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Water requirements of mature almond trees in response to atmospheric demand

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Abstract

Accurate methods to determine irrigation requirements are necessary for the efficient use of water in agriculture. We conducted measurements of transpiration (T) of one almond tree placed in a large weighing lysimeter and instrumented with sap-flow probes for three seasons (2014–2016; 6–9 years after transplanting). We also conducted independent T estimations by the water balance method in four plots. Transpiration was related to reference evapotranspiration (ETo) to obtain the coefficient of transpiration (KT = T/ETo). Average mid-season KT of the lysimeter tree was 0.55, 0.68 and 0.91 in 2014, 2015, and 2016, respectively, and maximum ground cover (GC) was 55, 59 and 55% for the same years. These KT values standardized by GC were supported by the independent estimations of KT/GC obtained in the plots using the water balance, except in 2016, when a very high KT value was observed in the lysimeter tree. There were significant fluctuations in daily KT during mid-season, which we found to be related to wind speed. Furthermore, the exceptionally high KT/GC relationship of 2016 was apparently related to the very high crop load in the lysimeter of that year (75% more than the 2 other normal years). Hourly bulk canopy conductance values were derived from lysimeter T records to confirm the high transpiration rates prior to harvest during 2016. From the KT values measured here, we propose that the mid-season KT of fully mature almond orchards, with a GC of 75%, should be around—between 0.9 and 1.05. An estimation of evaporation from soil, which is dependent on the method of irrigation, needs to be added to obtain the net water requirements.

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Acknowledgements

This study has been financially supported by the project PR.AVA.AVA201601.18 “Gestión integral del cultivo del almendro y otros frutos secos en Andalucía (INNOVA-Nuts)”, funded by the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER), and by the MINECO Projects RIPAO (AGL2012-35196) and SORIAL (AGL2015-66141-R) and by the Junta de Andalucía (PI2-AGR2521). Technical support was provided by IFAPA-Córdoba. Manuel López’s PhD funding (BES-2013-063390) was also provided by MINECO. We acknowledge the support of M. Orgaz, K. Gutiérrez and R. Luque in the field work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Agronomy, IAS-CSIC, Córdoba, Spain

    Manuel López-López, Luca Testi, Francisco Orgaz & Elías Fereres

  2. Department of Agriculture and Environment, IFAPA, Córdoba, Spain

    Mónica Espadafor & Ignacio Jesús Lorite

  3. Department of Agronomy, Universidad de Cordoba, Córdoba, Spain

    Elías Fereres

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  1. Manuel López-López
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  2. Mónica Espadafor
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Correspondence to Manuel López-López.

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Communicated by I. Dodd.

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López-López, M., Espadafor, M., Testi, L. et al. Water requirements of mature almond trees in response to atmospheric demand. Irrig Sci 36, 271–280 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00271-018-0582-z

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