Quantifying persimmon tree responses to water and nutrients for designing efficient and sustainable fertirrigation protocols

Abstract

Persimmon cultivation is gaining importance in many semi-arid areas of the world. This is the case of eastern Spain, where the rainfall regime is well below the crop water needs, and drip irrigation is typically used to control the water and nutrient supplies. This review is a summary of the current information in the literature on persimmon water and nutrient requirements. Crop responses to variable irrigation regimes and mild to severe water stress are also analyzed. It is concluded that persimmon water needs can be particularly high during summer, when the crop coefficient can reach values close or even above 1.0. In order to cope with water scarcity, regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) has been shown as a useful technique for reducing fruit drop in persimmon trees. RDI strategies during fruit ripening can accelerate fruit color development, resulting in earlier harvesting but with lower fruit weight. Information on nutrients requirement of astringent and non-astringent varieties of persimmon is also provided. Finally, new research for continuing plant-water relations studies on persimmon trees, such as the need to quantify the optimum nutrition plans under conditions of variable water supply, will be proposed.