The irrigation effect on nuts' growth and yield of Carya illinoinensis.

Rudinei De Marco,Flávio G Herter,Carlos R Martins,Paulo C Mello-Farias,Roberto J.Z Goldschmidt,Alison Uberti

doi:10.1590/0001-3765202120181351

Abstract

Pecan trees require adequate soil moisture conditions to produce nuts with good yield and quality. Irrigation should be an important considered practice in orchards management plan, mainly in regions with water deficit periods. The objective of this research was to evaluate irrigation on pecan nuts growth and yield. This study was conducted in Uruguay, during the fast development phase until the pecan nuts harvest. Three irrigation treatments were used: 0 L (control), 70 L and 140 L plant-1 of water every two days, applied via drip irrigation in seven-year-old pecan trees of the cultivar Success. The number of nuts per cluster and nuts' diameter and length were evaluated during nut growth. After harvesting, peeled nuts' width and length were measured, and after peeling, the kernel length, width, height and filling and the kernel and peel percentage were evaluated. According to the results, it was possible to identify that periods of water deficit during pecan nuts development affected the kernel filling stageand size. Irrigation in pecan plants provides greater dimensions and nuts mass. With the use of 140 L plant-1, there was an increase in the nut mass of more than 100% in relation to the nuts from plants without irrigation.

Highlights

Koch (Grauke 1991)] is a nut native species of the United States and Mexico, but it has been commercially grown in several countries in South America, including Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Peru and Brazil, and countries in other continents, as China, Egypt, South Africa and Australia (Sparks 1991, Wells 2011, Thompson & Conner 2012, Castillo et al 2013, Wells 2017a, Bilharva et al 2018)
It is a species that does not tolerate soils with excess humidity for prolonged periods (Madero et al 2017); it is sensitive to water deficit, especially in the reproduction period
The water loss by evaporation is greater than the precipitation during the growth period of the pecan nuts in Uruguay

Summary

Introduction

It is a species that does not tolerate soils with excess humidity for prolonged periods (Madero et al 2017); it is sensitive to water deficit, especially in the reproduction period. Water deficit is one of the main environmental stresses that affects agriculture (Colodetti et al 2018), and water requirement depends on the region, soil, plant age, production load, among others (Wells 2015, Madero et al 2017). Water supply must be continuous to achieve good production and nuts quality

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Conclusion