deficit conditions, while the change in rainfall distribution, on the other hand, can contribute to the establishment of waterlogging conditions in kiwifruit orchards.
Innovative precision irrigation strategies play a crucial role in adapting to diverse and changing climates, especially for highly sensitive crops such as kiwifruit, which has a high-water requirement but, at the same time, is extremely vulnerable to waterlogging and low oxygen concentrations in the root zone.
To improve the resilience of kiwifruit vines to variable climatic conditions and ensure agricultural water sustainability, precision irrigation approaches that utilize feedback from soil-plant water status monitoring to adjust irrigation volumes are necessary.
Precision irrigation strategies, which aim at distributing at the right time and soil zones the amount of water needed to satisfy vine water requirements, are important in Mediterranean regions, characterized by a high environmental evaporative demand during the warmer months, to prevent damage from high temperatures during the hottest hours of the day, such as midday depression and kiwifruit sunburn injury.
Understanding the vine’s physiological responses to decreasing soil water content is crucial for defining soil moisture thresholds, which are identified for each soil layer based on root water uptake dynamics.
These thresholds can be useful in supporting irrigation decisions.
Considering the peculiar kiwifruit physiological traits and vine morpho-anatomy characteristics and the low readily available water (RAW), emphasis is given to the accurate irrigation management, also to avoid the establishment of even temporary water shortage or excess in the root zone.
The adoption of soil- and plant-based sensors to define innovative dynamic management zone for irrigation strategies can help to manage the distribution of irrigation water along the soil profile, by controlling both the horizontal and vertical movement of water, and promote the aeration of the root zone, by alternately wetting different soil volumes and stimulating different portions of the root system involved in water uptake.
Climate-smart precision irrigation strategies ensure optimal soil and plant water status, with 30-40% water saving compared to conventional irrigation management, reducing waterlogging conditions, increasing water use efficiency and water productivity and reducing the water footprint of agri-food products, which are essential for sustainable water management and crop resilience under a changing climate and increasingly limited freshwater resources.
In this scenario, the increasing trend of temperatures and evapotranspiration, on the one hand, can lead to daily water deficit conditions, while the change in rainfall distribution, on the other hand, can contribute to the establishment of waterlogging conditions in kiwifruit orchards.
Innovative precision irrigation strategies play a crucial role in adapting to diverse and changing climates, especially for highly sensitive crops such as kiwifruit, which has a high-water requirement but, at the same time, is extremely vulnerable to waterlogging and low oxygen concentrations in the root zone.
To improve the resilience of kiwifruit vines to variable climatic conditions and ensure agricultural water sustainability, precision irrigation approaches that utilize feedback from soil-plant water status monitoring to adjust irrigation volumes are necessary.
Precision irrigation strategies, which aim at distributing at the right time and soil zones the amount of water needed to satisfy vine water requirements, are important in Mediterranean regions, characterized by a high environmental evaporative demand during the warmer months, to prevent damage from high temperatures during the hottest hours of the day, such as midday depression and kiwifruit sunburn injury.
Understanding the vine’s physiological responses to decreasing soil water content is crucial for defining soil moisture thresholds, which are identified for each soil layer based on root water uptake dynamics.
These thresholds can be useful in supporting irrigation decisions.
Considering the peculiar kiwifruit physiological traits and vine morpho-anatomy characteristics and the low readily available water (RAW), emphasis is given to the accurate irrigation management, also to avoid the establishment of even temporary water shortage or excess in the root zone.
The adoption of soil- and plant-based sensors to define innovative dynamic management zone for irrigation strategies can help to manage the distribution of irrigation water along the soil profile, by controlling both the horizontal and vertical movement of water, and promote the aeration of the root zone, by alternately wetting different soil volumes and stimulating different portions of the root system involved in water uptake.
Climate-smart precision irrigation strategies ensure optimal soil and plant water status, with 30-40% water saving compared to conventional irrigation management, reducing waterlogging conditions, increasing water use efficiency and water productivity and reducing the water footprint of agri-food products, which are essential for sustainable water management and crop resilience under a changing climate and increasingly limited freshwater resources.
Authors
B. Dichio, M. Calabritto, R. Di Biase, A.N. Mininni
Keywords
climate variability, evapotranspiration, water stress, innovative irrigation management, agricultural water sustainability, soil and plant-based sensors
Groups involved
- Division Vine and Berry Fruits
- Division Plant-Environment Interactions in Field Systems
- Division Horticulture for Human Health
- Working Group Vaccinium Species and Management
- Working Group Rubus and Ribes Species and Management
- Working Group Kiwifruit Culture and Management
- Working Group Strawberry Culture and Management
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