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Using data on soil ECa, soil water properties, and response of tree root system for spatial water balancing in an apple orchard

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Abstract

The study aims at spatial analysis of water deficit of fruit trees under semi-humid climate conditions. Differences of soil, root, and their relation with the spatial variability of crop evapotranspiration (ETa) were analyzed. Measurements took place in a six hectare apple orchard (Malus x domestica ‘Gala’) located in fruit production area of Brandenburg (latitude: 52.606°N, longitude: 13.817°E). Data of apparent soil electrical conductivity (ECa) in 25 cm were used for guided sampling of soil texture, bulk density, rooting depth, root water potential, and volumetric water content. Soil ECa showed high correlation with root depth. The readily available soil water content (RAW) was calculated considering three cases utilizing (i) uniform root depth of 1 m, (ii) measured values of root depth, and (iii) root water potential measured during full bloom, fruit cell division stage, at harvest. The RAW set the thresholds for irrigation. The ETa was calculated based on data from a weather station in the field and RAW cases in high, medium and low ECa conditions. ETa values obtained were utilized to quantify how fruit trees cope with spatial soil variability. The RAW-based irrigation thresholds for locations of low and high ECa value differed. The implementation of plant parameters (rooting depth, root water potential) in the water balance provided a more representative figure of water needs of fruit trees Consequently, the precise adjustment of irrigation including plant data can optimize the water use.

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Abbreviations

De :

Daily cumulative depth of water depleted from the surface (mm)

Dr, i :

Water depletion in the root zone at the end of day i (mm)

DPi :

Water loss out of the root zone by deep percolation on day i (mm)

DPe,i :

Water loss from the top soil by deep percolation at the end of day i (mm)

es :

Saturation vapour pressure (kPa)

ea :

Actual vapour pressure (kPa)

Ei :

Evaporation at the and of day i (mm)

ECa:

Apparent soil electrical conductivity (mS/m)

ET0 :

Reference evapotranspiration (mm)

ETa :

Actual crop evapotranspiration (mm)

ETa,RF :

Actual crop evapotranspiration adjusted to soil texture and plant height considering mean root depth of 1 m

ETa,RD :

Actual crop evapotranspiration adjusted to soil texture and plant height considering variable root depth (mm)

ETa,Ψ :

Crop evapotranspiration adjusted to soil texture and plant height considering variable root depth and root water potential (mm)

few,i :

The daily exposed and wetted soil fraction (Allen et al. 1998)

fW :

The fraction of wetted soil surface (Allen et al. 1998)

h:

Mean tree height (m)

I:

Irrigation (mm)

G:

Soil heat flux (MJ/m2 days)

Kcb :

Basal crop coefficient

Kcb,ini :

Initial basal crop coefficient during bud break and end full bloom, adjusted to field conditions

Kcb,mid :

Basal crop coefficient during full bloom and beginning of harvest, adjusted to field conditions

Kcb,end :

Basal crop coefficient during harvest till defoliation, adjusted to field conditions

Kcb,max :

Maximum value of basal crop coefficient during the cultivation period, adjusted to field conditions

Kc,ini (tab) :

Initial crop coefficient according to Table 12 (Allen et al. 1998)

Kc,mid (tab) :

Midterm crop coefficient according to Table 12 (Allen et al. 1998)

Kc,end(tab) :

Crop coefficient after harvest according to Table 12 (Allen et al. 1998)

Ke,RF,RD :

Soil surface evaporation coefficient

Ke,Ψ :

Soil surface evaporation coefficient based on measured values

Kr, RF,RD :

Soil evaporation reduction coefficient (Allen et al. 1998)

Kr,Ψ :

Soil evaporation reduction coefficient based on measured values

Ks,RF :

Soil water stress coefficient adjusted to soil textureKs,RDSoil water stress coefficient adjusted to soil texture and variable root depth

Ks,Ψ :

Soil water stress coefficient adjusted to soil texture, variable root depth and midday root water potential (mm)

p:

The average fraction of TAW that can be depleted from the root zone before the revealing of moisture stress (mm)

ptab :

Tabulated p values (Allen et al. 1998)

P:

Precipitation (mm)

RAWRF :

Readily available water content in the root zone adjusted to soil texture and tree height (mm)

RAWRD :

Readily available water content in the root zone adjusted to soil texture, tree height, and variable root depth measured (mm)

RAWΨ :

Readily available water content in the root zone adjusted to soil texture, variable root depth, and root water potential measured midday (mm)

RAWlow :

Readily available water content in the root zone in low ECa regions (mm)

RAWmid :

Readily available water content in the root zone in depth in mid ECa regions (mm)

RAWhigh :

Readily available water content in the root zone in high ECa regions (mm)

REW:

Cumulative depth of evaporation (mm)

RH:

Mean daily relative humidity (%)

Rn :

Solar radiation (W m−2)

ROi :

Run off at the end of day i (mm)

S:

Slope of the saturation vapour pressure (kPa/°C)

Tm :

Mean temperature (°C)

Tmax :

Max temperature (°C)

Tmin :

Min temperature (°C)

TAWRF :

Total available water in the root zone (mm) adjusted to soil texture

TAWRD :

Total available water in the root zone (mm) adjusted to soil texture and variable root depth measured

TAWΨ :

Total available water in the root zone (mm) adjusted to soil texture, variable root depth, and root water potential measured midday

TEWRF,RD :

Maximum evaporable water defined according the soil texture analyses

TEWΨ :

The maximum evaporable water, which defined according the soil texture analyses and the midday root water potential as wilting point

u:

Wind speed (m s−1)

WB:

Water balance model (mm)

WBRF :

Water balance model (mm) soil-adjusted

WBRD :

Water balance model (mm) adjusted to soil and rooting depth

WBΨ :

Water balance model (mm) adjusted to soil, rooting depth and midday root water potential

WP:

Wilting point, index 0 ranging from − 1.50 to − 1.01 MPa, while Ψ refers to root water potential measured midday

Ze :

Effective depth of soil evaporation layer (m)

ZR :

Root depth measured (m)

Z0 :

Uniform root depth of 1 m (Allen et al. 1998) for apple trees

γ:

Psychrometric coefficient (kPa/°C)

ρ:

Apparent soil resistivity (Ω m)

ΘFC :

Volumetric soil water content at field capacity (FC) (m3 m−3)

ΘWP :

Volumetric soil water content at WP0 (m3 m−3)

Θψ :

Volumetric soil water content at wilting point (m3 m−3) according to root water potential measured midday

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Funding

Funding was supported by EIP-AGRI, ILB, Ministerium für Ländliche Entwicklung, Umwelt und Landwirtschaft (MLUL) Brandenburg, (Grant no. 2045).

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  1. Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy, Max-Eyth-Allee 100, 14469, Potsdam, Germany

    Nikos Tsoulias, Robin Gebbers & Manuela Zude-Sasse

  2. Department of Natural Resources Management & Agricultural Engineering, Agricultural University of Athens, Iera Odos 75, 118 55, Athens, Greece

    Nikos Tsoulias

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  1. Nikos Tsoulias
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  2. Robin Gebbers
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  3. Manuela Zude-Sasse
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Correspondence to Manuela Zude-Sasse.

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Tsoulias, N., Gebbers, R. & Zude-Sasse, M. Using data on soil ECa, soil water properties, and response of tree root system for spatial water balancing in an apple orchard. Precision Agric 21, 522–548 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11119-019-09680-8

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