THE INFLUENCE OF DIFFERENT IRRIGATION STRATEGIES AND THE PERCENTAGE OF WET SOIL VOLUME ON THE PRODUCTIVE AND VEGETATIVE BEHAVIOUR OF THE HAZELNUT TREE (CORYLUS AVELLANA L.)

J.R. Gispert, J. Tous, A. Romero, J. Plana, J. Gil, J. Company
The hazelnut is a traditional crop in some areas of the “Camp de Tarragona”, Catalonia, and also in others including “Priorat” and “Conca de Barberà”. The main limiting factors for hazelnut production are low rainfall and limited water availability. Drip irrigation is the main system used in most orchards to supply water. This system has two main limitations: a) unsuitable water supply (the irrigation period does not match the physiological process) and b) deficient management (very limited wet soil volume). In an attempt to deal with these two main limitations, two field experiments were carried out on two plots with different soils: loamy soil at “Alcover” and sandy soil at “La Selva del Camp”. Both plots are commercial orchards in full production with ‘Pauetet’ as the main cultivar and ‘Gironell’ as the pollinator at “Alcover” and ‘Negret’ at “La Selva del Camp”. The effects of the different irrigation strategies applied (E-1: Irrigation from April to September; E-2: Irrigation from June to September; E-3: Irrigation from April to September with a 30% water supply reduction in summer; E-4: Irrigation from April to September with a 60% water supply reduction in summer) on crop production and harvest quality are given. The productive and vegetative responses of hazelnut trees after being irrigated with different wet soil volume (WSV), 6%, 13%, 25% and 57%, are also presented.
  1. Results obtained under these agro-climatic conditions showed that strategy E-1 (irrigation from April to September) with supplied water throughout the hazelnut’s annual physiological cycle (vegetative, reproductive cycle) provided a good productive response (kg kernel/ha) and also a good kernel quality (kg kernel/ha > Ø12 mm).
  2. Strategy E-2 affected the physiological phases and reduced kernel quality (kg kernel/ha > Ø12 mm).
  3. Dose irrigation reduction during summer (E-4) caused a fall in production (kg kernel/ha) and also a significant lower quality (kg kernel/ha > Ø12 mm).
  4. The best productive response (kg kernel/ha) and vegetative growth (mm/year) obtained was around 20-40% (WSV) with respect to total potential volume explored by roots (PVER).
  5. The E-2 and E-3 strategies produced similar levels of water saving (15%) in relation to E-1. However the highest levels of efficiency were obtained when E-3 was applied.
Gispert, J.R., Tous, J., Romero, A., Plana, J., Gil, J. and Company, J. (2005). THE INFLUENCE OF DIFFERENT IRRIGATION STRATEGIES AND THE PERCENTAGE OF WET SOIL VOLUME ON THE PRODUCTIVE AND VEGETATIVE BEHAVIOUR OF THE HAZELNUT TREE (CORYLUS AVELLANA L.). Acta Hortic. 686, 333-342
DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2005.686.47
https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2005.686.47
drip irrigation, hazelnut, Corylus avellana, irrigation strategies, wet soil volume
English

Acta Horticulturae