Abstract
The primary natural source of water for the Hass avocado crop in the tropics is precipitation. However, this is insufficient to provide most crops’ water requirements due to the spatial and temporal variability. This study aims to demonstrate that Hass avocado requires irrigation in Colombia, and this is done by analyzing the dynamics of local precipitation regimes and the influence of Intertropical Convergence Zone phenomena (ITCZ) on the irrigation requirement (IR). This study was carried out in Colombia’s current and potential Hass avocado production zones (PPA) by computing and mapping the monthly IR, and classifying months found to be in deficit and excess. The influence of ITCZ on IR by performing a metric relevance analysis on weights of optimized Artificial Neural Networks was computed. The water deficit map illustrates a 99.8% of PPA requires water irrigation at least one month a year. The movement of ITCZ toward latitudes far to those where PPA is located between May to September decreases precipitation and consequently increases the IR area of Hass avocado. Water deficit visualization maps could become a novel and powerful tool for Colombian farmers when scheduling irrigation in those months and periods identified in these maps.
Highlights
It is demonstrated that a high percentage of the current and potential production area of Hass avocado in Colombia needs water irrigation for at least one month per year
The performed analysis on zones with bimodal, monomodal, and rainy precipitation regimes in Colombia where Hass avocado can be potentially cultivated evidenced that there is a need for extra water in a high percentage of the area, not accounting for the precipitation regime
The approach of studying the irrigation requirement through its monthly spatial distribution is a more accurate indicator than studying this phenomenon at a regional scale, as it involves the totalizing of the annual amount of the precipitation and evapotranspiration in the study area
Summary
Represents an important agribusiness in many countries, such as Mexico, Indonesia, the United States of America, Dominican Republic, Colombia, Chile, Peru, among others [1]. In countries such as Colombia, the planted area with Hass avocado has significantly increased in recent years [2]. The industry has presented some technological limitations in selecting regions with appropriate soil and climatic conditions for planting this species [3]. In Colombia, climate variability has generated drought conditions that negatively affect yields in avocado production systems with a high impact on water availability [4,5,6]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
