Articles
Use of IrriDesk automatic irrigation system to manage deficit irrigation strategies in processing tomato
Article number
1445_17
Pages
117 – 124
Language
English
Abstract
Droughts threaten to become more and more frequent, causing an increase in competition for water, so it is essential to create awareness of the need to use water efficiently.
In this sense, the use of controlled deficit irrigation strategies will be increasingly necessary for the sustainability of the crop; however, on many occasions, establishing these water doses, the intensity, the timing and how these affect the quality and productivity of the crop is brutal for the farmer, and they must also be adjusted to the changing conditions of climate, soil variability, efficiency in water use and other parameters to be taken into account.
This work aims to evaluate an automatic irrigation system for managing controlled deficit irrigation strategies in processing tomatoes that reduce the water applied with less production loss in the processing tomato crop.
The study was conducted in 2023 within the Digispac and ET4Drought project on a plot in the experimental farm La Orden in Badajoz, Spain.
Three irrigation managements were compared.
Treatment control according to crop needs was obtained from a weighing lysimeter (2.67×2.25×1.5 m) and two deficit irrigation treatments managed automatically with the IrriDesk web platform.
One established deficit irrigation only in the ripening phase, and the other induced water stress in the initial and ripening phases of the crop.
IrriDesk used a lower volume of water than control treatment (around 30% on average), adapting in each zone to the information provided by the installed sensors.
The yield obtained increased with the volume of water applied.
In control treatment was approximately 135 t ha‑1, higher than in deficit irrigation treatments (107 and 83 t ha‑1). In any case, deficit irrigation treatments an average production higher than the average for the area in recent years (80,000-85,000 kg ha‑1). It is clearly shown that the deficit irrigation strategy applied in the initial phase of the crop directly affects crop production 40% reduction in yield). However, the soluble solids content increased considerably in the two less irrigated treatments, 6 points compared to 5 points in the control.
It should be noted that there were no differences in °Brix between the deficit treatments.
Still, there was a considerable yield loss in the therapy with deficit irrigation in the initial cultivation phase.
In this sense, the use of controlled deficit irrigation strategies will be increasingly necessary for the sustainability of the crop; however, on many occasions, establishing these water doses, the intensity, the timing and how these affect the quality and productivity of the crop is brutal for the farmer, and they must also be adjusted to the changing conditions of climate, soil variability, efficiency in water use and other parameters to be taken into account.
This work aims to evaluate an automatic irrigation system for managing controlled deficit irrigation strategies in processing tomatoes that reduce the water applied with less production loss in the processing tomato crop.
The study was conducted in 2023 within the Digispac and ET4Drought project on a plot in the experimental farm La Orden in Badajoz, Spain.
Three irrigation managements were compared.
Treatment control according to crop needs was obtained from a weighing lysimeter (2.67×2.25×1.5 m) and two deficit irrigation treatments managed automatically with the IrriDesk web platform.
One established deficit irrigation only in the ripening phase, and the other induced water stress in the initial and ripening phases of the crop.
IrriDesk used a lower volume of water than control treatment (around 30% on average), adapting in each zone to the information provided by the installed sensors.
The yield obtained increased with the volume of water applied.
In control treatment was approximately 135 t ha‑1, higher than in deficit irrigation treatments (107 and 83 t ha‑1). In any case, deficit irrigation treatments an average production higher than the average for the area in recent years (80,000-85,000 kg ha‑1). It is clearly shown that the deficit irrigation strategy applied in the initial phase of the crop directly affects crop production 40% reduction in yield). However, the soluble solids content increased considerably in the two less irrigated treatments, 6 points compared to 5 points in the control.
It should be noted that there were no differences in °Brix between the deficit treatments.
Still, there was a considerable yield loss in the therapy with deficit irrigation in the initial cultivation phase.
Authors
S. Millán, C. Montesinos, E. Márquez, J. Casadesus, C. Campillo
Keywords
drought, controlled deficit irrigation, water stress, Brix degree
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