Articles
EFFECT OF DIFFERENT IRRIGATION REGIMES ON OLIVE TREE (OLEA EUROPAEA L., ‘KORONEIKI’) PHYSIOLOGY, YIELD AND FRUIT QUALITY
Article number
888_9
Pages
89 – 94
Language
English
Abstract
The effect of different irrigation regimes on physiological parameters (photo-synthesis, leaf water potential, stomatal conductance), yield, and fruit quality, was studied in an experimental orchard planted with 50-year-old trees of cultivar Koroneiki in Chania, Crete, Greece.
Four treatments were applied as follows: a) fully irrigated trees (FI); b) trees irrigated at 70% ETc (crop evapotranspiration) (DI70); c) trees irrigated at 40% Etc (DI40); and d) rainfed (RF). Irrigation was applied through a drip system, and the seasonal amounts totaled 272, 189 and 108 mm of irrigation water for treatments FI, DI70 and DI40 respectively (May through September), during a year with a typical dry spell of more than 100 days.
Leaf water potential was measured between 9:00 and 10:30 AM and ranged from -2.4 to -2.7 MPa for treatments FI and DI70, and from -3.2 to -3.6 for DI40, while in the RF treatment a gradual reduction from -2.5 to -6.3 MPa was observed from the beginning to the end of the dry period.
During the dry season, photosynthesis was reduced to 31% and 72% in treatments DI40 and RF respectively, as compared to treatments DI70 and FI. Similarly, fruit yield was reduced by 16.6% and 32% for treatments DI40 and RF, while there was no differentiation between the DI70 and FI treatments.
Oil content percentage was increased during maturation in all treat¬ments, with lower values appearing in non-irrigated trees.
Olive oil quality parameters (acidity, peroxide value, resistance to oxidation) were not affected significantly by the treatments, with the exception of total phenols, which were lower in oil produced by FI trees.
In conclusion, the physiological parameters and the fruit yield were not affected by the application of a deficit irrigation regime of DI70 as compared to FI trees, while both treatments were clearly rated better, compared to the low irrigation regimes (RF and DI40).
Four treatments were applied as follows: a) fully irrigated trees (FI); b) trees irrigated at 70% ETc (crop evapotranspiration) (DI70); c) trees irrigated at 40% Etc (DI40); and d) rainfed (RF). Irrigation was applied through a drip system, and the seasonal amounts totaled 272, 189 and 108 mm of irrigation water for treatments FI, DI70 and DI40 respectively (May through September), during a year with a typical dry spell of more than 100 days.
Leaf water potential was measured between 9:00 and 10:30 AM and ranged from -2.4 to -2.7 MPa for treatments FI and DI70, and from -3.2 to -3.6 for DI40, while in the RF treatment a gradual reduction from -2.5 to -6.3 MPa was observed from the beginning to the end of the dry period.
During the dry season, photosynthesis was reduced to 31% and 72% in treatments DI40 and RF respectively, as compared to treatments DI70 and FI. Similarly, fruit yield was reduced by 16.6% and 32% for treatments DI40 and RF, while there was no differentiation between the DI70 and FI treatments.
Oil content percentage was increased during maturation in all treat¬ments, with lower values appearing in non-irrigated trees.
Olive oil quality parameters (acidity, peroxide value, resistance to oxidation) were not affected significantly by the treatments, with the exception of total phenols, which were lower in oil produced by FI trees.
In conclusion, the physiological parameters and the fruit yield were not affected by the application of a deficit irrigation regime of DI70 as compared to FI trees, while both treatments were clearly rated better, compared to the low irrigation regimes (RF and DI40).
Authors
G. Psarras, I. Kasapakis, E. Stefanoudaki, I. Papadakis, K.S. Chartzoulakis
Keywords
deficit irrigation, photosynthesis, water potential, olive oil, phenols
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