Stem Water Potential Measurements Research Articles

Grapevine stem water potential seasonal curves: response to meteorological conditions, and association to yield and red wine quality

Managing grapevine water status is a key component for achieving optimal yield and wine quality. Stem water potential (SWP) is used for determining the drought stress and is associated with physiological, vegetative, and reproductive processes. SWP seasonal curves (SWP-SCs) represent the seasonal stress levels. SWP-SCs may change within and between growing seasons according to environmental and irrigation factors. The objective was to analyze the temporal dynamics of SWP-SCs, their response to meteorological and irrigation conditions, and their impact on yield and wine quality. A dataset was assembled from a six-year experiment (2014-2019) in a ‘Cabernet Sauvignon’ vineyard, including meteorological features, irrigation treatments, field measurements of SWP, yield components (i.e., yield, number of clusters, cluster weight, and berry mass), and wine-quality scores from experimental wines. Between- and within-seasonal variations of SWP-SCs were assessed using ANOVA and discriminant analysis. The effects of meteorology and irrigation on SWP-SCs were quantified using random forest. Clustering of SWP-SCs was conducted using a fuzzy c-means algorithm and the clusters (groups) were analyzed against yield components and wine quality using ANOVA. Our findings show that the mean seasonal SWP values were significantly different among seasons, while SWP values during the weeks proximal to veraison were the major discriminators. Temperature was a strong driver of SWP, followed by relative humidity and precipitation. Three clusters were generated according to stress levels throughout the season. The moderate-severe stress group (Cluster 2) was associated with similar yield components levels compared to the moderately-stressed group (Cluster 1) and significantly higher wine quality components, with a minimal SWP threshold of -1.5 - -1.6 MPa before harvest. The extreme drought stress group (Cluster 3) was associated with significantly lower yield and wine quality. Increasing temperatures and shifting patterns of precipitation are projected to continue excessively, inducing disruptive conditions to the target vine drought stress levels.

Assessing water stress in a high-density apple orchard using trunk circumference variation, sap flow index and stem water potential.

Automated plant-based measurements of water stress have the potential to advance precision irrigation in orchard crops. Previous studies have shown correlations between sap flow, line variable differential transform (LVDT) dendrometers and fruit tree drought response. Here we report season-long automated measurement of maximum daily change in trunk diameter using band dendrometers and heated needles to measure a simplified sap flow index (SFI). Measurements were made on two apple cultivars that were stressed at 7 to 12 day intervals by withholding irrigation until the average stem water potential (ΨStem) dropped below -1.5 MPa, after which irrigation was restored and the drought cycle repeated. Dendrometer measurements of maximum daily trunk shrinkage (MDS) were highly correlated (r² = 0.85) with pressure chamber measurements of stem water potential. The SFI measurements were less correlated with stem water potential but were highly correlated with evaporative demand (r² = 0.82) as determined by the Penman-Monteith equation (ETr). The high correlation of SFI to ETr suggests that high-density orchards resemble a continuous surface, unlike orchards with widely spaced trees. The correlations of MDS and SFI to ΨStem were higher during the early season than the late season growth. Band dendrometers are less labor intensive to install than LVDT dendrometers and are non-invasive so are well suited to commercialization.

Best Procedures for Leaf and Stem Water Potential Measurements in Grapevine: Cultivar and Water Status Matter.

The pressure chamber is the most used tool for plant water status monitoring. However, species/cultivar and seasonal effects on protocols for reliable water potential determination have not been properly tested. In four grapevine cultivars and two times of the season (early season, Es; late season, Ls, under moderate drought), we assessed the maximum sample storage time before leaf water potential (Ψleaf) measurements and the minimum equilibration time for stem water potential (Ψstem) determination, taking 24 h leaf cover as control. In 'Pinot gris', Ψleaf already decreased after 1 h leaf storage in both campaigns, dropping by 0.4/0.5 MPa after 3 h, while in 'Refosk', it decreased by 0.1 MPa after 1 and 2 h in Es and Ls, respectively. In 'Merlot' and 'Merlot Kanthus', even 3 h storage did not affect Ψleaf. In Es, the minimum Ψstem equilibration was 1 h for 'Refošk' and 10 min for 'Pinot gris' and 'Merlot'. In Ls, 'Merlot Kanthus' required more than 2 h equilibration, while 1 h to 10 min was sufficient for the other cultivars. The observed cultivar and seasonal differences indicate that the proposed tests should be routinely performed prior to experiments to define ad hoc procedures for water status determination.

Methodology of stem water potential measurement on hedgerow olive orchards

Aim of study:To evaluate the effect of leaf covering, leaf position, leaf age, time and sample size in measurements of stem water potential (Ψstem) in olive hedgerow orchards. Area of study: The experimental orchards were located in the Centre of Spain (Toledo) Material and methods: Midday Ψstem was measured using a pressure chamber in two super-intensive olive hedgerow orchards subjected to various water status. Main results: Measurements were taken at solar noon on shaded leaves at mid canopy height following at least 1 hour of covering. Such measurements on 5 trees were sufficient to define the water status of individual homogeneous irrigation blocks. This combination of techniques is essential for repeatable measurements of Ψstem required to establish critical irrigation points and manage deficit irrigation strategies seeking to control vegetative growth and reduce water use with minimal effect on oil yield in olive hedgerow orchards and maximum oil quality. Part of our results weren’t previously reported: 1) Covering leaves with aluminium doesn’t completely stop transpiration and leaves must be covered and located in the shaded part of the canopy. 2) Ψstem depends on leaf height on olive hedgerow. 3) Ψstem of young leaves was less variable than in older ones. 4) Ψstem at solar noon presented larger differences with previous hours than later. Research highlights: Leaves for measurements of stem water potential must be previously covered and located in the middle height of the shaded part of the canopy.

Application of Remote Sensing Techniques to Discriminate the Effect of Different Soil Management Treatments over Rainfed Vineyards in Chianti Terroir

The work aimed to discriminate among different soil management treatments in terms of beneficial effects by high-resolution thermal and spectral vegetation imagery using an unmanned aerial vehicle and open-source GIS software. Five soil management treatments were applied in two organic vineyards (cv. Sangiovese) from Chianti Classico terroir (Tuscany, Italy) during two experimental years. The treatments tested consisted of conventional tillage, spontaneous vegetation, pigeon bean (Vicia faba var. minor Beck) incorporated in spring, mixture of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and clover (Trifolium squarrosum L.) incorporated or left as dead mulch in late spring. The images acquired remotely were analyzed through map-algebra and map-statistics in QGIS and correlated with field ecophysiological measurements. The surface temperature, crop water stress index (CWSI) and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) of each vine row under treatments were compared based on frequency distribution functions and statistics descriptors of position. The spectral vegetation and thermal-based indices were significantly correlated with the respective leaf area index (R2 = 0.89) and stem water potential measurements (R2 = 0.59), and thus are an expression of the crop vigor and water status. The gravel and active limestone soil components determined the spatial variability of vine biophysical (e.g., canopy vigor) and physiological characteristics (e.g., vine chlorophyll content) in both farms. The vine canopy surface temperature, and CWSI were lower on the spontaneous and pigeon bean treatments in both farms, thus evidencing less physiological stress on the vine rows derived from the cover crop residual effect. In conclusion, the proposed methodology showed the capacity to discriminate across soil management practices and map the spatial variability within vineyards. The methodology could serve as a simple and non-invasive tool for precision soil management in rainfed vineyards to guide producers on using the most efficient and profitable practice.

Appropriate Time to Measure Leaf and Stem Water Potential in North-South Oriented, Vertically Shoot-Positioned Vineyards

The diurnal changes in vine water status and the appropriate time of day to measure leaf water potential (LWP) and stem water potential (SWP) were examined in Willamette Valley vineyards with north-south (N-S) oriented rows employing a single curtain, vertically shoot-positioned (VSP) canopy. Measurements of LWP and SWP were performed on Chardonnay and Pinot noir grapevines on seven cloudless days between bloom and harvest over two years. On warm days, LWP reached the daily minimum value by midday (1300 hr) and remained there for a longer duration when vines experienced moderate water stress (LWP -1.20 MPa). However, on cool days, LWP reached the daily minimum later in the day (1400 hr to 1500 hr) in both stressed and unstressed vines. SWP reached the daily minimum level late in the day (1400 hr to 1600 hr) under all conditions and even increased between late morning and midday on two occasions. Thus, measuring SWP at midday consistently underestimates the greatest level of water stress experienced by vines in N-S oriented, VSP canopies. Results of this study show that LWP can be determined over a four-hour period starting at midday on warm sunny days when vines experience a moderate level of water stress: conditions when it is most critical to assess vine water status to schedule irrigation. SWP should be measured in the two-hour period between 1500 hr and 1700 hr under all conditions tested here in N-S oriented, VSP canopies.

Modeling Stem Water Potential by Separating the Effects of Soil Water Availability and Climatic Conditions on Water Status in Grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.).

Measuring seasonal plant water status is critical in choosing appropriate management strategies to ensure yields and quality of agricultural products, particularly in a context of climate change. Water status of grapevines is known to be a key factor for yield, grape composition, and wine quality. Predawn leaf water potential (PLWP) and stem water potential (SWP) proved to be simple and precise indicators for assessing grapevine water status and subsequent same-day spatial comparisons. A drawback of SWP is that it does not allow for temporal comparisons, because the measured value is impacted both by soil water availability and climatic conditions on the day of measurement. The objectives of this study are i) to provide a model that separates the effect of soil water content from the effect of climatic conditions on the SWP value and ii) to standardize the SWP value to a value under predefined reference climatic conditions in order to compare SWP values collected under different climatic conditions. SWP and PLWP were temporally assessed on three soil types in Saint-Émilion (Bordeaux, France) in 2015 and on five soil types in Margaux (Bordeaux, France) in 2018 using a pressure chamber. SWP measurements on two consecutive days with contrasting climatic conditions allowed to assess the impact of these conditions on SWP values. A large portion of the variability in SWP values was explained by PLWP. Model selection further showed that the addition of maximum air temperature and seasonality explained a significant amount of the remaining variability in SWP values. SWP values could be successfully standardized to a theoretical value under reference climatic conditions, which allows for temporal comparisons of SWP values. A plant-based measurement, such as the water potential, can be considered as the most straightforward indicator of plant water status as it integrates the effects of soil, plant, and atmospheric conditions. More precise interpretation of SWP values provides winegrowers with a tool to more adequately implement short- and long-term management strategies to adapt to drought in order to ensure yield and grape quality.

Discrimination ability of leaf and stem water potential at different times of the day through a meta-analysis in grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.)

Water potential is considered to be the “gold-standard” measure for plant water status determination. However, there are some discrepancies on how and at what time of the day water potential measurements should be performed in order to obtain meaningful information. The aim of this work is to evaluate the discrimination ability of water potential measurements in grapevines depending on the time of the day and of the measurement procedure (leaf vs. stem). To do so, a meta-analysis was performed using >78,000 measurements of water potential data obtained in field irrigation experiments, provided by 13 research teams working in this subject in Spain. For each measurement day and experiment, Discrimination Ratio (DR) was calculated and used to determine the discrimination ability of each method, and then pooled for comparison. The measurement procedure with the greatest DR can be hypothesised to be the most suitable under the average working conditions. Leaf water potential showed lower DR mean values than predawn or stem water potential. The climatic conditions and the cultivar may affect to the discrimination ability, although the abovementioned trend was always maintained. Leaf water potential in vineyards should therefore be replaced, as a general rule, by either stem or predawn water potential readings, without a clear pre-eminence of the performance of predawn and stem water potential measurements. Building a common dataset and its subsequent meta-analysis has been proved to be an efficient and robust tool to compare plant measurements, and should be implemented for other species and/or measurement procedures.

Hydric behaviour and gas exchange in different grapevine varieties (Vitis vinifera L.) from the Maule Valley (Chile)

In the near future, stomatal behaviour will be crucial to counteract conditions arising from climate change. Grapevine varieties are classified as either isohydric or anisohydric, depending on the sensitivity of stomata to water deficit and on their water potential homeostasis. However, the great variability observed in different studies indicates that a continuum exists in the range of stomatal sensitivity to water stress. Thus, more knowledge about the hydric behaviour and the gas exchange of isohydric and anisohydric grapevine varieties under different water conditions could lead to the development of irrigation strategies oriented at improving water-use efficiency, yield and berry composition. In this study, research was conducted in order to characterise the stomatal regulation of four different Vitis vinifera L. varieties, namely Pinot noir, Sauvignon blanc, Chardonnay and Merlot, according to soil water status. Measurements of leaf gas exchange, together with measurements of stem water potential (Ψs) and leaf water potential (Ψl), were taken during two seasons. Under conditions of water stress, Chardonnay and Merlot reached a minimum Ψs of -1.67 and -1.68 MPa respectively, and higher levels of water-use efficiency (AN/gs), of 62.3 and 69.7 μmol CO2/mol H2O respectively. In Sauvignon blanc and Pinot noir, the minimum Ψs was -1.26 and -1.40 MPa respectively, with lower levels of AN/gs (53.1 and 50.5 μmol CO2/mol H2O, respectively). Under conditions of water stress (Ψl < -0.9 MPa and Ψs < -0.6 MPa), all varieties had a significantly increased AN/gs1, despite a significant reduction in gas exchange. Therefore, the hydric behaviour and gas exchange observed in this study suggest that Chardonnay and Merlot could be characterised as anisohydric varieties, as they present less sensitive stomatal control, while Pinot noir can be classified as a near-anisohydric variety and Sauvignon blanc as an isohydric variety. New investigations should consider other characteristics of the varieties to classify them better.

Modeling grapevine performance with ‘VitiSim’, a weather-based carbon balance model: Water status and climate change scenarios

Abstract A carbon balance model (VitiSim) was used for assessing the effects of vine water status and different climate scenarios on the dry matter production and partitioning of ‘Tempranillo’ grapevines (Vitis vinifera L.) grown in two different Spanish regions. Inputs included weather daily variables, stem water potential measurements and vineyard system data. Partitioning is based on the supply and demand balance using relative sink strength coefficients when carbon supply is lower than organ demands. A new routine to consider the effect of vine water status on photosynthesis rate was implemented in the model. Experimental data from two Spanish locations, several seasons (2007–2011) and well-watered and water-stressed vines were used for validating the model. A sensitivity analysis showed that model outputs are greatly influenced by those inputs linked to light interception. Simulated dry matter productions were realistic even though in general the amounts were underestimated. VitiSim was able to reproduce the effect of water stress on dry matter production observed in the field. Then, the model was used to estimate vine dry mass in different locations within Spain and worldwide under the standard current meteorological condition and under two climate change scenarios. Results were in accordance with those commonly found in field studies. Hence, this model appears useful to estimate vine dry matter potential from few easily available inputs and to simulate the effects of deficit irrigation strategies on grape yield. Further routines must be implemented to enhance VitiSim predictive capabilities and reliability.

Dormant stem water potential responds to laboratory manipulation of hydration as well as contrasting rainfall field conditions in deciduous tree crops

Pressure chamber measurement of midday stem water potential (SWP) during the growing season has become a practical and widely adopted tool for irrigation management in many woody perennial and some annual crops, but this technique has not been applied to perennial crops during dormancy. The reliability of SWP measurements in dormant trees has in fact been questioned based on concerns that these tissues typically have a low percent of living tissue and/or a high level of embolism. Accurate psychrometer measurements of water potential do not depend on either of these properties, and hence should be useful in evaluating the accuracy of pressure chamber measured SWP in dormant trees. Pressure chamber and in-situ stem psychrometer methods were compared on dormant branches exposed to different levels of hydration in the laboratory. A very highly significant (Pr

Classification models for automatic identification of daily states from leaf turgor related measurements in olive

The leaf patch clamp pressure (LPCP) probe is being used to remotely assess leaf turgor pressure. Recently, different shapes of the LPCP daily curves have been suggested as potential water stress indicators for irrigation scheduling. These curves shapes, called states, have been studied and related to different water stress levels for olives. To our knowledge, the only way to differentiate these curves shapes or states is through the visual observation of the dynamics of the LPCP records during the day, which is highly time-consuming and reduces its potential to automatically schedule irrigation. The aims of this study were: (i) to obtain a random forest model to automatically identify the states from daily LPCP curves recorded in olive trees, by using visually identified states to train the model; (ii) to improve the identification of state II through a second random forest model, relating this state to the midday stem water potential, and; (iii) to obtain a random forest model to identify the states based on ranges of stem water potential. We used LPCP daily curves collected in a commercial olive orchard from 2011 to 2015. The states were visually identified for the days on which concomitant measurements of stem water potential and leaf stomatal conductance were made. We had a data set of 307 LPCP daily curves, being 157 curves in state I, 78 in state II and 71 in state III. The two biggest inflection points of the LPCP curves were used to adjust the models through the use of the R package “randomForest”, using the Leave-p-Out Cross-Validation method. With the first model, which was obtained from the whole dataset, its data regarding the inflection points and the visually identified states, we obtained an overall accuracy of 94.37%. With the second model, obtained with the use of the data regarding curves visually identified as state II only, the overall accuracy was of 88.64%. This model was adjusted to be used after the first model, to narrow the stem water potential range of state II curves. Finally, the third model was obtained using the whole dataset and the states established from ranges of stem water potential. This last model did not consider the visual identification, and yielded an overall accuracy of 88.08%. Our results facilitate the use of LPCP probes, since it allows for the automatic identification of the states related to leaf turgor pressure, a key information to schedule irrigation.

Adaptive Estimation of Crop Water Stress in Nectarine and Peach Orchards Using High-Resolution Imagery from an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)

The capability to monitor water status from crops on a regular basis can enhance productivity and water use efficiency. In this paper, high-resolution thermal imagery acquired by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was used to map plant water stress and its spatial variability, including sectors under full irrigation and deficit irrigation over nectarine and peach orchards at 6.12 cm ground sample distance. The study site was classified into sub-regions based on crop properties, such as cultivars and tree training systems. In order to enhance the accuracy of the mapping, edge extraction and filtering were conducted prior to the probability modelling employed to obtain crop-property-specific (‘adaptive’ hereafter) lower and higher temperature references (Twet and Tdry respectively). Direct measurements of stem water potential (SWP, ψstem) and stomatal conductance (gs) were collected concurrently with UAV remote sensing and used to validate the thermal index as crop biophysical parameters. The adaptive crop water stress index (CWSI) presented a better agreement with both ψstem and gs with determination coefficients (R2) of 0.72 and 0.82, respectively, while the conventional CWSI applied by a single set of hot and cold references resulted in biased estimates with R2 of 0.27 and 0.34, respectively. Using a small number of ground-based measurements of SWP, CWSI was converted to a high-resolution SWP map to visualize spatial distribution of the water status at field scale. The results have important implications for the optimal management of irrigation for crops.

Usefulness of the ZIM-probe technology for detecting water stress in clementine and persimmon trees

Further improvement on irrigation management requires continuous plant water status monitoring. The non-invasive ZIM-probe measures the pressure (Pp) transfer function through a patch of an intact leaf, which is inversely correlated with the turgor pressure. Data are sent wireless in real-time by telemetry to an internet server via a mobile phone network where it is available to be analyzed. In this work, the detection of water stress by measuring relative changes in turgor pressure with the ZIM-probe was evaluated in clementine and persimmon trees. Ten trees of both species were equipped with two ZIM-probes each located at the east side of the canopy. The ZIM-probes were used over several months during which half of the trees were subjected to two drought cycles. Concomitant measurements of stem water potential (ψs) were taken at midday in both orchards during the drought periods. Additionally, determinations of ψs and stomatal conductance (gs) were also performed during 1-2 days at hourly intervals in the clementine and persimmon orchards, respectively, to study the existing relationship of these classical indicators with the leaf turgor pressure. Results showed that diurnal Pp values increased in non-irrigated clementine trees when water restrictions were imposed. Persimmon drought-stressed trees, on the other hand, showed different Pp curve shapes (half and complete inverse curve) depending on the level of stress reached by the trees. There was a tight correlation between the hourly spot measurements of ψs and gs with the probe data. Overall, results show that the ZIM-probe enables the detection of drought stress in clementine and persimmon trees. Nevertheless, different approaches for calculating the water stress level must be used in each of these species due to the higher tendency of persimmon leaves to the inversed Pp curve phenomena.

Water relations in almond trees under moderate water deficits

The responses of almond trees 'Guara' to different levels of water deficits were investigated. Three irrigation treatments as well as a rainfed treatment were applied in the field to 5-year-old trees during the summer of 2013. Plant water status was monitored by measurement of stem water potential at midday (Ψx), leaf gas-exchange was measured with a photosynthesis analyzer (IRGA) and stomatal conductance with a steady-state leaf porometer. Ψx of well-watered trees was near -0.9 MPa and always higher than -1.0 MPa. In the case of trees irrigated with amounts of water below full crop requirements, Ψx decreased down to -1.5 MPa, and simultaneously, a gradual decrease in stomatal conductance was observed. The close correlation between stomatal conductance (gs) and CO2 assimilation (A) pointed toward the stomatal limitation of CO2 assimilation in almond. Then although the stomatal closure will reduce photosynthesis, the fact that that closure occurs gradually as stress progresses will permit some rate of CO2 assimilation by the plant. The value of -1.0 MPa could be considered a reference threshold in full irrigation programming to ensure maximum stomatal conductance of 'Guara' almond trees. That high value showed the sensibility of this cultivar to water stress.

Impacts of water stress, environment and rootstock on the diurnal behaviour of stem water potential and leaf conductance in pistachio (Pistacia vera L.)

Little information is available on the diurnal behaviour of water potential and leaf conductance on pistachio trees despite their relevance to fine tune irrigation strategies. Mature pistachio trees were subject to simultaneous measurements of stem water potential (Ψx) and leaf conductance (gl) during the day, at three important periods of the irrigation season. Trees were grown on three different rootstocks and water regimes. An initial baseline relating Ψx to air vapor pressure deficit (VPD) is presented for irrigation scheduling in pistachio. Ψx was closely correlated with VPD but with a different fit according to the degree of water stress. No evidence of the variation of Ψx in relation to the phenology of the tree was observed. Furthermore, midday Ψx showed more accuracy to indicate a situation of water stress than predawn water potential. Under well irrigated conditions, gl was positively correlated with VPD during stage II of growth reaching its peak when VPD reached its maximum value (around 4 kPa). This behaviour changed during stage III of fruit growth suggesting a reliance of stomatal behaviour to the phenological stage independently to the tree water status. The levels of water stress reached were translated in a slow recovery of tree water status and leaf conductance (more than 40 days). Regarding rootstocks, P. integerrima showed little adaptation to water shortage compared to the two other rootstocks under the studied conditions.

Assessment of the viability of using saline reclaimed water in grapefruit in medium to long term

Citrus trees are strongly affected by salinity, especially in countries where irrigation is required as a semi-arid Mediterranean agronomic region. The aims of the study were i) to identify the best reliable plant-based water status indicator for field grown grapefruit trees irrigated with saline reclaimed water during five years of cultivation by measuring seasonal changes in physiological parameters (i.e. gas exchange and stem water potential measurements), leaf structural traits (i.e. leaf chlorophyll content, area-based leaf nitrogen and area-based dry mass), phytotoxic elements and yield; ii) to estimate phytotoxicity thresholds at leaf level. Our results showed that the chlorophyll content was the parameter with the highest number of measures with significant differences (p≤0.05, ANOVA) between trees irrigated with reclaimed water and control trees throughout growing stages. Moreover, Chl a increased linearly with area-based leaf nitrogen (R2=0.63; p&lt;0.001) and area-based dry mass (R2=0.64; p&lt;0.001). We also determined the salt-induced phytotoxicity thresholds at which a reduction in yields occurs; these levels were Na: 0.1 g/100 g, Cl: 0.6 g/100 gand B: 100 ppm. In conclusion, we revealed the importance of leaf chlorophyll measurements as a significance diagnostic indicator of salt stress on field grown grapefruit trees. This parameter was also related to plant-based water status indicators such as stem water potential, stomatal conductance and net photosynthesis. Additionally, a salt accumulation potential at leaf level was shown, leading to possible risk in crop sustainability in the medium to long term.

Dehydration and osmotic adjustment in apple stem tissue during winter as it relates to the frost resistance of buds

In deciduous trees, measurement of stem water potential can be difficult during the leafless period in winter. By using thermocouple psychrometry, osmotic water potentials (Ψo; actual Ψo: Ψo(act); Ψo at full saturation: Ψo(sat)) of expressed sap of bark and bud tissue were measured in order to test if the severity of winter desiccation in apple stems could be sufficiently assessed with Ψo. Water potentials were related to frost resistance and freezing behaviour of buds. The determination of Ψo reliably allowed winter desiccation and osmotic adjustments in apple stem tissue to be assessed. In winter in bark tissue, a pronounced decrease in Ψo(act) and Ψo(sat) was found. Decreased Ψo(sat) indicates active osmotic adjustment in the bark as observed earlier in the leaves of evergreen woody plants. In terminal bud meristems, no significant osmotic adjustments occurred and dehydration during winter was much less. Osmotic water potentials, Ψo(act) and Ψo(sat), of bud tissue were always less negative than in the bark. To prevent water movement and dehydration of the bud tissue via this osmotic gradient, it must be compensated for either by a sufficiently high turgor pressure (Ψp) in bark tissue or by the isolation of the bud tissue from the bark during midwinter. During freezing of apple buds, freeze dehydration and extra-organ freezing could be demonstrated by significantly reduced Ψo(act) values of bud meristems that had been excised in the frozen state. Infrared video thermography was used to monitor freezing patterns in apple twigs. During extracellular freezing of intact and longitudinally dissected stems, infrared differential thermal analysis (IDTA) images showed that the bud meristem remains ice free. Even if cooled to temperatures below the frost-killing temperature, no freezing event could be detected in bud meristems during winter. In contrast, after bud break, terminal buds showed a second freezing at the frost-killing temperature that indicates deep supercooling. Our results demonstrate the applicability of thermocouple psychrometry for the assessment of winter desiccation in stem tissues of deciduous trees and corroborate the finding that dormant apple buds survive by extra-organ freezing and do not deep supercool. In addition, they indicate that significant changes of the frost-survival mechanism can occur during the apple bud development in spring.

Feasibility of using trunk diameter fluctuation and stem water potential reference lines for irrigation scheduling of early nectarine trees

A three-year experiment on early nectarine (Prunus persica L. Batsch cv. Flanoba) trees was carried out with the aim of studying the impact of environmental variables on the trunk diameter fluctuation parameters and the usefulness of the reference-lines derived from the relationship between different meteorological variables and plant water status indicators for sustainable irrigation scheduling. Plants were drip-irrigated and submitted to non-limiting soil water conditions. Measurements of stem water potential at midday (Ψstem), trunk daily growth rate (TGR) and maximum daily trunk shrinkage (MDS) were related with meteorological variables. MDS presented the best fitting line-regressions with both the average air temperature and vapour pressure deficit during the period 11.00–15.00h solar time, since the most important fraction of trunk shrinkage occurred during that period of time, reaching 74% of MDS (on average over the three years studied), and sometimes 90%. The cause of the poor correlation of MDS with ET0 is discussed. Despite the continuous trunk growth of the trees during the experimental period and slight difference in crop load, inter-annual differences were not observed for the three reference lines obtained in any given year (fruit growth, early and late postharvest period).

Limitations to adopting regulated deficit irrigation in stone fruit orchards: a case study

Fruit production development is resulting in large commercial orchards with improved water management standards. While the agronomic and economic benefits of regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) have long been established, the local variability in soils and climate and the irrigation system design limits its practical applications. This paper uses a case study approach (a 225 ha stone fruit orchard) to unveil limitations derived from environmental spatial variability and irrigation performance. The spatial variability of soil physical parameters and meteorology in the orchard was characterized, and its implication on crop water requirements was established. Irrigation depths applied during 2004-2009 were analysed and compared with crop water requirements under standard and RDI strategies. Plant water status was also measured during two irrigation seasons using stem water potential measurements. On-farm wind speed variability amounted to 55%, representing differences of 17% in reference evapotranspiration. During the study seasons, irrigation scheduling evolved towards deficit irrigation; however, the specific traits of RDI in stone fruits were not implemented. RDI implementation was limited by: 1) poor correspondence between environmental variability and irrigation system design; 2) insufficient information on RDI crop water requirements and its on-farm spatial variability within the farm; and 3) low control of the water distribution network.