ISHS Acta Horticulturae 777: IX International Rubus and Ribes Symposium
A MODEL TO DEFINE FERTIGATION STRATEGIES FOR RASPBERRIES, INTEGRATING SOIL WATER AND NUTRIENT AVAILABILITY TO CROPPING OBJECTIVES |
| Author: | L.A. Gurovich |
| Keywords: | raspberry, fertigation scheduling |
| Abstract:
Raspberry production in Chile takes place in a wide range of soil and atmospheric evaporative demanding conditions, that must be properly taken into account in order to adequately supply water and nutrients to plantations aimed to different cropping objectives. The main tool available to farmers for optimizing yield results, in terms of productivity, fruit size and fruit firmness, is the application of adequate fertigation scheduling strategies. In the last 5 years we have defined fertigation scheduling strategies for large commercial raspberry plantations in different locations in Chile. As a result of this experience, a model including optimal quantity of water to be applied on each irrigation event, combined with fertilizer sources and nutrient relative composition has been developed. The model integrates the effects of soil characteristics, plant development dynamics and daily crop evapotranspiration values, as well as plant nutritional information. The model is aimed to obtain high yield and berry quality, optimizing water (energy) and fertilizer costs. Construction of a specific fertigation strategy for a few raspberry plantations based on the model is presented, with information on water depths and nutrient applications. Also, yield and fruit quality results are discussed in relation to irrigation water and fertilizer efficiency trends, obtained at Chilean raspberry commercial plantations. | |
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