Surface Drip System Research Articles

Irrigation and fertilizer management effects on processing cucumber productivity and water use efficiency

Experiments were conducted to evaluate the response of processing cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) to irrigation and fertilization strategies on a loamy sand in southwestern Ontario from 2001 to 2003. Dry matter accumulation, fruit yield, economic returns and water use efficiency were compared for (a) non-irrigated with conventional broadcast fertilizer applications (NI/B), (b) overhead sprinkler irrigated with conventional broadcast fertilizer applications (OHI/B), (c) surface drip irrigated with fertigation (DI/F) and (d) subsurface drip irrigated with fertigation (SDI/F). All irrigation methods enhanced yields, with drip irrigation coupled with fertigation showing significant advantages in terms of yield and economic returns compared with overhead irrigation and conventional fertilization practices. Irrigation increased dry matter accumulation, fruit yield and economic returns over non-irrigated treatments in a dry year, but only DI/F and SDI/F irrigation with fertigation increased these parameters in a wet year. Irrigation water use efficiency was greatest with SDI/F in 2 of 3 yr. This study indicates that processing cucumbers in Ontario benefit from irrigation, with drip irrigation/fertigation being more beneficial than overhead sprinkler irrigation. Subsurface drip irrigation systems increase irrigation water use efficiency over sprinkler and surface drip systems when higher than average temperatures coupled with lower than average rainfall are experienced on coarse-textured soils. Key words: Irrigation, fertigation, Cucumis sativus, yield

Analyses of Lettuce Drop Incidence and Population Structure ofSclerotinia sclerotiorumandS. minor

ABSTRACT To understand the geographical distribution of lettuce drop incidence and the structure of Sclerotinia minor and S. sclerotiorum populations, commercial lettuce fields were surveyed in the Salinas, San Joaquin, and Santa Maria Valleys in California. Lettuce drop incidence, pathogen species, and mycelial compatibility groups (MCGs) were determined and analyzed using geostatistic and geographical information system tools. Lettuce drop incidence was lowest in the San Joaquin Valley, and not significantly different between the other two valleys. Semivariogram analysis revealed that lettuce drop incidence was not spatially correlated between different fields in the Salinas Valley, suggesting negligible field-to-field spread or influence of inoculum in one field on other fields. Lettuce drop incidence was significantly lower in fields with a surface drip system than in fields with furrow or sprinkler irrigation systems, suggesting that the surface drip system can be a potential management measure for reducing lettuce drop. In the San Joaquin Valley, S. sclerotiorum was the prevalent species, causing drop in 63.5% of the fields, whereas S. minor also was identified in 25.4% of the fields. In contrast, in the Salinas Valley, S. minor was the dominant species (76.1%) whereas S sclerotiorum only observed in only 13.6% fields, in which only a few plants were infected by S. sclerotiorum. In the Santa Maria Valley, both species frequently were identified, with S. minor being slightly more common. Although many MCGs were identified in S. minor, most of them consisted of only one or two isolates. In all, approximately 91.4% of the isolates belonged to four MCGs. Among them, MCG-1 was the most prevalent group in all three valleys, accounting for 49.8% of total isolates. It was distributed all over the surveyed areas, whereas other MCGs were distributed more or less locally. Populations of S. sclerotiorum exhibited greater diversity, with 89 isolates collected from the Salinas and San Joaquin Valleys belonging to 37 different MCGs. Among them, the most recurrent MCG-A contained 16 isolates, and 30 MCGs contained only 1 isolate each. Many MCGs occurred within only one or a part of the two valleys. Potential reasons for this abundant diversity are discussed.

Effect of Subsurface Drip Irrigation on Cotton Plantations

During the cultivation periods of 2001 (a dry year) and 2002 (a wet one), an experimental cotton field was irrigated using a subsurface and a surface drip system. Both systems included drip-lines 17-mm in diameter, with emitters discharging 3.8 l/h and spacing 1 m. The treatments included four irrigation levels. These were equal to 120%, 100%, 80% and 60% of the net crop water requirements during each irrigation interval. For their calculation the FAO56–Penman–Monteith methodology that estimates crop evapotranspiration was utilised. From the statistical analysis of the harvested cotton plantations it has been found that during the dry year (2001) the seed cotton yields were significantly higher where the subsurface irrigation system was used and the irrigation applications met the 80% and 60% of the crop water needs. During the two experimental years the higher irrigation applications, 120% and 100% of the crop water needs, gave seed cotton yields that did not differ significantly for both systems (subsurface and surface).

Effects of regulated deficit irrigation under subsurface drip irrigation conditions on vegetative development and yield of mature almond trees

The influence of several regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) strategies, applied under subsurface drip irrigation (SDI), on vegetative development and yield parameters in mature almond (Prunus dulcis (Mill.) D.A. Webb, cv. Cartagenera) trees was analysed during a 4-year field experiment. Five treatments were applied: T1 (100% crop evapotranspiration (ETc), full season); T2 (irrigated at 100% ETc except in the kernel-filling stage (20% ETc)); T3 (equal to T2 but in SDI); T4 (SDI, 100% ETc, except in the kernel-filling stage (20% ETc) and post-harvest (75% ETc)); T5 (SDI, 100% ETc except in the kernel-filling stage (20% ETc) and post-harvest (50% ETc). A close correlation between applied water, plant water status (Ψpd) and tree growth parameters was observed. After four years, the vegetative development in T5 was reduced significantly due to a larger annual cumulative effect of water stress on growth processes, resulting in a smaller tree size (trunk and branch growth, canopy volume and pruning weight) compared to other treatments. Moreover, water stress during kernel-filling produced a significant reduction in the leaf expansion rate and a stimulation of premature leaf abscission, resulting in a smaller tree leaf area in this treatment. SDI produced a greater horizontal distribution of fine roots in the soil profile than surface drip system. The RDI practices applied under subsurface drip irrigation stimulated a deeper root development (40–80 cm) than surface treatments (0–40 cm), producing also a higher root density in the subsurface treatments watered the least (T4 and T5). Water stress during the pre- and post-harvest periods had no important effect on bud development, bloom, fruit growth or fruit abscission. Moreover, there were no significant reductions in kernel dry weight or kernel percentage. Reductions in kernel yield were significant compared to T1, being of 11% in T2, 15% in T3, 20% in T4 and 22% in T5. Water use efficiency (kg m−3) was increased significantly in the SDI treatments T4 and T5. A significant correlation between kernel yield and tree growth parameters was observed. We conclude that the application of overall reductions of water use of up to 50% during high water stress sensitivity periods (such as post-harvest) under SDI system, is a promising alternative for water management in semiarid regions in order to improve water use efficiency. Nevertheless prolonged water stress during kernel-filling and post-harvest can reduce excessively the vegetative development of almond, negatively affecting the long-term yield response.

Growth and Production of Young Peach Trees Irrigated by Furrow, Microjet, Surface Drip, or Subsurface Drip Systems

A 3-year study was conducted in central California to compare the effects of furrow, microjet, surface drip, and sub surface drip irrigation on vegetative growth and early production of newly planted `Crimson Lady' peach [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch] trees. Furrow treatments were irrigated every 7, 14, or 21 days; microjet treatments were irrigated every 2-3, 7, or 14 days; and surface and subsurface drip (with one, two, or three buried laterals per row) treatments were irrigated when accumulated crop evapotranspiration reached 2.5 mm. The overall performance showed that trees irrigated by surface and subsurface drip were significantly larger, produced higher yields, and had higher water use efficiency than trees irrigated by microjets. In fact, more than twice as much water had to be applied to trees with microjets than to trees with drip systems in order to achieve the same amount of vegetative growth and yield. Yield and water use efficiency were also higher under surface and subsurface drip irrigation than under furrow irrigation, although tree size was similar among the treatments. Little difference was found between trees irrigated by surface and subsurface drip, except that trees irrigated with only one subsurface drip lateral were less vigorous, but not less productive, than trees irrigated by one surface drip lateral, or by two or three subsurface drip laterals. Within furrow and microjet treatments, irrigation frequency had little effect on tree development and performance with the exception that furrow irrigation every 3 weeks produced smaller trees than furrow irrigation every 1 or 2 weeks.

Water use by drip-irrigated late-season peaches

A 4-year experiment was conducted using a large weighing lysimeter to determine the crop coefficient and crop water use of a late-season peach cultivar (Prunus persica (L.) Batsch, cultivar O'Henry) irrigated with a surface drip system. Two trees were planted in a 2×4×2 m deep weighing lysimeter that was surface irrigated with ten 2 L/h in-line drip emitters spaced evenly around the trees. Irrigation was applied in 12 mm applications after a 12 mm water loss threshold was exceeded as measured by the lysimeter. The crop coefficient (Kc) was calculated using the measured water losses and grass reference evapotranspiration calculated using the CIMIS Penman equation. Kc was plotted against day of the year and linear, quadratic, and cubic regressions were fitted to the data. A three-segment linear and the cubic equation had the best fit to the data. The maximum Kc determined for the linear fit in this experiment was 1.06 compared with a maximum of 0.92 recommended for use in California and 0.98 calculated using the FAO method. Average annual water use for the 4 years of the experiment was 1,034 mm. Mid-day canopy light interception was found to be well correlated with the crop coefficient determined using the lysimeter data.

MICROIRRIGATION OF ALMONDS

A large scale field trial was conducted at the Nickels Soils Laboratory in the Sacramento Valley of California to evaluate three microirrigation systems; Surface Drip, Subsurface Drip (SDI) and Micro-jet on four cultivars of almonds, ’Nonpareil’, ’Butte’, ’Carmel’ and ‘Monterey’ (Prunus dulcis [Mill.] D.A.Webb.). Ten years of evaluation has shown that high commercial yields (2500 kg/ha) of high quality almonds can be produced using all three types of microirrigation. Micro-jet irrigated trees tended to outyield drip irrigated trees by about 10% in some years for some cultivars. No consistent yield differences were found. Tree growth under SDI, as measured by trunk size, was comparable to surface drip irrigation but slightly smaller than micro-jet irrigated trees when equal amounts of irrigation water were applied. Root development was more extensive under micro-jet irrigated trees compared to both single hose drip systems. No significant root intrusion was found in trifluralin impregnated SDI emitters but standard SDI emitters were plugged by almond root growth after five years of field operation. Minor root pinching was evident on the buried flexible supply hoses in both SDI and surface drip systems. Micro-jet irrigation increased system maintenance and resulted in higher herbicide use to control vegetation on the orchard floor.

Relationship between Nitrogen Fertilization and Bacterial Canker in `French' Prune

Bacterial canker (BC), caused by Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae van Hall, is a serious disease of stone fruits that occurs most commonly in young orchards. Many factors can predispose or increase the risk that trees develop BC such as sandy or compacted soils, low soil pH, inadequate tree nutrition, frost or cold injury, genetic susceptibility, and presence of ring nematode, Criconemella spp. However, questions still remain about how these factors influence disease incidence in `French' prune, Prunus domestica L. In 1991, we established a 3.64-ha plot in Winters, Calif., to determine the effects of nitrogen (N) fertigation on growth responses and yield of young prune trees. N was applied through a surface drip system at 0, 0.11, 0.23, and 0.45 kg actual N/tree per year as UN32 urea (Unocal, Sacramento Calif.) with 1/10th of the total amount delivered per application every other week from May through September starting in 1992. Two other treatments were also included: 0.064 kg N/tree per year through surface drip if % leaf N dropped below 2.3%, and 0.23 kg N/tree/year delivered in small amounts every irrigation via an automated buried drip system. Symptoms of BC began appearing primarily in the 0- and 0.064-N treatments in 1993. During 1995 and 1996, we demonstrated highly significant relationships between low N status measured in leaves and increased incidence of BC. Furthermore, we determined levels of N application via drip irrigation, which resulted in good yields, vigorous growth, and lack of BC in our test plots, but also minimized N use and potential for nitrate leaching into groundwater. These and additional results will be presented.