The University of Valencia participates in a study that determines the best way to drip persimmons and lemon trees

Scientists from the Desertification Research Institute (CIDE, CSIC-UV-GVA) and the Segura Centre for Soil Science and Applied Biology (CEBAS, CSIC) verify that using a single dropper-holder line would optimise the use of water in persimmons and lemon trees. The study contributes to establishing guidelines to improve the agronomic design of irrigation, facilitates cultivation work and even achieves increases in production.

A research group from the Desertification Research Institute (CIDE) - a joint centre of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), the University of Valencia and the Valencian Government – and the Segura Centre for Soil Science and Applied Biology (CEBAS-CSIC) have developed a study to establish the optimal method for irrigating persimmon and lemon plantations in semi-arid climates using drip irrigation. The study concludes that a single dripper line is sufficient to optimise performance and efficiency in the use of water, both for the lemon tree and for young persimmon trees.

The study, published in the open access journal Water, responds to the needs of the productive sector when it comes to improving the application of drip irrigation in these types of crops, which are of great economic importance in the Valencian Community and the Region of Murcia.

The work determines the optimal way to place the dripper-holder hoses – number and arrangement – in a fruit orchard, where one or more dripper-holder lines can be placed to supply water to the trees. According to the study, although a simple line arrangement is cheaper and facilitates cultivation work, it may not provide enough volume of wet soil. In this work, the agronomic response of the trees is compared as a function of the number of dripper lines used. “The main conclusion is that, in the case of the lemon tree and in clay soil, a single dripper-holder line is enough to optimise performance and efficiency in the use of water. In the same way, for young persimmon trees, the arrangement of the drippers in a single dripper-holder line allows optimising the productivity of the water”, says Diego Intrigliolo, researcher at CIDE and one of the authors of the work.

Reference:

Margarita Parra, David Hortelano, Francisco García-Sánchez, Diego S. Intrigliolo and José S. Rubio-Asensio, Effects of Drip Irrigation Design on a Lemon and a Young Persimmon Orchard in Semi-Arid Conditions, Water 2021, 13(13), 1795. DOI: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/13/1795

More information: https://ir.uv.es/w0oOMXQ