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A model for computing date palm water requirements as affected by salinity

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Abstract

Irrigation of crops in arid regions with marginal water is expanding. Due to economic and environmental issues arising from use of low-quality water, irrigation should follow the actual crop water demands. However, direct measurements of transpiration are scant, and indirect methods are commonly applied; e.g., the Penman–Monteith (PM) equation that integrates physiological and meteorological parameters. In this study, the effects of environmental conditions on canopy resistance and water loss were experimentally characterized, and a model to calculate palm tree evapotranspiration ETc was developed. A novel addition was to integrate water salinity into the model, thus accounting for irrigation water quality as an additional factor. Palm tree ETc was affected by irrigation water salinity, and maximum values were reduced by 25 % in plants irrigated with 4 dS m−1 and by 50 % in the trees irrigated with 8 dS m−1. Results relating the responses of stomata to the environment exhibited an exponential relation between increased light intensities and stomatal conductance, a surprising positive response of stomata to high vapor pressure deficits and a decrease in conductance as water salinity increased. These findings were integrated into a modified ‘Jarvis–PM’ canopy conductance model using only meteorological and water quality inputs. The new approach produced weekly irrigation recommendations based on field water salinity (2.8 dS m−1) and climatic forecasts that led to a 20 % decrease in irrigation water use when compared with current irrigation recommendations.

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Acknowledgments

This project was partially supported by I-CORE Program of the Planning and Budgeting Committee and the Israel Science Foundation (Grant No. 152/11), by a grant (No. 704-0002-09) from the Chief Scientist of the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture, and through support provided by the Rosenzweig-Coopersmith Foundation and by ICA in Israel.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Wyler Department of Dryland Agriculture, French Associates Institute for Agriculture and Biotechnology of Drylands, J. Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Midreshet Ben-Gurion, Israel

    Or Sperling & Naftali Lazarovitch

  2. Northern R&D, Migal, Kiryat Shmona, Israel

    Or Shapira

  3. The Southern Arava R&D, Yotvata, Israel

    Effi Tripler

  4. Faculty of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel

    Or Shapira & Amnon Schwartz

Authors
  1. Or Sperling
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  2. Or Shapira
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  3. Effi Tripler
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  4. Amnon Schwartz
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  5. Naftali Lazarovitch
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Or Sperling or Naftali Lazarovitch.

Additional information

Communicated by E. Fereres.

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Sperling, O., Shapira, O., Tripler, E. et al. A model for computing date palm water requirements as affected by salinity. Irrig Sci 32, 341–350 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00271-014-0433-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00271-014-0433-5

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