Water stress for a long period before harvest and crop load effects on marketable yield and consumer acceptance of nectarine

Sweetpotatoes [Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam cv. Georgia Jet] were grown on two soil types in drainage lysimeters under controlled soil water regimes during 1982 and 1983. Water regimes consisted of irrigating the sweetpotatoes throughout growth when soil water tension at 23 cm exceeded 25, 50, or 100 kPa or by allowing a 100-kPa water stress before root enlargement, during early root enlargement, or throughout root enlargement. Water use and marketable yields were greater when sweetpotatoes were grown on a Tifton loamy sand (fine loamy, siliceous, thermic, Plinthitic Paleudult) than when grown on a Bonifay sand (loamy, siliceous, thermic, Grossarenic, Plinthitic Paleudult). Water use, marketable yield, and yield of U.S. #1 grade roots generally decreased when soil water tensions exceeded 25 kPa before irrigation, although soil water stress of 100 kPa during storage root development did not significantly affect yield. Regression equations are provided to describe the relationships of water use to plant age and to compute daily evapotranspiration: pan evaporation ratios (crop factors) for sweetpotatoes irrigated at 25, 50, and 100 kPa of soil water tension.

Download Full-text

Response of greenhouse-grown bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) to variable irrigation

Canadian Journal of Plant Science ◽

10.4141/cjps2013-048 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 94 (2) ◽

pp. 303-310 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Olanike Aladenola ◽

Chandra Madramootoo

Keyword(s):

Water Stress ◽

Stomatal Conductance ◽

Water Use Efficiency ◽

Capsicum Annuum ◽

Water Use ◽

Irrigation Water ◽

Bell Pepper ◽

Marketable Yield ◽

Capsicum Annuum L ◽

Use Efficiency

Aladenola, O. and Madramootoo, C. 2014. Response of greenhouse-grown bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) to variable irrigation. Can. J. Plant Sci. 94: 303–310. In order to optimize water use in bell pepper production information about the appropriate irrigation water applications and agronomic and physiological response to mild and severe water stress is necessary. Different water applications were tested on yield, quality and water stress threshold of greenhouse-grown bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) cultivar Red Knight in 2011 and 2012 on the Macdonald Campus of McGill University, Ste Anne De Bellevue, QC. The study was carried out on a soil substrate in the greenhouse. Irrigation was scheduled with four treatments:120% (T1), 100% (T2), 80% (T3), and 40% (T4) replenishment of crop evapotranspiration in a completely randomized design. The highest marketable yield, water use efficiency and irrigation water use efficiency were obtained with T1 in both years. T1 received 20% more water than T2 to produce 23% more marketable yield than T2. Fruit total soluble solids content was highest in T4, and smallest in T1. The mean crop water stress index (CWSI) of the irrigation treatments ranged between 0.08 and 1.18. Leaf stomatal conductance of bell pepper was 75 to 80% lower in T4 than in T1. Regression obtained between stomatal conductance and CWSI resulted in a polynomial curve with coefficients of determination of 0.88 and 0.97 in 2011 and 2012, respectively. The result from this study indicate that the yield derived justifies the use of an extra quantity of water. Information from this study will help water regulators to make appropriate decision about water to be allocated for greenhouse production of bell pepper.

Download Full-text

Fruit yield and quality responses of apple cvars Gala and Fuji to partial rootzone drying under Mediterranean conditions

The Journal of Agricultural Science ◽

10.1017/s0021859612000718 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 151 (4) ◽

pp. 556-569 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

D. FRANCAVIGLIA ◽

V. FARINA ◽

G. AVELLONE ◽

R. LO BIANCO

Keyword(s):

Water Status ◽

Water Productivity ◽

Fruit Production ◽

Fruit Growth ◽

Soluble Solid Content ◽

Marketable Yield ◽

Crop Load ◽

Irrigation Treatments ◽

Partial Rootzone Drying ◽

Mediterranean Conditions

SUMMARYIncreasing irrigation efficiency is a major goal for fruit production in dry Mediterranean environments. The present study was conducted in three consecutive years (2007–09) under typical Mediterranean conditions and tested the effect of partial rootzone drying (PRD) on yield and fruit quality of two apple cultivars: Gala, with fruit maturing in summer and Fuji, with fruit maturing in autumn. Three irrigation treatments were imposed: conventional irrigation (CI), PRD (0·50 of CI water on one side of the rootzone, which was alternated periodically) and continuous deficit irrigation (DI, 0·50 of CI water on both sides of the rootzone). During the 2008 and 2009 irrigation seasons, DI reduced tree water status, and to some extent soil moisture, compared with CI and PRD. In all the years and both cultivars, DI reduced crop load by 11 and 5% over CI and PRD, respectively. In cvar Fuji, DI reduced production per tree by 9% and yield efficiency by 16% compared with CI. In all years for cvar Gala and in 2 of the 3 years for cvar Fuji, PRD and DI increased fruit soluble solid content by 5–6%, whereas PRD improved peel colour only in cvar Fuji and in 2 of the 3 years. In cvar Gala, DI fruit showed 27% more sorbitol and 55% more sucrose than PRD fruit. In both cultivars, PRD determined greater marketable yield and profit than DI. Irrigation water productivity (IWP) was increased by both PRD and DI, and in Fuji, PRD induced 18% greater IWP than DI. The different responses of the two cultivars to irrigation treatments can be attributed to differences in canopy size, crop load and mostly to the different timing of fruit growth. In particular, undergoing fast fruit growth during the irrigation period seems to induce permanent yield reductions in DI (but not PRD) trees of cvar Fuji, whereas water deficit during late fruit growth and lower crop load may have cancelled the negative effect of DI in the smaller trees of cvar Gala.

Download Full-text

INFLUENCE OF WATER STRESS AND CROP LOAD ON THE PHYSIOLOGY AND THE PRODUCTIVITY OF TEMPRANILLO UNDER SEMIARID CONDITIONS

Acta Horticulturae ◽

10.17660/actahortic.2004.640.10 ◽

2004 ◽

pp. 99-106

Author(s):

J.A. Rubio ◽

M.V. Alburquerque ◽

J. Yuste

Keyword(s):

Water Stress ◽

Crop Load ◽

Influence Of Water ◽

Semiarid Conditions

Download Full-text

Effects of Crop Load on Water Stress, Fruit Quality, Yield and Flower Bud Formation on Root-Restricted Wase Satsuma Mandarin Trees Grown Indoors

Engei Gakkai zasshi ◽

10.2503/jjshs.63.745 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 63 (4) ◽

pp. 745-752 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Daijirou Yahata ◽

Yoshiki Oba ◽

Minoru Kuwahara ◽

Kazunori Matsumoto

Keyword(s):

Water Stress ◽

Fruit Quality ◽

Flower Bud ◽

Crop Load ◽

Bud Formation ◽

Satsuma Mandarin ◽

Flower Bud Formation

Download Full-text

Onion Response to Water Stress

HortScience ◽

10.21273/hortsci.30.4.837d ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 30 (4) ◽

pp. 837D-837

Author(s):

Clinton C. Shock ◽

Erik B.G. Feibert ◽

Lamont D. Saunders

Keyword(s):

Water Stress ◽

Water Potential ◽

Soil Water ◽

Soil Water Potential ◽

Marketable Yield ◽

Water Deficits ◽

Yield And Quality ◽

Highly Sensitive ◽

Granular Matrix ◽

Response To Water

Six soil water potential irrigation criteria (–12.5 to –100 kPa) were examined to determine levels for maximum onion yield and quality. Soil water potential at 0.2-m depth was measured by tensiometers and granular matrix sensors (Watermark Model 20055, Irrometer Co., Riverside, Calif.). Onions are highly sensitive to small soil water deficits. The crop needs frequent irrigations to maintain small negative soil water potentials for maximum yields. In each of 3 years, yield and bulb size increased with wetter treatments. In 1994, a relatively warm year, onion yield and bulb size were maximized at –12.5 kPa. In 1993, a relatively cool year, onion marketable yield peaked at –37.5 kPa due to a significant increase in rot during storage following the wetter treatments.

Download Full-text

Yield, Mineral Composition, Water Relations, and Water Use Efficiency of Grafted Mini-watermelon Plants Under Deficit Irrigation

HortScience ◽

10.21273/hortsci.43.3.730 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 43 (3) ◽

pp. 730-736 ◽

Cited By ~ 109

Author(s):

Youssef Rouphael ◽

Mariateresa Cardarelli ◽

Giuseppe Colla ◽

Elvira Rea

Keyword(s):

Water Stress ◽

Plant Growth ◽

Water Use Efficiency ◽

Water Use ◽

Water Relations ◽

Fruit Quality ◽

Stress Conditions ◽

Irrigated Agriculture ◽

Marketable Yield ◽

Use Efficiency

Limited water supply in the Mediterranean region is a major problem in irrigated agriculture. Grafting may enhance drought resistance, plant water use efficiency, and plant growth. An experiment was conducted in two consecutive growing seasons to determine yield, plant growth, fruit quality, leaf gas exchange, water relations, macroelements content in fruits and leaves, and water use efficiency of mini-watermelon plants [Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum. and Nakai cv. Ingrid], either ungrafted or grafted onto the commercial rootstock ‘PS 1313’ (Cucurbita maxima Duchesne × Cucurbita moschata Duchesne), under open field conditions. Irrigation treatments were 1.0, 0.75, and 0.5 evapotranspiration rates. In both years (2006 and 2007), marketable yield decreased linearly in response to an increase in water stress. When averaged over year and irrigation rate, the total and marketable yields were higher by 115% and 61% in grafted than in ungrafted plants, respectively. The fruit quality parameters of grafted mini-watermelons such as fruit dry matter and total soluble solids content were similar in comparison with those of ungrafted plants, whereas titratable acidity, K, and Mg concentrations improved significantly. In both grafting combinations, yield water use efficiency (WUEy) increased under water stress conditions with higher WUE values recorded in grafted than ungrafted plants. The concentration of N, K, and Mg in leaves was higher by 7.4%, 25.6%, and 38.8%, respectively, in grafted than in ungrafted plants. The net assimilation of CO2, stomatal conductance, relative water content, leaf, and osmotic potential decreased under water stress conditions. The sensitivity to water stress was similar between grafted and ungrafted plants, and the higher marketable yield from grafted plants was mainly the result of an improvement in nutritional status and higher CO2 assimilation and water uptake from the soil.

Download Full-text