Articles
SOIL WATER CONTENT VARIATIONS AS WATER STRESS INDICATOR IN PEACH TREES
Article number
889_22
Pages
197 – 203
Language
English
Abstract
The use of soil water sensors for irrigation management requires soil water content to be maintained within two limits: the upper limit at field capacity and the lower limit being slightly above the point where a crop begins to experience water stress.
The objective of this work was to evaluate whether changes in the daily reduction of the soil water content could be used to identify the beginning of plant water stress.
For that purpose, an experiment was carried out in a drip irrigated mature peach tree orchard (Prunus persica (L.) Batsch, Flordastar, on GF-677 rootstock) at the CEBAS-CSIC experimental field station, in Santomera, Murcia (Spain). One drying cycle was applied to trees (stress treatment) for one month, coinciding with the post-harvest stage.
The soil water content (SWC) was measured continuously using multisensor capacitance probes at 0.8 m soil upper layer and three SWC-derived indices were calculated.
The beginning of plant water stress was identified by the first statistically significant difference in midday stem water potential (ψstem) between stressed and well watered trees.
The breaking point, calculated as the transition between a relatively rapid rate to a slower rate of reduction of SWC in the drying soil, coincided with the beginning of plant water stress as judged from the ψstem reduction.
The dates for both the indication of plant water stress using the SWC-derived indices delayed two days respect to that of ψstem reduction or breaking point.
The results suggested that lower SWC limit for irrigation management in peach trees using the capacitance probes could be established as 10% of the soil field capacity during the postharvest period.
The objective of this work was to evaluate whether changes in the daily reduction of the soil water content could be used to identify the beginning of plant water stress.
For that purpose, an experiment was carried out in a drip irrigated mature peach tree orchard (Prunus persica (L.) Batsch, Flordastar, on GF-677 rootstock) at the CEBAS-CSIC experimental field station, in Santomera, Murcia (Spain). One drying cycle was applied to trees (stress treatment) for one month, coinciding with the post-harvest stage.
The soil water content (SWC) was measured continuously using multisensor capacitance probes at 0.8 m soil upper layer and three SWC-derived indices were calculated.
The beginning of plant water stress was identified by the first statistically significant difference in midday stem water potential (ψstem) between stressed and well watered trees.
The breaking point, calculated as the transition between a relatively rapid rate to a slower rate of reduction of SWC in the drying soil, coincided with the beginning of plant water stress as judged from the ψstem reduction.
The dates for both the indication of plant water stress using the SWC-derived indices delayed two days respect to that of ψstem reduction or breaking point.
The results suggested that lower SWC limit for irrigation management in peach trees using the capacitance probes could be established as 10% of the soil field capacity during the postharvest period.
Authors
I. Abrisqueta, J. Vera, J.M. Abrisqueta, M.C. Ruiz-Sánchez, L.M. Tapia
Keywords
capacitance probe, peach trees, soil water content, stem water potential, water stress
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