Final Report Summary - IRRIQUAL (Sustainable orchard irrigation for improving fruit quality and safety)
The main goal of the IRRIQUAL project was the valuation of new irrigation practices (including water doses implementation, water quality use and fertigation management). The research methodology was based on a combination of experiments, field surveys and modelling tools aimed at predicting the impact of a given irrigation practice on the relevant inputs (water, fertilisers) and outputs (yield, quality, safety) of four Mediterranean fruit trees species (peach, olive, almond, citrus).
The project was structured into 13 work packages (WP), as follows:
WP 1: Characterisation of the orchards
WP 2: Effects of regulated deficit irrigation on crop physiology
WP 3 and WP 4: Effects of RDI practices on quality and safety of stone fruits and citrus
WP 5: Soil water balance model
WP 6.1: Crop quality model
WP 6.2: Fruit quality model
WP 7: Decision rules for irrigation scheduling; integration into a farm management model
WP 7.1: In-situ valuation of decision rules for RDI scheduling with respect to water use efficiency, fruit quality and safety. The main tasks were the elaboration and field valuation of appropriate management and decision rules for deficit irrigation strategies.
WP 7.2: Elaboration and test of an orchard management model, which included the following tasks: (i) development of an orchard simulator including irrigation strategy and practices (ii) integration of the decision rules and crop models into the simulator and (iii) analysis and evaluation of the simulation outputs.
WP 8: Development of a prototype generator for irrigation water disinfection
WP 9: Water irrigation automatisms
WP 10: Food risk assessment
WP 11: Collection of knowledge on present situation for irrigation and fertilisation and development of irrigation best management practices
WP 12: Evaluation of sustainability.
The research was organised and conducted according to the following steps:
- A battery of experiments has been evaluated in order to know the physiological and agronomic response of different fruit trees to deficit irrigation and the value of the information delivered by plant-based indicators for optimising the scheduling of irrigation.
- The study of different irrigation strategies effects on quality and safety attributes of citrus, peach, almond and olives crops at harvest ad after storage was done at different regions.
- Specific experimentations were carried out enabling simultaneous measurements of the soil moisture dynamics and root system in connection with different irrigation strategies.
- Yield and fruit quality, photosynthesis and radiations data were recorded in different assays in order to develop a biotechnological model at the tree level.
- It was studied the disinfection of irrigation water, using alternative technology based on the application of ultrasounds, by means of which the levels of algae and bacteria in irrigation reservoirs are reduced. The development of one prototype for water disinfection has been developed.
- A telemetry system was installed in several fruit trees orchards to monitor in continuous the water status of the soil-plant continuum under different irrigation scheduling treatments. One automatic irrigation controller based in the evolution of trunk diameter fluctuactions and soil water content has been developed.
- The collection and tabulation of actual irrigation practices was carried out in different localisations. This data have been used for the development of best management practices.
- Several dissemination activities (peer reviewed paper, oral presentations, training and demonstration courses, etc.) have been done by different partners.
- The evaluation of the socioeconomic impact of irrigation strategies, in terms of farmer's profitability, has been considered.
The results of the research carried out in different regions point at the technical and economic superiority of regulated deficit irrigation strategies. The analysis of basic technical-economic indicators for the peach and citrus farms surveyed show a greater profitability of RDI strategies with respect to conventional strategies. In all cases, RDI strategies increase the productivity of water and, in some cases also the productivity of other farm inputs such as labour and fertilisers. Moreover, RDI strategies increase total factor productivity.
The static analysis of irrigation strategies and water productivity has been focused on the magnitude 'water application'. Several indicators have been calculated to compare the strategies RDI/control and RDI/commercial farms, for both crops and for the different water qualities. First, the marginal rates of return show a significant economic potential for the substitution of conventional irrigation strategies for other more sophisticated ones (CDI), being such potential greater the better water quality is. Second, the specific rate of surplus shows in all cases the potential superiority for assuring their reproduction of the RDI strategies against the 'control' and 'commercial farms' irrigation strategies. Again, results are better for higher water quality. Last, the comparative analysis of water productivity ratios show that water productivity is greater for RDI strategies with respect to the control strategies and those in the commercial farms. Water productivity increases with water quality, both for RDI and control strategies.
For the dynamic analysis of the productive cycles, several coefficients and ratios that describe and evaluate the logic and internal dynamics of irrigation strategies have been calculated. The results show the large differences existing between the logic and dynamic of the RDI strategies and the control irrigation strategy and, especially with the strategies applied in the commercial farms. RDI strategies present a large level of irregularity in water application, especially for citrus and higher quality irrigation water. On the contrary, there exists a high level of regularity and homogeneity in the water application in commercial farms, especially for mandarin, what indicates the existence of conventional irrigation strategies. The inner coherence of the process dynamics of RDI strategies and of the relations with their corresponding control strategies is very high, what results from the differential water applications carried out in the corresponding intervals of the productive cycle. The results show a greater efficiency of RDI strategies in all cases, a result that is related with the coherence of the irrigation schedule.
The project was structured into 13 work packages (WP), as follows:
WP 1: Characterisation of the orchards
WP 2: Effects of regulated deficit irrigation on crop physiology
WP 3 and WP 4: Effects of RDI practices on quality and safety of stone fruits and citrus
WP 5: Soil water balance model
WP 6.1: Crop quality model
WP 6.2: Fruit quality model
WP 7: Decision rules for irrigation scheduling; integration into a farm management model
WP 7.1: In-situ valuation of decision rules for RDI scheduling with respect to water use efficiency, fruit quality and safety. The main tasks were the elaboration and field valuation of appropriate management and decision rules for deficit irrigation strategies.
WP 7.2: Elaboration and test of an orchard management model, which included the following tasks: (i) development of an orchard simulator including irrigation strategy and practices (ii) integration of the decision rules and crop models into the simulator and (iii) analysis and evaluation of the simulation outputs.
WP 8: Development of a prototype generator for irrigation water disinfection
WP 9: Water irrigation automatisms
WP 10: Food risk assessment
WP 11: Collection of knowledge on present situation for irrigation and fertilisation and development of irrigation best management practices
WP 12: Evaluation of sustainability.
The research was organised and conducted according to the following steps:
- A battery of experiments has been evaluated in order to know the physiological and agronomic response of different fruit trees to deficit irrigation and the value of the information delivered by plant-based indicators for optimising the scheduling of irrigation.
- The study of different irrigation strategies effects on quality and safety attributes of citrus, peach, almond and olives crops at harvest ad after storage was done at different regions.
- Specific experimentations were carried out enabling simultaneous measurements of the soil moisture dynamics and root system in connection with different irrigation strategies.
- Yield and fruit quality, photosynthesis and radiations data were recorded in different assays in order to develop a biotechnological model at the tree level.
- It was studied the disinfection of irrigation water, using alternative technology based on the application of ultrasounds, by means of which the levels of algae and bacteria in irrigation reservoirs are reduced. The development of one prototype for water disinfection has been developed.
- A telemetry system was installed in several fruit trees orchards to monitor in continuous the water status of the soil-plant continuum under different irrigation scheduling treatments. One automatic irrigation controller based in the evolution of trunk diameter fluctuactions and soil water content has been developed.
- The collection and tabulation of actual irrigation practices was carried out in different localisations. This data have been used for the development of best management practices.
- Several dissemination activities (peer reviewed paper, oral presentations, training and demonstration courses, etc.) have been done by different partners.
- The evaluation of the socioeconomic impact of irrigation strategies, in terms of farmer's profitability, has been considered.
The results of the research carried out in different regions point at the technical and economic superiority of regulated deficit irrigation strategies. The analysis of basic technical-economic indicators for the peach and citrus farms surveyed show a greater profitability of RDI strategies with respect to conventional strategies. In all cases, RDI strategies increase the productivity of water and, in some cases also the productivity of other farm inputs such as labour and fertilisers. Moreover, RDI strategies increase total factor productivity.
The static analysis of irrigation strategies and water productivity has been focused on the magnitude 'water application'. Several indicators have been calculated to compare the strategies RDI/control and RDI/commercial farms, for both crops and for the different water qualities. First, the marginal rates of return show a significant economic potential for the substitution of conventional irrigation strategies for other more sophisticated ones (CDI), being such potential greater the better water quality is. Second, the specific rate of surplus shows in all cases the potential superiority for assuring their reproduction of the RDI strategies against the 'control' and 'commercial farms' irrigation strategies. Again, results are better for higher water quality. Last, the comparative analysis of water productivity ratios show that water productivity is greater for RDI strategies with respect to the control strategies and those in the commercial farms. Water productivity increases with water quality, both for RDI and control strategies.
For the dynamic analysis of the productive cycles, several coefficients and ratios that describe and evaluate the logic and internal dynamics of irrigation strategies have been calculated. The results show the large differences existing between the logic and dynamic of the RDI strategies and the control irrigation strategy and, especially with the strategies applied in the commercial farms. RDI strategies present a large level of irregularity in water application, especially for citrus and higher quality irrigation water. On the contrary, there exists a high level of regularity and homogeneity in the water application in commercial farms, especially for mandarin, what indicates the existence of conventional irrigation strategies. The inner coherence of the process dynamics of RDI strategies and of the relations with their corresponding control strategies is very high, what results from the differential water applications carried out in the corresponding intervals of the productive cycle. The results show a greater efficiency of RDI strategies in all cases, a result that is related with the coherence of the irrigation schedule.
