ISHS Acta Horticulturae 664: IV International Symposium on Irrigation of Horticultural Crops
WATER USE EFFICIENCY OF FIELD GROWN CHARDONNAY GRAPEVINES SUBJECTED TO PARTIAL ROOTZONE DRYING AND DEFICIT IRRIGATION |
| Authors: | S. Pudney, M.G. McCarthy |
| Keywords: | Drip irrigation, PRD, yield, berry ripening |
| Abstract:
A major constraint to the continued development of the Australian wine grape industry is the availability of water. If vineyard expansion continues to meet forecast expectations, the amount of water available for producing wine grapes will become insufficient in a number of existing regions. At least part of the shortfall will need to be met through improvements in vineyard practices. Partial Rootzone Drying (PRD) is a technique that has been reported to give a two fold increase in water use efficiency (weight of fruit produced per unit irrigation water applied). The objective of the current study was to assess the suitability of PRD as a technique for improving water use efficiency in established vineyards. The three year trial was conducted on mature planting of Chardonnay. Five irrigation treatments were established: Full (F), Full Partial Rootzone Drying (FPRD), Split (S), Deficit (D) and Deficit Partial Rootzone Drying (DPRD). Soil moisture sensors were installed to calculate the water requirement of the FPRD treatment. Deficit treatments automatically received half the amount of water applied to the Full treatments. Split received the same amount of water as Full, however, the water was applied through two drippers (rather than one). Fruit production tended to be higher in Full treatments (F and FPRD); in year 2 yield was 20% higher in Full compared to Deficit treatments (D and DPRD). WUE was highest for Deficit and lowest for the Full treatments. The WUE of F and FPRD vines was similar in all years. There was no difference between the response of D and DPRD vines to reduced water application. The results of this study suggest that closely monitored deficit irrigation may achieve the same improvement in WUE as PRD. | |
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