No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.
Response of 'Thompson Seedless' vines to different levels of irrigation water in the Aconcagua Valley, Chile
Abstract
In the Aconcagua Valley, Chile, a 5-year research (2007/2012), has been carried out to evaluate the response of table grape 'Thompson Seedless' vines to different volumes of irrigation water. The experimental site was a commercial orchard of 'Thompson Seedless' grafted on Freedom rootstock, located in the Aconcagua valley (70°41'23"W. Long. and 32°47'20.9"S. Lat.), Chile. Four irrigation treatments were applied: 60, 90, 120 and 140 percent of crop evapotranspiration (ETc) during the seasons 2007/08 to 2010/11, and 40, 54, 92 and 108% of Etc in the last season (2011/12). Soil water content was monitored with a capacitive probe in each treatment. Midday stem water potential was also measured. Soil available water as a result of irrigation treatments affected berry size distribution. A linear relationship between berry size and SAW was found. The bunch weight was also affected by a lower application of water (60% ETc). Maximum exportable yield was obtained in the 120% ETc treatment. Table grape production was lowered either by a water application of less than 90% ETc or more than 120% ETc. In the former case, yield reduction may be related to soil water deficit. In the latter case it may be related to poor soil aeration. The water use efficiency changed, on the average, from 7 kg/m3 of exported fruit at 40% ETc to 2.3 kg/m3 with water applied at 140% ETc.
ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any citations for this publication.
This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between water and production in 'Crimson Seedless' table grapes, and to establish threshold values for plants water status. Field experiments were carried out, during a three-year period, in the Aconcagua Valley, Chile, at 32°47'S and 70°42'W, in a clay-loamy textured soil. Different irrigation water amounts were applied, between 40 and 100% crop evapotranspiration (Etc). Stem water potential measured at midday (Ψxmin) and stomatal conductance were closely related to water shortage and yield obtained. Table grape yields decreased in comparison with applied water within the range of studied treatments. Sixty per cent Etc restriction decreased yields in 22%. When plants maintained Ψxmin greater than -0.75 MPa, between berry set and veraison, yield and berry size were high.
To be useful for indicating plant water needs, any measure of plant stress should be closely related to some of the known short- and medium-term plant stress responses, such as stomatal closure and reduced rates of expansive growth. Midday stem water potential has proven to be a useful index of stress in a number of fruit tree species. Day-to-day fluctuations in stem water potential under well-irrigated conditions are well correlated with midday vapor-pressure deficit, and, hence, a nonstressed baseline can be predicted. Measuring stem water potential helped explain the results of a 3-year deficit irrigation study in mature prunes, which showed that deficit irrigation could have either positive or negative impacts on tree productivity, depending on soil conditions. Mild to moderate water stress was economically beneficial. In almond, stem water potential was closely related to overall tree growth as measured by increases in trunk cross-sectional area. In cherry, stem water potential was correlated with leaf stomatal conductance and rates of shoot growth, with shoot growth essentially stopping once stem water potential dropped to between -1.5 to -1.7 MPa. In pear, fruit size and other fruit quality attributes (soluble solids, color) were all closely associated with stem water potential. In many of these field studies, systematic tree-to-tree differences in water status were large enough to obscure irrigation treatment effects. Hence, in the absence of a plant-based measure of water stress, it may be difficult to determine whether the lack of an irrigation treatment effect indicates the lack of a physiological response to plant water status, or rather is due to treatment ineffectiveness in influencing plant water status. These data indicate that stem water potential can be used to quantify stress reliably and guide irrigation decisions on a site-specific basis.
The reproductive growth and water productivity (WPb) of Thompson Seedless grapevines were measured as a function of applied water amounts at various fractions of measured grapevine
ETc for a total of eight irrigation treatments. Shoots were harvested numerous times during the growing season to calculate water
productivity. Berry weight was maximized at the 0.6–0.8 applied water treatments across years. As applied water amounts increased
soluble solids decreased. Berry weight measured at veraison and harvest was a linear function of the mean midday leaf water
potential measured between anthesis and veraison and anthesis and harvest, respectively. As applied water amounts increased
up to the 0.6–0.8 irrigation treatments there was a significant linear increase in yield. Yields at greater applied water
amounts either leveled off or decreased. The reduction in yield on either side of the yearly maximum was due to fewer numbers
of clusters per vine. Maximum yield occurred at an ETc ranging from 550 to 700mm. Yield per unit applied water and WPb increased as applied water decreased. The results from this study demonstrated that Thompson Seedless grapevines can be deficit
irrigated, increasing water use efficiency while maximizing yields.
Water consumption of table grapevines (Vitis vinifera cv. Superior Seedless) trained to a large open-canopy gable system was measured during six growing seasons (1999, 2001–2005)
using 12 drainage lysimeters. The lysimeters (1.3m3 each) were installed as part of a one-hectare vineyard in a semi-arid region in southern Israel. Water consumption of the
lysimeter-grown vines (ETc) was used as the basis for the calculation of irrigation applications in the vineyard. Three irrigation treatments, 80% (high),
60% (medium) and 40% (low) of ETc of the lysimeter-grown vines, were applied in the vineyard. Reference evapotranspiration (ETo) was calculated from regional meteorological data according to the Penman–Monteith equation. Seasonal curves for the crop
coefficient (K
c) were calculated as K
c=ETc/ETo. Maximum ETc values in different seasons ranged from 7.26 to 8.59mmday−1 and seasonal ETc (from DOY 91 through DOY 304) ranged from 1,087 to 1,348mm over the six growing seasons. Leaf area index (LAI) was measured
monthly using the SunScan Canopy Analysis System. Maximum LAI ranged from 4.2 to 6.2m2m−2 for the 2002–2005 seasons. A second-order polynomial curve relating K
c to LAI (R2=0.907, P<0.0001) is proposed as the basis for efficient irrigation management. The effects of the irrigation treatments on canopy
growth and yield are presented. The high ETc and K
c values that were observed are explained by the wide canopy layout that characterize the large open-gable trellis system.
The relationships among water use and the crop coefficient of Vitis vinifera L. cv. Thompson Seedless with several measures of canopy development were determined with the aid of a weighing lysimeter in the San Joaquin Valley of California. At various times during two growing seasons, vine leaf area, calculated leaf area index (LAI) and the amount of shade cast on the ground directly beneath the canopy were determined. Leaf area was estimated by measuring the length of all shoots on the vines within the lysimeter and determining the relationship between length and leaf area per shoot and calculating total vine leaf area or by destructive harvests of vines of similar size surrounding the lysimeter. Shaded area was determined in 1998 using a grid (with 50 cm2 individual sections) on the ground beneath the vine at solar noon and estimating the percent shade within each square. Total shade was calculated as the product of the area of all squares and the percent shade within each square. In 1999 shaded area was determined from an image of the shade beneath the canopy that was downloaded to a computer and the shade digitized with the use of a software program. Daily water use ranged from 4 to 60 L per vine across both years. Leaf area per vine ranged from 2 to 34 m2 per vine during the study. The amount of shade cast on the ground was a linear function of total vine leaf area although there were differences between years. The north and south curtains of the vines’ canopies were raised for a 2-week period in 1999 to simulate an overhead trellis system. The percent shaded area increased from 60 to 75% and vine water use increased from ∼42 L per vine before the curtains were raised to greater than 60 L per vine after being raised. The crop coefficient (Kc) increased from 0.9 to 1.3. Vine water use and the crop coefficient were linearly related to leaf area per vine, LAI and the amount of shade cast on the ground. However, the greatest R2 value (0.95) of the relationships with the Kc was that for shaded area compared to a R2 value of 0.87 for leaf area and LAI. The data indicate that due to the structure of a grapevine canopy the interception of light, as measured by the amount of shade cast on the ground, is a more important determinant of vine water use and the Kc than total leaf area or LAI.
Globally, agriculture accounts for 80-90% of all freshwater used by humans, and most of that is in crop production. In many areas, this water use is unsustainable; water supplies are also under pressure from other users and are being affected by climate change. Much effort is being made to reduce water use by crops and produce 'more crop per drop'. This paper examines water use by crops, taking particularly a physiological viewpoint, examining the underlying relationships between carbon uptake, growth and water loss. Key examples of recent progress in both assessing and improving crop water productivity are described. It is clear that improvements in both agronomic and physiological understanding have led to recent increases in water productivity in some crops. We believe that there is substantial potential for further improvements owing to the progress in understanding the physiological responses of plants to water supply, and there is considerable promise within the latest molecular genetic approaches, if linked to the appropriate environmental physiology. We conclude that the interactions between plant and environment require a team approach looking across the disciplines from genes to plants to crops in their particular environments to deliver improved water productivity and contribute to sustainability.
In the Aconcagua Valley, Chile (32° 47′ S, 70° 42′ O), during three consecutive periods, a trial on table grapes cv. Crimson Seedless was carried out. The objective was to evaluate the effect of soil water content and berry phenological stages on trunk diameter variations (TDV), and to determine its possible use in irrigation scheduling. Four treatments were applied: T1, irrigation at 100% crop evapotranspiration (Etc); T 2, 75% Etc; T3, 50% Etc and T4, with a variable irrigation regime between 0 and 100% Etc. Berry phenological stage affected maximum daily trunk growth (MDG) as well as maximum daily trunk shrinkage (MDS). MDG was higher in T1 and depended on soil water content during the phenological stage of berry set to the beginning of veraison, when berry size reached 85% of its final size. Then MDG can be used as a tool for irrigation scheduling. MDS showed a more complex response according to soil water availability, it increased with moderate deficits as well as with soil water excess. Therefore, MDS is not an appropriated indicator for irrigation scheduling in table grapes cv. Crimson Seedless.
During the 2008/09 and 2009/10 seasons, net radiation (Rn), latent heat flux (LE), sensible heat flux (H), soil heat flux (G), and crop evapotranspiration (ETc =LE, where λ is latent heat of vaporization) were measured on a drip-irrigated Thompson Seedless vineyard trained on an overhead trellised system ("parronal español"). The experiment was located in Calle Larga, Aconcagua valley, Chile (32°52'40" S, 70°37'45" O, 795 m s.n.m.). LE and H were measured by an eddy correlation system, and reference evapotranspiration (ETo) was calculated using the FAO-Penman-Monteith method. Results indicated that the closure error (ratio of LE+H to Rn-G) decreased as canopy light interception increased (CLI). With 22% CLI closure error was around 20-30%. Over 74% CLI, closure error was around 10 to 20%. Higher closure error with low CLI can be attributed to errors on measurement of G. At 22% CLI the energy partition relative to Rn were 13, 45 and 13% for LE, H and G, respectively. With higher CLI ( 98%), LE, H and G were 81, 0.1 and 1% of Rn respectively. Derived crop coefficients (Kc = ETa/ETo) under an overhead trellised system are higher than those proposed by FAO 56 for table grapes, from near veraison to end of the season. Kc values from budbreak to harvest period increased linearly as CLI increased (Kc = 0.0137*CLI(%) -0.1492).
El objetivo de este ensayo fue evaluar el efecto de tres frecuencias de riego por goteo sobre un parronal de uva de mesa (Vitis vinifera L.), cv. Thompson Seedless, plantado en un suelo de textura franco arcillosa (Fluventic Haploxeroll). Las frecuencias de riego se establecieron considerando la evapotranspiración (ETc) acumulada del cultivo, determinada por el método de la evaporación de bandeja y corregida por un coeficiente de cultivo (Kc), y expresada como acumulación de horas de riego equivalentes. Los tratamientos correspondieron a regar cada vez que la ETc acumulada correspondiera a 6 h (T6), 12 h (T12) y 18 h de riego (T18). El mayor tamaño de bulbo de suelo húmedo se obtuvo con el T18. Este tratamiento presentó mayor peso de poda y calibre de bayas a la cosecha. El potencial hídrico xilemático fue más alto (P £ 0,05) en el tratamiento T18 que en los otros tratamientos. Estos resultados se podrían explicar, dadas las características texturales del suelo, por un mejor equilibrio agua-aire en el suelo en el tratamiento regado con menos frecuencia.