Directory UMM :Data Elmu:jurnal:A:Agricultural Water Management:Vol43.Issue1.Feb2000:
Agricultural Water Management 43 (2000) 75±98
Water balance in a young almond orchard under
drip irrigation with water of low quality
J.A. Francoa, J.M. Abrisquetab,*, A. HernansaÂezb, F. Morenoc
a
Departamento de IngenierõÂa Aplicada, Universidad de Murcia, Alfonso XIII 42 30204 Cartagena, Spain
b
Departamento de Riego y Salinidad, Centro de EdafologõÂa y BiologõÂa Aplicada del Segura (CSIC),
P.O. Box 4195, 30080 Murcia, Spain
c
Departamento de Sostenibilidad del Sistema Suelo-Planta-AtmoÂsfera, Instituto de Recursos Naturales y
AgrobiologõÂa de Sevilla (CSIC). P.O. Box 1052, 41080 Sevilla, Spain
Accepted 9 March 1999
Abstract
The water balance of young almond trees (Amygdalus communis L. cv. Atocha grafted onto
`PestanÄeta' almond rootstock), drip-irrigated with low quality water, was determined during two
and a half years. Four irrigation treatments based on the reduction coefficients of Class A pan
evaporation were used to determine the water uptake of this species, although the water balance was
only determined in the highest and lowest irrigation treatments. The water balance parameters for
these treatments are shown and discussed in detail. The ETc calculated for the two treatments
differed markedly during summer, reaching values of 4.3 and 3.3 mm per day (for the highest and
the lowest irrigation treatments, respectively), during the last year of the experiment, coinciding
with the months of highest evaporation. When various vegetative and productive parameters were
studied in relation with the irrigation treatments, no clear conclusions were reached. This was
mainly due to the excessive salinity of the irrigation water used (4.26 dS mÿ1), which limited the
trees' vegetative growth and production rate, which in our case was 1583 kg haÿ1 compared with
the 2955 kg haÿ1 obtained when less saline irrigation water (0.8 dS mÿ1) and similar irrigation
water volumes (408 and 368 mm, respectively) were used for the same cultivar (Atocha). # 2000
Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Water balance; Almond tree; Drip irrigation; Saline water
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +34-968217642; fax: +34-968266613.
E-mail address: jmabrisq@natura.cebas.csic.es
0378-3774/00/$ ± see front matter # 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 3 7 8 - 3 7 7 4 ( 9 9 ) 0 0 0 4 9 - 9
76
J.A. Franco et al. / Agricultural Water Management 43 (2000) 75±98
1. Introduction
Spain, Italy, and USA have traditionally been world leaders in almond production.
However, Italian almond production has decreased since the seventies (Barbera and
Monastra, 1989), whereas the Spanish and particularly the North-American crops have
increased.
In Spain almond is mainly cultivated in the Mediterranean area in both dry (92%) and
irrigated plantations (8%). This high percentage of dry cultivation is due basically to the
good drought-resistance of the species, which can still be productive in high water deficit
situations. Indeed its irrigation has been considered not only useless but counterproductive, as was confirmed by the use in clay soils of almond scion cultivar, which is
very sensitive to root asphyxia and so little tolerant of soil flooding (Barbera and
Monastra, 1989).
Nevertheless, almond is a species that responds well to irrigation and behaves well
under different water regimes (Fereres, 1978). Watering has been shown to be one of the
most important production factors of this species, as confirmed by numerous studies
reporting the positive effect of irrigation on both production and vegetative development
(Micke et al., 1972; Veihmeyer, 1975; Fereres et al., 1981a, b, 1982; Shirra et al., 1988;
Fereres and Goldhamer, 1990). Some of these studies have been carried out with
autochthonous Murcian species (LeoÂn et al., 1985; Ruiz-SaÂnchez et al., 1988; Torrecillas
et al., 1989), and many authors have attempted to define parameters of irrigation
efficiency, which is particularly important when using a commodity which is both limited
in supply and expensive.
Given the problems originated by water deficit in SE Spain and the low quality of this
resource, it is essential to study how best to use what is available, so that the dosage can
be adjusted to a minimum, with no drop in the quality or quantity of the yield.
The object of this work was to study the water balance of drip-irrigated young almond
trees provided with different levels of irrigation water to achieve the above aims. We also
present a model for estimating water balance parameters, taking into account both the
areas which are affected and those not affected by the irrigation water. This model
includes a weighted method to express changes in water storage and drainage in the
mentioned areas.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Experimental site
The experiment was carried out at a farm located 22 km SE of the city of Murcia on the
Mediterranean coast of Spain (378470 N; 08370 W; altitude 130 m). The soil is a Xeric
torriorthent with silt loam texture, showing no variation at any of the depths studied
(1.5 m). The main characteristics of the soil are shown in Table 1.
Texture characterisation was carried out from 40 profiles of soil forming a regular
network. Soil samples were taken with an auger at 0.25 m intervals and with a maximum
depth of 1.5 m. The granulometric composition was determined for each sample
J.A. Franco et al. / Agricultural Water Management 43 (2000) 75±98
77
Table 1
Main characteristics of the soil
Fraction D (
Water balance in a young almond orchard under
drip irrigation with water of low quality
J.A. Francoa, J.M. Abrisquetab,*, A. HernansaÂezb, F. Morenoc
a
Departamento de IngenierõÂa Aplicada, Universidad de Murcia, Alfonso XIII 42 30204 Cartagena, Spain
b
Departamento de Riego y Salinidad, Centro de EdafologõÂa y BiologõÂa Aplicada del Segura (CSIC),
P.O. Box 4195, 30080 Murcia, Spain
c
Departamento de Sostenibilidad del Sistema Suelo-Planta-AtmoÂsfera, Instituto de Recursos Naturales y
AgrobiologõÂa de Sevilla (CSIC). P.O. Box 1052, 41080 Sevilla, Spain
Accepted 9 March 1999
Abstract
The water balance of young almond trees (Amygdalus communis L. cv. Atocha grafted onto
`PestanÄeta' almond rootstock), drip-irrigated with low quality water, was determined during two
and a half years. Four irrigation treatments based on the reduction coefficients of Class A pan
evaporation were used to determine the water uptake of this species, although the water balance was
only determined in the highest and lowest irrigation treatments. The water balance parameters for
these treatments are shown and discussed in detail. The ETc calculated for the two treatments
differed markedly during summer, reaching values of 4.3 and 3.3 mm per day (for the highest and
the lowest irrigation treatments, respectively), during the last year of the experiment, coinciding
with the months of highest evaporation. When various vegetative and productive parameters were
studied in relation with the irrigation treatments, no clear conclusions were reached. This was
mainly due to the excessive salinity of the irrigation water used (4.26 dS mÿ1), which limited the
trees' vegetative growth and production rate, which in our case was 1583 kg haÿ1 compared with
the 2955 kg haÿ1 obtained when less saline irrigation water (0.8 dS mÿ1) and similar irrigation
water volumes (408 and 368 mm, respectively) were used for the same cultivar (Atocha). # 2000
Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Water balance; Almond tree; Drip irrigation; Saline water
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +34-968217642; fax: +34-968266613.
E-mail address: jmabrisq@natura.cebas.csic.es
0378-3774/00/$ ± see front matter # 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 3 7 8 - 3 7 7 4 ( 9 9 ) 0 0 0 4 9 - 9
76
J.A. Franco et al. / Agricultural Water Management 43 (2000) 75±98
1. Introduction
Spain, Italy, and USA have traditionally been world leaders in almond production.
However, Italian almond production has decreased since the seventies (Barbera and
Monastra, 1989), whereas the Spanish and particularly the North-American crops have
increased.
In Spain almond is mainly cultivated in the Mediterranean area in both dry (92%) and
irrigated plantations (8%). This high percentage of dry cultivation is due basically to the
good drought-resistance of the species, which can still be productive in high water deficit
situations. Indeed its irrigation has been considered not only useless but counterproductive, as was confirmed by the use in clay soils of almond scion cultivar, which is
very sensitive to root asphyxia and so little tolerant of soil flooding (Barbera and
Monastra, 1989).
Nevertheless, almond is a species that responds well to irrigation and behaves well
under different water regimes (Fereres, 1978). Watering has been shown to be one of the
most important production factors of this species, as confirmed by numerous studies
reporting the positive effect of irrigation on both production and vegetative development
(Micke et al., 1972; Veihmeyer, 1975; Fereres et al., 1981a, b, 1982; Shirra et al., 1988;
Fereres and Goldhamer, 1990). Some of these studies have been carried out with
autochthonous Murcian species (LeoÂn et al., 1985; Ruiz-SaÂnchez et al., 1988; Torrecillas
et al., 1989), and many authors have attempted to define parameters of irrigation
efficiency, which is particularly important when using a commodity which is both limited
in supply and expensive.
Given the problems originated by water deficit in SE Spain and the low quality of this
resource, it is essential to study how best to use what is available, so that the dosage can
be adjusted to a minimum, with no drop in the quality or quantity of the yield.
The object of this work was to study the water balance of drip-irrigated young almond
trees provided with different levels of irrigation water to achieve the above aims. We also
present a model for estimating water balance parameters, taking into account both the
areas which are affected and those not affected by the irrigation water. This model
includes a weighted method to express changes in water storage and drainage in the
mentioned areas.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Experimental site
The experiment was carried out at a farm located 22 km SE of the city of Murcia on the
Mediterranean coast of Spain (378470 N; 08370 W; altitude 130 m). The soil is a Xeric
torriorthent with silt loam texture, showing no variation at any of the depths studied
(1.5 m). The main characteristics of the soil are shown in Table 1.
Texture characterisation was carried out from 40 profiles of soil forming a regular
network. Soil samples were taken with an auger at 0.25 m intervals and with a maximum
depth of 1.5 m. The granulometric composition was determined for each sample
J.A. Franco et al. / Agricultural Water Management 43 (2000) 75±98
77
Table 1
Main characteristics of the soil
Fraction D (