Irrigation scheduling of peach trees (Prunus persica L.) by continuous measurement of soil water status
Continuous real time soil moisture measurements facilitate the control of soil water availability for plants. The aim of this research was to study soil water content in two irrigation treatments and its effect on the physiological response of young peach trees (Prunus pérsica (L.) Batsch cv. Flordastar) during one growing season. The irrigation treatments were: T-1, scheduled to fulfil crop water requirements (100% ETc, according to FAO, Penman-Monteith methodology), and T-2, in which irrigation doses and frequency are adjusted continuously to maintain the water content in the main root zone (0-50 cm depth) at +10% to -5% field capacity, as indicated by the continuous measurement of the soil water content by capacitance Frequency Domain Reflectrometry (FDR) probes. After irrigation, the different phases of soil water depletion in the root zone were defined according to the evaporation and root absorption processes. The first two phases, which occurred during daylight, included a rapid decrease in the soil water content (149 to 129 mm a third phase of slower soil water depletion (129 to 127 mm 0.5 m-1) occurred during the night, and a fourth involved a rapid decrease (127 to 122 mm 0.5 m-1), followed by a slight recovery, also during the night. A comparative study of the soil-plant water status patterns observed in the two treatments during one growing season was made. The irrigation treatment scheduled according to capacitance probe measurements provided a saving of 18% of irrigation water with respect to the conventional scheduled treatment and had no effect on total yield or vegetative growth of young peach trees.
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Digital revista |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Colegio de Postgraduados
2008
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| Online Access: | http://www.scielo.org.mx/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1405-31952008000800001 |
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