D7.7 Third and final report on “Dissemination activities” · Organized by the Spanish Water Technology Platform (PTEA). ... strategies in fruit orchards. However, these water

SIRRIMED grant agreement nº: 245159

SEVENTH FRAMEWORK PROGRAMME THEME 2: Biotechnologies, Agriculture, Food

Collaborative Project – SICA (Mediterranean Partner Countries)

SIRRIMED Sustainable use of irrigation water

in the Mediterranean Region

Grant agreement: 245159

Start date: 01/07/2010 End date: 31/12/2013 (42 months)

D7.7 Third and final report on “Dissemination activities”

Lead Beneficiary: CEBAS-CSIC

Dissemination Level: PU = Public

Nature: R = Report

Revision [Code] Organization Date & Visa

Due date of the deliverable

Written by CEBAS-CSIS 17/06/2014

Checked by CEBAS-CSIS 17/06/2014

Validated by CEBAS-CSIS 17/06/2014 31/03/2014

PROJECT’S COMMUNICATION ACTIVITIES RECOUNT


Partners / Tasks

1.PUBLICATIONS

2.INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC MEETINGS,

CONFERENCES AND WORKSHOPS

3.REGIONAL SCIENTIFIC MEETINGS,

CONFERENCES AND WORKSHOPS

4.REGIONAL PRESENTATIONS

5.TRAINING COURSES 6.OPEN DAYS IN PILOT

FARMS

WP 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

CEBAS- CSIC 2 1 2 8 6 1 1

UPCT 4 5 4 11 8 3 2 1 1 3 3 3 2 1 2 1 1 1

UCO 3 4 5 5 5 1 2 2 1 2 2 1

LEC 6 2 2 11 3 2 2 3 3 1

IAV-CHA 1 4 1 1 2 3 1 1

CE.RE.TE.TH. 2 1 1 2 3 2 2

INRA 4 11 10 25 22 2 2 2 3

CER 1 1

AFRE 2 2

SAPIAMA 4

IVM-VU 1

EIC 2 1 1

DEB 1 1 2 2 1

NRC 12 14 2 3 1 2 1 5 3 1 2 1 1 5 4 1 1 2 3

LRA



TOTAL ACTIVITIES PER WORK PACKAGE

ACT. 1 PUBLICATIONS

ACT. 2 INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC MEETINGS, CONFERENCES AND WORKSHOPS

ACT. 3 REGIONAL SCIENTIFIC MEETINGS, CONFERENCES AND WORKSHOPS

ACT. 4 REGIONAL PRESENTATIONS

ACT. 5 TRAINING COURSES

ACT. 6 OPEN DAYS IN PILOT FARMS



TOTAL ACTIVITIES PER PARTNER

CEBAS- CSIC

UPCT

UCO

LEC

IAV-CHA

CE.RE.TE.TH.

INRA

CER

AFRE

SAPIAMA

IVM-VU

EIC

DEB

NRC

LRA



PUBLICATIONS PER PARTNER

CEBAS- CSIC

UPCT

UCO

LEC

IAV-CHA

CE.RE.TE.TH.

INRA

CER

AFRE

SAPIAMA

IVM-VU

EIC

DEB

NRC

LRA



INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC MEETINGS, CONFERENCES AND WORKSHOPS PER PARTNER

CEBAS- CSIC

UPCT

UCO

LEC

IAV-CHA

CE.RE.TE.TH.

INRA

CER

AFRE

SAPIAMA

IVM-VU

EIC

DEB

NRC

LRA



REGIONAL SCIENTIFIC MEETINGS, CONFERENCES AND WORKSHOPS PER PARTNER

CEBAS- CSIC

UPCT

UCO

LEC

IAV-CHA

CE.RE.TE.TH.

INRA

CER

AFRE

SAPIAMA

IVM-VU

EIC

DEB

NRC

LRA



REGIONAL PRESENTATIONS PER PARTNER

CEBAS- CSIC

UPCT

UCO

LEC

IAV-CHA

CE.RE.TE.TH.

INRA

CER

AFRE

SAPIAMA

IVM-VU

EIC

DEB

NRC

LRA



TRAINING COURSES PER PARTNER

CEBAS- CSIC

UPCT

UCO

LEC

IAV-CHA

CE.RE.TE.TH.

INRA

CER

AFRE

SAPIAMA

IVM-VU

EIC

DEB

NRC

LRA



OPEN DAYS IN PILOT FARMS PER PARTNER

CEBAS- CSIC

UPCT

UCO

LEC

IAV-CHA

CE.RE.TE.TH.

INRA

CER

AFRE

SAPIAMA

IVM-VU

EIC

DEB

NRC

LRA



ACTIVITIES PER COUNTRY

SPAIN

UK

MOROCCO

LEBANON

EGYPT

ITALY

FRANCE

NETHERLANDS

GRECE



ACTIVITIES PER REGION

NORTH MED (6 countries)

SOUTH MED (3 countries)

AFRE 2012


ACTIVITY 2: International scientific meetings, conferences and

workshops

TYPE PLACE DATE TARGET PUBLIC WP

Workshop

CSIC

headquarter;

Madrid (Spain)

08,

09/05/2012

- Scientific community (higher

education, Research)

- Industry

- Civil society

- Policy makers

- Medias

7

SIZE OF AUDIENCE COUNTRIES ADDRESSED

140 Spain, The Netherlands, Israel

SUPPORTS

Second International Forum ΣH2O "Innovation in water, building a sustainable

hydrological future".

Organized by the Spanish Water Technology Platform (PTEA). Participants learned in

detail the process of structuring the R&D in water, and the progress, projects and

sectorial prospects under the new national water policy and innovation. The meeting

included workshops on European R&D projects.


Conference

Pamplona’s

Planetarium;

Pamplona

(Spain)

26, 27,

28/11/2012

-Scientific community

(higher education,

Research)

-Industry

-Civil society

-Policy makers

-Medias

7


200 Spain, The Netherlands, Germany, France,

England, Greece

SUPPORTS

“Fifth Meeting PTEA (Spanish Water Technology Platform)”

This meeting is part of the objectives of the European Innovation Partnership (EIP on

Water), which is committed to innovation in water use in urban, rural and industrial

management, through the collaboration of organism and public and private entities.

The meeting included workshops on European R&D projects.

AFRE 2012


ACTIVITY 5: Training courses


Workshop

Spanish Ministry

of Agriculture,

Food and

Environment;

Madrid; (Spain)

03/12/2012

- Scientific community

(higher education,

Research)

- Policy makers

- Civil society

7


20

Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica,

Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala,

Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay,

Peru, Spain, Uruguay and Venezuela

SUPPORTS

International Course " Irrigation Techniques and Irrigation Management"

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment (in collaboration with AFRE) held

the conference on "Engineering and efficient irrigation technologies", embedded within

the International Course: "Irrigation Techniques and Irrigation Management", organized

every year by the Ministry for Latin American students. The meeting included

workshops on European R&D projects.

AFRE 2012



Workshops

AFRE

headquarter

Madrid;

(Spain)

During the

whole

period

Scientific community (higher


-Industry

-Civil society

-Policy makers

-Medias

7


- Spain

SUPPORTS

Course: "Smart water management in agriculture"

Course Design: "Smart water management in agriculture", included in the AFRE "Water

School and Water business school" (EA-ENA) 1

The course design includes specific workshops on European R&D projects. 1

EA-ENA is a school dedicated to the training of managers, executives and entrepreneurs in the water

sector and its technologies. It also aims to train technicians in water efficient management in the different

sectors and economic activities.

CSIC-CEBAS 2012


ACTIVITY 1: Publications

TITLE MAIN AUTHOR OTHER AUTHOR/S

Effects of irrigation and fruit

position on size, colour, firmness

and sugar contents of fruits in a

mid-late maturing peach cultivar

Rosalía Alcobendas

José Manuel Mirás-

Avalos, Juan José

Alarcón, Emilio

Nicolás

TITLE OF PERIODICAL SERIES NUMBER, DATE OR FREQUENCY

Scientia Horticulturae 164

PUBLISHER PLACE OF PUBLICATION

International Society for Horticultural Science,

Elsevier Scientific Magazine

DATE OF PUBLICATION RELEVANT PAGES

12/2013 340-347

WP

Abstract: Experiments were conducted on a mid-late maturing peach (Prunus persica)

cv. ‘Catherine’ in 2008 in order to study the influences of irrigation and fruit location

within the canopy, on fruit growth and several fruit-quality attributes, including sugar

and acid contents. Trees were subjected to full irrigation (FI) and regulated deficit

irrigation (RDI). Fruit height in the crown, exposure to sunlight and orientation were

recorded. Fruit diameter, fresh weight, firmness, flesh and skin colour attributes,

soluble solids content, pH and sugar and acid contents were determined for each fruit

at harvest. Water stress had a high impact on most of the fruit-quality variables

studied. Fruits from trees under RDI were firmer than those from FI trees but did not

differ in weight and diameter, perhaps due to the low crop load supported by the

studied trees. In contrast, fruits from RDI trees had more soluble solids, glucose,

sorbitol, and malic, citric and tartaric acids. Height in the crown partially affected

positively soluble solids content. Exposure to sunlight strongly influenced stone dry

weight and soluble solid content. Finally, orientation did not have a significant influence

on most of the fruit-quality attributes considered in this study. Our results suggested

that leaving a low crop load on the tree maintaining fruits only in the most ideal parts of

the canopy may improve fruit quality under water restriction conditions. In this way, the

negative effects of water stress may be counteracted and fruit quality for this mid-late

maturing peach cultivar would be improved.

CSIC-CEBAS 2012



Combined effects of water stress

and fruit thinning on fruit and

vegetative growth of a very

early-maturing peach cultivar:

assessment by means of a fruit

tree model, QualiTree


Avalos

Rosalía Alcobendas,

Juan José Alarcón,

Francisco Pedrero,

Pierre Valsesia,

Françoise Lescourret,

Emilio Nicolás


Irrigation Science 31(5)


Springer Verlag Scientific Magazine


2013 1039-1051

WP

Abstract: Regulated deficit irrigation strategies are common practices in areas with low

water availability. Thus, water stress, which can limit fruit growth, is imposed to the

trees. Fruit thinning can be used to relieve this water stress in peach. In this paper, the

ability of an existing fruit tree model (QualiTree) for describing the effects of water

stress and fruit thinning on peach fruit and vegetative growth was assessed. The

model was parameterized and calibrated for a very early-maturing peach cultivar

(“Flordastar”). Important parameters were those expressing the effect of distance

between organs on carbon exchange within the tree, the potential dry masses, and the

relative growth rates of fruits and leafy shoots. Then, the model was tested in a wide

range of water stress situations and three fruit thinning intensities: no thinning,

commercial thinning, and heavy thinning. Fruit and vegetative growth simulations were

consistent with observed data derived from 2006 field experiments. The variability over

time of fruit and vegetative growth was well predicted. The model reproduced

reductions in fruit growth observed in field experiments. It also reacted to simulated

scenarios that combined water stress and thinning. Increasing thinning intensity

reduced total fruit yield but increased fruit size at harvest, compensating the negative

effects of water stress on fruit growth. These simulations broadened the predictive

capabilities of the model and showed that it might be a useful tool in the design of

innovative horticultural practices.

CSIC-CEBAS 2012



Assessment using of the water

stress effects on peach fruit

quality and size a fruit tree

model, QualiTree


Avalos

Rosalía Alcobendas,


Pierre Valsesia,

Michel Génard, Emilio

Nicolás


Agricultural Water Management 128




2013 1-12

WP

Abstract: Low water availability has increased the use of regulated deficit irrigation

strategies in fruit orchards. However, these water restrictions may have implications on

fruit growth and quality. The current paper assesses the suitability of an existing fruit

tree model (QualiTree) for describing the effects of water stress on peach fruit growth

and quality. The model was parameterised and calibrated for a mid-late maturing

peach cultivar (‘Catherine’). Mean and variability over time of fruit and vegetative

growth were consistent with observed data on trees submitted to full irrigation or to

regulated deficit irrigation. The relative root mean square errors of the model for growth

ranged between 0.09 and 0.31.

Sugar contents in fruit flesh were fairly well simulated, except for sucrose, which was

overestimated. The relative root mean square errors of the model ranged from 0.01 to

0.40 for fructose; from 0.04 to 0.05 for glucose; from 0.21 to 0.41 for sucrose and from

0.09 to 0.28 for sorbitol. Water stress reduced leafy shoot growth up to 23% and fruit

final size up to 49% when compared to the well-watered control. However, sugar

contents in the flesh increased with water stress, up to 70% in the case of glucose.

Simulations showed that a severe water stress during stage III of fruit development

decreased fruit sizes by 22%, when compared to the control, whereas it enhanced

sugar accumulation in the fruit flesh, up to 70% in the case of glucose and fructose.

Therefore, these simulations showed that QualiTree might be useful in the design of

innovative horticultural practices.

CSIC-CEBAS 2012



Transient soil salinity under the

combined effect of reclaimed

water and regulated deficit drip

irrigation of Mandarin trees

Oussama Mounzer

Francisco Pedrero-

Salcedo, Pedro A.

Nortes, José-María

Bayona, Emilio

Nicolás, Juan José

Alarcón






2013 23-29

WP

Abstract: Regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) strategy using saline reclaimed water is

becoming a frequent practice under semiarid Mediterranean climatic conditions in the

southeastern region of Spain. There is a concern that the long-term use of this strategy

will affect the production sustainability of the agricultural soils. This paper evaluates the

field consequences of this strategy on the accumulation of salts within the plant root

zone. Full and regulated deficit surface drip deficit irrigation was combined with fresh

water (EC 1 dS m−1) and saline (EC 3 dS m−1) tertiary reclaimed water to irrigate

adult mandarin trees over a 3-year period. The control treatment received 100% of the

crop evapotranspiration “ETc” and the RDI treatment received 50% of ETc during the

2nd stage of fruit growth. Soil water content was monitored every other week within the

soil wetted volume under the emitter. Gravimetric soil samples were collected from 3

depths and at 3 distances to the emitter, twice a year: at the end of irrigation season

and at the conclusion of RDI period. Soluble salts, electrical conductivity and sodium

adsorption ratio were determined in the saturated paste extract. The results show how

the RDI strategy intensifies the development of salinity gradient away from the emitter

even when using good quality water. The combination of RDI with saline reclaimed

water produced transient saline-sodic conditions at the outer superficial limits of the

wetted bulb under the emitter. The appearance of such adverse conditions is alarming

and would threaten the sustainability of agricultural soils. Therefore soil water deficit

should be avoided whenever saline reclaimed water is in use for irrigation.

CSIC-CEBAS 2012



Influence of irrigation with saline

reclaimed water on young

grapefruits

Francisco Pedrero


Emilio Nicolás,

Oussama Mounzer


Desalination and Water Treatment 51(10-12)


Balaban Scientific Magazine


2013 2488-2496

WP

Abstract: The use of non-conventional water resources, as strategy to an efficient

water management, is receiving greater attention. We have designed an experiment,

during four year under field conditions in a commercial grapefruit orchard located in

Campotejar (Murcia, Spain). The main objective was to evaluate the effects of irrigation

with saline reclaimed water compared with traditional irrigation water (Tajo-Segura

water transfer) on growth, leaf mineral content, plant and soil water status, yield, and

fruit quality. Na, B and Cl concentrations exceeded the recommended level in

reclaimed water, for this reason, soil salts accumulation and infiltration problems were

observed during last season in this treatment. Leaf B concentration was over the

phytotoxic limit in reclaimed water plants, although no visual toxicity symptoms were

observed. No differences were observed concerning to leaf Cl and Na concentration.

The canopy volume, the number of fruits per trees, and the total yield were reduced by

the effect of reclaimed water; however a tendency of higher fruit weight was observed

in plants irrigated with this type of water. Salinity and boron accumulation were the

main problems associated with the use of reclaimed water because although leaf

toxicity levels were not observed, it could pose a risk for grapefruit production at

medium and long term. The microbiological water quality was always below the

threshold; therefore, the reclaimed irrigation water for grapefruit trees did not represent

a microbial risk.

CSIC-CEBAS 2012



The viability of irrigating

mandarin trees with saline

reclaimed water in a semi-arid

Mediterranean region: a

preliminary assessment

Francisco Pedrero

Oussama Mounzer,

Juan José Alarcón, J.

M. Bayona, Emilio

Nicolás






2013 759-768

WP

Abstract: The effect of irrigation water quality was investigated in a commercial

mandarin orchard during four growing seasons using fresh water (EC ≈ 1 dS m−1),

irrigators’ association water (EC = 1–3 dS m−1) and reclaimed water (RW) (EC ≈ 3 dS

m−1). RW had higher concentration of macro- and micronutrients, especially

potassium, and the phytotoxic elements, boron, sodium and chlorides. The

microbiological load in the different irrigation water sources showed a high seasonal

variability, and all water sources occasionally exceeded health standards to irrigate

fruit trees. In the RW treatment, an increase in soil salinity and leaf boron concentration

was observed. The nutritional contribution of RW was high, providing 24 and 15 % of

the annual nitrogen and phosphorus (N and P2O5) fertilizer requirement for mandarin

oranges, respectively, and RW treatment satisfied the entire potassium requirement

(K2O). An important fluctuation in the crop production was observed during the 4 years

in the different water quality treatments. In general, quality parameters of mandarins

were not affected. The results provide additional evidence that long-term effects must

be studied to test sustainability when using RW irrigation on fruit trees.

CSIC-CEBAS 2012



Using high resolution UAV

thermal imagery to assess the

variability in the water status of

five fruit tree species within a

commercial orchard.

V. Gonzalez-Dugo

P. Zarco-Tejada, E.

Nicolás, P. A. Nortes,

J. J. Alarcón, D. S.

Intrigliolo, E. Fereres


Precision Agriculture 14(6)




2013 660-678

WP

Abstract: This paper deals with the assessment of heterogeneity in water status in a

commercial orchard, as a prerequisite for precision irrigation management. Remote

sensing-derived indicators could be suitable for mapping water stress over large areas,

and recent studies have demonstrated that high resolution airborne thermal imagery

enables the assessment of discontinuous canopies as pure tree crowns can be

targeted, thus eliminating the background effects. Airborne campaigns were conducted

over a drip-irrigated commercial orchard in Southwestern Spain composed of five

different orchard tree crops. An unmanned aerial vehicle with a thermal camera

onboard was flown three times during the day on 8 July 2010, at 9, 11 and 13 h (local

time). Stem water potential was measured at the same time of the flights. In some

irrigation units, irrigation was stopped prior to the measurement date to induce water

deficits for comparative purposes. Several approaches for using the thermal data were

proposed. Daily evolution of the differential between canopy and air temperature (Tc −

Ta) was compared to tree water status. The slope of the evolution of Tc – Ta with time

was well correlated with water status and is proposed as a novel indicator linked with

the stomatal behavior. The Crop Water Stress Index (CWSI) was calculated with the

temperature data from the 13.00 h flight using an empirical approach for defining the

upper and lower limits of Tc − Ta. The assessment of variability in water status was

also performed using differences in relative canopy temperatures. Ample variability

was detected among and within irrigation units, demonstrating that the approach

proposed was viable for precision irrigation management. The assessment led to the

identification of water-stressed areas, and to the definition of threshold CWSI values

and associated risks. Such thresholds may be used by growers for irrigation

management based on crop developmental stages and economic considerations.

CSIC-CEBAS 2012



Effect of sustained and regulated

deficit irrigation on fruit quality of

pomegranate cv. ‘Mollar de

Elche’ at harvest and during cold

storage

A. I. Laribi

L. Palou, D. S.

Intrigliolo, P. A.

Nortes, C. Rojas-

Argudo, V. Taberner,

J. Bartual, M. B.

Pérez-Gago






2013 61-70

WP

Abstract: The effect of several irrigation strategies on fruit quality at harvest and during

cold storage at 5 °C of ‘Mollar de Elche’ pomegranates (Punica granatum L.) was

studied for three seasons. Irrigation treatments consisted of a control irrigated at 100%

of crop evapotranspiration (ETc), a sustained deficit irrigation (SDI) where trees were

irrigated at 50% of the ETc during the entire season, and three regulated deficit

irrigation (RDI) treatments. In the RDI regimes, severe water restrictions (25% ETc)

were applied during one of three phases: flowering and fruit set (RDIfl.-fr.set), fruit

growth (RDIfr.gr) or the final phase of fruit growth and ripening (RDIripe). Results

showed that after 8 or 19 weeks at 5 °C plus 7 days of shelf life at 20 °C, some fruit

quality attributes such as the soluble solids content (SSC), anthocyanins and fruit

colour were enhanced by deficit irrigation. Higher SSC and more reddish colouration in

the fruit peel were noted at harvest and during cold storage in pomegranates from SDI

and RDIripe. On the other hand, higher juice anthocyanins content were obtained in

the RDIfr.gr. fruit. Control fruit showed greater susceptibility to physiological disorders

manifested as peel pitting, blemishes and sinking, and to weight loss with respect to

deficit irrigation samples. Weight loss increased with storage time and SDI and RDIripe

showed lower weight loss compared to the control treatment. Deficit irrigation,

depending on the phenological period when water shortage is applied, can be then

used as a field practice to control fruit ripening timing, enhance pomegranate fruit

composition and improve fruit postharvest performance.

CSIC-CEBAS 2012



Modelling canopy conductance

and transpiration of fruit trees in

Mediterranean areas: a

simplified approach

Francisco J.

Villalobos

Luca Testi, Francisco

Orgaz, Omar García-

Tejera, Alvaro Lopez-

Bernal, Maria Victoria

González-Dugo, Carlos

Ballester-Lurbe, Juan

Ramon Castel, Juan José

Alarcón-Cabañero, Emilio

Nicolás-Nicolás, Joan

Girona, Jordi Marsal, Elías

Fereres


Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 171-172




04/2013 93-103

WP

Abstract: Improving current approaches to quantify the transpiration of fruit trees is

needed for water allocation purposes and to enhance the precision of water

applications under full and deficit irrigation. Given that transpiration of tree crops is

mainly modulated by canopy conductance (Gc) and vapour pressure deficits, we

developed a functional model of tree transpiration by quantifying an average daily Gc

based on radiation use efficiency and CO2 assimilation. For model calibration, an

extensive experimental dataset of tree transpiration (Ep) was collected in many of the

main temperate fruit tree species, namely, apricot, apple, citrus, olive, peach, pistachio,

and walnut, all under non-limiting water conditions, in different orchards in Spain and

California (USA). In all species, Ep was assessed by measuring sap flux with the

Compensation Heat Pulse method for several months, and a transpiration coefficient

(Kt) was calculated as the ratio of measured Ep to the reference evapotranspiration.

For three deciduous species (apricot, peach and walnut) Kt showed maximum values

close to 1, a value which stayed more or less constant throughout the summer in

peach and walnut. The maximum Kt values were measured in pistachio (1.14) while

they only reached 0.35 in olive and citrus trees. In the latter two species, Kt varied

seasonally between 0.2 and 0.6 depending on the weather. The average Gc in July

was high for apple, walnut, peach and pistachio (range 0.240–0.365 mol m−2 s−1) and

low for olive and orange (range 0.074–0.100 mol m−2 s−1). The calibrated model

outputs were compared against measured Ep data, suggesting the satisfactory

performance of a functional model for Ep calculation that should improve the precision

of current empirical approaches followed to compute fruit tree water requirements.

CSIC-CEBAS 2012



Soil chemical properties, leaf

mineral status and crop

production in a lemon tree

orchard irrigated with two types

of wastewater

Pedrero F. Allende A., Gil M.I.,

Alarcón J.J.


Agricultural Water Management 109: 2012


Scientific Magazine


2012 54 - 60

WP 1

Abstract The effects of applying different types of treated wastewater on citrus trees

were studied in Murcia, in the south-east of Spain. Two treatments with wastewater

effluents of different quality were applied for three consecutive years. In the first case,

the wastewater received a secondary treatment (conventional activated sludge). In the

second case, the irrigation water was a mix of well water and wastewater from a

tertiary treatment plant (conventional activated sludge with ultraviolet tertiary

treatment). The characteristics of the tertiary treated wastewater make it better for

irrigation than the secondary treated wastewater. It was considered that high salinity,

Cl and B concentration could be the main restrictions associated with treated

wastewater irrigation in both cases, although leaf toxicity levels were not observed.

The soil nitrate concentration increased over the experimental time period in both

water irrigation treatments. The production was affected by the wastewater quality and

the total crop yield was lower in the plots irrigated with secondary treated wastewater.

However, in these plots, the fruit-quality indexes such as external colour, weight, peel

thickness, firmness, soluble solids, pH, total acidity and maturity index were

significantly better than those observed in the plots irrigated with tertiary treatment. The

soil microbiological analysis revealed an absence of faecal coliforms, Escherichia coli

and helminth eggs in the experimental plots irrigated with tertiary treated wastewater,

but with secondary treated wastewater the soil accumulation of faecal coliforms

exceeded health standards. In both cases, there was an absence of microbiological

contamination on fruits.

CSIC-CEBAS 2012



Combined effects of irrigation,

crop load and fruit position on

size, colour and firmness of fruits

in an extra-early cultivar of

peach

Alcobendas, R.

Miras-Avalos J.M.,

Alarcón J.J., Pedrero

F., Nicolas E.


Scientia Horticulturae 142: 2012


Scientific Magazine


2012 128-135

WP 2

Abstract In order to study the influences of irrigation, fruit load, fruit position within the

leafy shoot and the canopy, fruit orientation and exposure to sunlight on fruit growth

and several fruit-quality attributes, experiments were conducted on a very early-

maturing peach (Prunus persica) cv. ‘Flordastar’ in 2006. Trees were subjected to full

irrigation and regulated deficit irrigation under two crop loads: commercial and low (half

of the commercial crop load). Fruits were located in the trees by recording their

orientation, height in the crown, and position on the shoot. Also, their exposure to

sunlight was assessed. Fruit diameter, fresh weight, firmness, and flesh and skin color

attributes were determined for each fruit. Soluble solids content, titratable acidity and

pH were evaluated in a representative amount of fruits for each treatment. Water

stress and crop load had a high impact on all the variables studied except soluble

solids content, pH and titratable acidity. Fruits from trees under regulated deficit

irrigation were smaller, lighter and had a higher firmness than those from fully irrigated

trees. Thinning was not able to counteract the negative effects of water stress on

peach fruit size. Exposure to sunlight strongly influenced fruit size, weight, and skin

color. Fruits highly exposed to sunlight in water stressed trees were greater. At a given

irrigation treatment and crop load, position on the shoot exerted more influence on the

studied attributes than the orientation and the height in the crown. Therefore, leaving a

certain fruit distribution on the tree, with fruits more exposed to sunlight, may

compensate the negative effects of water stress on fruit size and quality.

CSIC-CEBAS 2012



Effects of water stress on

irradiance acclimation of leaf

traits in almond trees

Egea G.

González-Real MM.,

Baille A, Nortes PA.,

Conesa R., Ruiz-

Salleres I.


Tree Physiology 32: 2012


Scientific Magazine


2012 450-463

WP 4

Abstract

Photosynthetic acclimation to highly variable local irradiance within the tree crown

plays a primary role in determining tree carbon uptake. This study explores the

plasticity of leaf structural and physiological traits in response to the interactive effects

of ontogeny, water stress and irradiance in adult almond trees that have been

subjected to three water regimes (full irrigation, deficit irrigation and rain-fed) for a 3-

year period (2006–08) in a semiarid climate. Leaf structural (dry mass per unit area, N

and chlorophyll content) and photosynthetic (maximum net CO2 assimilation, Amax,

maximum stomatal conductance, gs,max, and mesophyll conductance, gm) traits and

stem-to-leaf hydraulic conductance (Ks-l) were determined throughout the 2008

growing season in leaves of outer south-facing (S-leaves) and inner northwest-facing

(NW-leaves) shoots. Leaf plasticity was quantified by means of an exposure

adjustment coefficient (ε = 1-XNW/XS) for each trait (X) of S- and NW-leaves.

Photosynthetic traits and Ks-l exhibited higher irradiance-elicited plasticity (higher ε)

than structural traits in all treatments, with the highest and lowest plasticity being

observed in the fully irrigated and rain-fed trees, respectively. Our results suggest that

water stress modulates the irradiance-elicited plasticity of almond leaves through

changes in crown architecture. Such changes lead to a more even distribution of

within-crown irradiance, and hence of the photosynthetic capacity, as water stress

intensifies. Ontogeny drove seasonal changes only in the ε of area- and mass-based N

content and mass-based chlorophyll content, while no leaf age-dependent effect was

observed on ε as regards the physiological traits. Our results also indicate that the

irradiance-elicited plasticity of Amax is mainly driven by changes in leaf dry mass per

unit area, in gm and, most likely, in the partitioning of the leaf N content.

CSIC-CEBAS 2012



Study of the effects of irrigation

on stem water potential and

multispectral data obtained from

remote sensing systems in

woody crops

Alarcón JJ Pérez-Cutillas, P


The use of remote sensing and geographic

information systems for irrigation

management in Southwest Europe

Number 67, Zaragoza (Spain)

SERIE B: Studies and Research


CIHEAM, ISBN: 2-85352-482-5 Scientific Magazine


2012 139-146

WP 4

Abstract

This study is part of the work carried out in experimental plots of different research

centres (IMIDA, CEBAS, UPCT and IVIA) that are part of the TELERIEG project, with

the aim of improving irrigation methods in irrigated crops in the region of Murcia,

significantly contributing to a better management of drought. The work was carried out,

on the one hand, on two parcels of citrus fruit (mandarin and grapefruit) where several

different irrigation treatments were applied, which generated varying degrees of water

stress on the studied trees. Three sources of irrigation water were also used, each one

different in nature and quality, in order to study their impact on the development of

crops. On the other hand, work was also carried out on a parcel of peach trees, where

several different irrigation treatments were applied, which also generated varying

degrees of water stress. This variability in tree water status was measured in the field

through stem water potential at midday (Ψs), and from the air by capturing images with

a multispectral camera to estimate the values of the near-infrared spectrum (NIR) and

the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI).

.

CSIC-CEBAS 2012



Soil salinity prospects based on

the quality of irrigation water

used in the Segura Basin

Alcón F Atenza J.F., Erena M.,

Alarcón J.J


The use of remote sensing and geographic

information systems for irrigation

management in Southwest Europe

Number 67, Zaragoza (Spain)

SERIE B: Studies and Research


CIHEAM, ISBN: 2-85352-482-5 Scientific Magazine


2012 223-229

WP 1

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to determine the effect of the quality of irrigation

water currently used in various agricultural demand units (ADU) on the soil-water

salinity, assessing the effects of its use on crop yields and soils agronomic properties.

The current state of the water quality used in all ADUs of the Segura Basin (Spain) was

identified through sampling points located in surface and groundwater bodies. The

geographical relationship established between water quality and crops in each ADU

allowed a prospective analysis of the major agronomic risks of salinity, infiltration,

toxicity by undesirable ions and the resulting environmental risks of soil degradation.

WATSUIT software was used for each existing relationship between water bodies and

ADUs. The results of this study provide geo-referenced knowledge of the current status

of water quality and of the problems that its use may cause on the crops and the

environment. It is also the starting point in establishing actions to increase the quality

of irrigation water improving environmental conservation.

CSIC-CEBAS 2012



workshops

TYPE PLACE DATE TARGET

PUBLIC

WP

Conference

7th International Symposium

on Irrigation of Horticultural

Crops; Geisenheim (Germany).

16-20

/07/ 2012

Scientific

community

1


International

SUPPORTS

“Mandarin performance under regulated deficit irrigation using saline reclaimed water”.

By: Pedrero F., Alarcón J.J., Nicolás E., Mounzer O.

Abstract: The implementation of polluter-pays principle is increasingly generating

additional water resources which are used for irrigation mainly in arid and semi-arid

Mediterranean areas. These resources are delivered free of charge but not of nitrogen-

compounds and minerals and therefore could be a double edge sword for agricultural

sustainability. In the south-east semi-arid region of Spain (Campotejar-Murcia), a field

experiment was carried out during four years to assess the performance of adult

mandarin trees irrigated with saline reclaimed water and subjected to regulated deficit

irrigation during the second stage of fruit growth. Plant and soil water status, electrical

conductivity of the saturated paste extract, growth parameters and leaf mineral

contents were periodically monitored and the final yield was characterized by its total

weight, the number of fruits per tree and the distribution of fruit diameter. Na, B and

chlorides concentration in irrigation water exceeded the recommended level for

restriction on use. The concentration of salts within the plant root zone increased up to

critical levels at the end of each irrigation-deficit period during summer time and was

decreased down to its normal range by full irrigation during winter time. From the

physiological point of view, the plant significantly reduced its stem water potential over

the RDI period with a slight negative effect on leaf stomatal conductance without

dropping its photosynthetic performance. No visible toxicity symptoms were observed,

although B concentration was over the phytotoxic limit in reclaimed water treatments.

Yields were influenced by the interaction between salinity and various soil, water, and

climatic conditions. The total number of fruits, slightly affected by RDI, was significantly

reduced under the combined effect of RDI and irrigation water quality. Under arid and

semi-arid climatic conditions, the combination of regulated deficit irrigation strategies

and reclaimed water for irrigation can be affected in the long-term because of the salts

and boron soil accumulation, although proper crop selection and management

practices, enable beneficial non conventional water resources use and efficient water

management strategies with minimal reduction in yield.

CSIC-CEBAS 2012



Conferenc

e

1st International

Congress & Fair on

Water, Waste and

Energy

Management;

Salamanca

(España).

23-25

/05/2012

Scientific

community

1


International

SUPPORTS

“Combined use of reclaimed water and deficit irrigation strategies in Mediterranean

agriculture: effects on young grapefruit trees”.

By: Pedrero F., Alarcón J.J., Nicolás E., Mounzer O., Moreno J.I.

Abstract: Wastewater as a water resource is currently receiving greater attention because of the global water crisis, although it use is practiced all over the world not always in the correct way. Secondary salinization from irrigation water is a growing worldwide problem, especially in arid and semi-arid regions. The main objective was to evaluate the effects of irrigation with saline reclaimed water combined with the regulated deficit irrigation strategy, on young grapefruit tree crop and their effects on growth, leaf mineral content, plant and soil water status. We have designed an experiment during four years under field condition in a commercial grapefruit orchard located in Campotejar (Murcia, Spain). The irrigation head was equipped and supplied with two water sources; the first (TW) was pumped from the Tajo-Segura water transfer (EC ≈ 1 dS m-1) (control treatment) and the second water sources (RW) was pumped from the “North of Molina de Segura” wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) (EC ≈ 3.5-4 dS m-1). The experiment was designed to differentiate two irrigation scheduling treatments per water source, a control treatment (C) was irrigated to recover 100% ETc throughout the growing season, and a regulated deficit irrigation treatment (RDI) was irrigated to 50% ETc since middle of June till middle of August when the full irrigation scheduling was resumed.Water saving with the RDI treatments was between 13-15%. Na, B and chloride concentrations exceeded the recommended phytotoxic level in reclaimed water used for irrigation, although no visual symptoms have been seen during the four seasons. In relation to the microbiological parameters measured in irrigation water, it was observed on many occasions that TW exceeds the RW microbiological values. A tendency was identified in terms of salts accumulation in the soil, during the last season in reclaimed water treatments. Leaf B concentration was over the phytotoxic limit in these treatments, although no visual symptoms were observed. Yield reductions were not significant between treatments, although a tendency to reduced number of fruit was detected in the reclaimed water treatments. Among fruit quality parameters, there were no differences between treatments. Salinity and boron concentrations were the main problems associated with this combined strategies, therefore these problems can suppose a risk for grapefruit production and further studies are required to assess the long-term effect.

CSIC-CEBAS 2012



Conference

World Water

Forum;

Marseille

(France)

12-17/03/2012 Civil society

Policy Makers

7


International

SUPPORTS

“Sustainable use of irrigation water in the Mediterranean Region”.

By: Mounzer O., Alarcón J.J.

Abstract: SIRRIMED project will address issues related to sustainable use of water in

Mediterranean irrigated agricultural systems, with the overall aim of optimizing irrigation

water use. The approach proposed in SIRRIMED for reaching this goal will be based in

an Integrated Water Irrigation Management (IWIM) where the improved water use

efficiency will be considered at farm, irrigation district and watershed scales. These

strategies include innovative and more efficient irrigation techniques for improving

water productivity and allow savings in water consumption. SIRRIMED will consider the

development, test and validation of new deficit irrigation strategies, the sustainable and

safe use of poor quality waters and the improvement of precise irrigation scheduling

using plant sensors. These new techniques will be integrated with suitable husbandry

irrigation practices. At the district scale, efforts should be directed towards an

integrated policy of water allocation which accounts for the characteristics and

specificity of each farm, requiring the availability of data bases and efficient

management tools (decision support systems) specifically designed to fulfill the

objectives of maximizing water use efficiency. At the watershed scale, priority is

devoted to the assessment of new models of water governance, and the definition of

strategies and policies aimed at promoting a more responsible use of irrigation water.

Finally, SIRRIMED will establish a sound dissemination strategy for transfer of

knowledge towards the end users, with a real participatory approach to facilitate an

adequate involvement of stakeholders (farmers, association of irrigation users, water

authorities and SMEs)

CSIC-CEBAS 2012



PUBLIC

WP

Conference

Workshop “Marketing of

research results in water

technology”; Murcia (Spain)

27/June/

2012

Scientific

Community

7


International

SUPPORTS

“Sustainable use of irrigation water in the Mediterranean Region (SIRRIMED)”.

By: Alarcón J.J

Abstract: SIRRIMED project will address issues related to sustainable use of water in Mediterranean irrigated agricultural systems, with the overall aim of optimizing irrigation water use. The approach proposed in SIRRIMED for reaching this goal will be based in an Integrated Water Irrigation Management (IWIM) where the improved water use efficiency will be considered at farm, irrigation district and watershed scales. These strategies include innovative and more efficient irrigation techniques for improving water productivity and allow savings in water consumption. SIRRIMED will consider the development, test and validation of new deficit irrigation strategies, the sustainable and safe use of poor quality waters and the improvement of precise irrigation scheduling using plant sensors. These new techniques will be integrated with suitable husbandry irrigation practices. At the district scale, efforts should be directed towards an integrated policy of water allocation which accounts for the characteristics and specificity of each farm, requiring the availability of data bases and efficient management tools (decision support systems) specifically designed to fulfil the objectives of maximizing water use efficiency. At the watershed scale, priority is devoted to the assessment of new models of water governance, and the definition of strategies and policies aimed at promoting a more responsible use of irrigation water. Finally, SIRRIMED will establish a sound dissemination strategy for transfer of knowledge towards the end users, with a real participatory approach to facilitate an adequate involvement of stakeholders (farmers, association of irrigation users, water authorities and SMEs).

CSIC-CEBAS 2012



Conference

2nd

Symposium

on

Horticulture

in Europe.

Anger

(Francia).

05/July/2012 Scientific

Community

1


International

SUPPORTS

“Response of a very-early maturing peach cultivar to water stress and crop load

according to simulations with QualiTree”.

By: Mirás-Avalols J.M, Alcobendas R., Alarcon J.J., Pedrero F., Valsesia P., Lescourret F., Nicolás, E.

Abstract: Regulated deficit irrigation strategies are common practices in areas with low water availability. Thus, water stress, which can limit fruit growth, is imposed to the trees. Fruit thinning can be used to relieve this water stress in peach. In this paper, the ability of an existing fruit tree model (QualiTree) for describing the effects of water stress and fruit thinning on peach fruit and vegetative growth was assessed. The model was parameterized and calibrated for a very early-maturing peach cultivar (“Flordastar”). Important parameters were those expressing the effect of distance between organs on carbon exchange within the tree, the potential dry masses, and the relative growth rates of fruits and leafy shoots. Then, the model was tested in a wide range of water stress situations and three fruit thinning intensities: no thinning, commercial thinning, and heavy thinning. Fruit and vegetative growth simulations were consistent with observed data derived from 2006 field experiments. The variability over time of fruit and vegetative growth was well predicted. The model reproduced reductions in fruit growth observed in field experiments. It also reacted to simulated scenarios that combined water stress and thinning. Increasing thinning intensity reduced total fruit yield but increased fruit size at harvest, compensating the negative effects of water stress on fruit growth. These simulations broadened the predictive capabilities of the model and showed that it might be a useful tool in the design of innovative horticultural practices.

CSIC-CEBAS 2012



Conference

XI Simposio

Hispano-

Portugués

de

Relaciones

Hídricas en

las Plantas

17/September/2012 Scientific

Community

1


International

SUPPORTS

“Análisis de la eficiencia del uso del agua y del nitrógeno mediante la utilización de

técnicas de discriminación isotópica en pomelo. Resultados preliminares”.

By: Romero-Trigueros C., Nortes P.A., Alarcón J.J., Querejeta J.I., Nicolás E

Abstract: El objetivo del estudio fue evaluar el efecto del riego con diferentes calidades de agua de riego combinado con estrategias de riego deficitario en pomelo y estudiar sus efectos sobre la fisiología de la planta, principalmente en la eficiencia del uso del agua y del nitrógeno, así como la sostenibilidad del cultivo con el uso de aguas regeneradas. Los resultados preliminares indican que el uso de aguas regeneradas produjo un incremento moderado en la eficiencia intrínseca del agua y del nitrógeno, y también posibles riesgos en la sostenibilidad del cultivo a medio-largo plazo, asociado a los niveles más elevados del isótopo δ15N.

CSIC-CEBAS 2012


ACTIVITY 4: Regional presentations


TV clips “Agrosfera”,

TVE1 01/12/2012

Scientific community; industry;

civil society; Policy makers,

Medias

7


Spain and Latin America

SUPPORTS

Reportage on the Sirrimed project.

http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/videos/agrosfera/agrosfera-01-12-12/1597068/

http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/videos/agrosfera/agrosfera-01-12-12/1597068/

UPCT 2011



TYPE WHERE WHEN TARGET PUBLIC

Publication Hydrological Processes

2011 Research

HOW MANY NUMBER OF TARGETS

1 500

SUPPORTS

WP

Article published B. Gallego-Elvira, A. Baille,* B. Martin-Gorriz, J. F. Maestre-Valero and V. Martíınez-Alvarez, 2011. Energy balance and evaporation loss of an irrigation reservoir equipped with a suspended cover in a semiarid climate (south-eastern Spain). Hydrol. Process. 25, 1694–1703 (2011)


Publication Functional Plant Biology.

2011 Research


1 500

SUPPORTS

WP

Article published: G. Egea, I. C. Dodd, M. M. González-Real, R. Domingo,,A. Baille, 2011. Partial rootzone drying improves almond tree leaf-level water use efficiency and afternoon water status compared with regulated deficit irrigation. Functional Plant Biology, 2011, 38, 372–385

UPCT 2011



Publication Functional Plant Biology.

2011

Research


1 500

SUPPORTS

WP

Article published: G.Egea, M. M. González-Real, A. Baille P. Nortes, A. Diaz-Espejo, 2011. Disentangling the contributions of ontogeny and water stress to photosynthetic limitations in almond trees. Plant Cell and Environment, 34, 962-79


Publication Spanish Journal Agricultural Research

Oct.2010 Research


1 500

SUPPORTS

WP

Article published Arcas, N., Alcón, F., Gomez-Limón, J.A., De Miguel, M-D. The evolution of research regarding the economics and management of irrigation water. Spanish Journal Agricultural Research. 8:.172-86

UPCT 2011



Publication Spanish Journal Agricultural Research

Oct.2010 Research


1 500

SUPPORTS

WP

Article published. Alcon, F., Pedrero, F., Martín-Ortega, J., Arcas, N., Alarcon, J.J., de Miguel, M.D. 3010. The non-market value of reclaimed waste water for use in agriculture: a contingent valuation approach. Spanish Journal of Agricultural Research, 8, 187-196


Publication Water Policy End 2011 Research, stakeholders


1 500

SUPPORTS

WP

Article publisheds. Alcon, F., Martín-Ortega, J., Berbel, J., de Miguel, M.D. 2011. Environmental benefits of reclaimed water: an economic assessment in the context of the Water Framework Directive. Water Policy´

UPCT 2011


ACTIVITY 2: International scientific meetings, conferences and workshops


Congress communication (Poster)

Catania, Sicily.

VI European

Water Resource

Association

International

Symposium

Aug.2011 Research, stakeholders


1 500

SUPPORTS

WP

Article published. Alcon, F., Martin-Ortega, J., Pedrero, F., De Miguel, M.D., Alarcon, J.J. Cost benefit analysis of the use of reclaimed water in agriculture. 2011. Proceedings VI European Water Resource Association International Symposium - Water Engineering and Management in a Changing Environment.


Congress communication (Poster)

Madrid (Spain). Congreso Agricultura, Agua y Energía. ADECAGUA

May.2011 Research, stakeholders


1 500

SUPPORTS

WP

Article published. Alcon, F., Pedrero, F., Martin-Ortega, J., De Miguel, M.D., Alarcon, J.J. Proceedings Congreso Agricultura, Agua y Energía. ADECAGUA

UPCT 2011


ACTIVITY 5: Training courses TYPE WHERE WHEN TARGET PUBLIC

Advanced Course “Use of Remote Sensing for Irrigation Management”

CIHEAM

Zaragoza (Spain) November 2011

Water managers, Irrigation engineers, farmers, master students


Lectures and practices: 4 from UPCT participants (S. Garcia, J. Hunink, A. Baille)

50

SUPPORTS

WP

Lecture notes (in press, Options Méditerranéennes)

UPCT 2012




Publication Title: Assessment of vegetation indexes from remote sensing: theoretical basis

The use of remote sensing and geographic information systems for irrigation management in Southwest Europe. Options Méditerranéennes, Series B: Studies and Research, no. 67: 65-75.

Nov 2012

Research

WP NUMBER OF TARGETS

4 500

SUPPORTS

Chapter book published - Citation: Garcia Galiano, S, 2012. Assessment of vegetation indexes from remote sensing: theoretical basis. In: The use of remote sensing and geographic information systems for irrigation management in Southwest Europe. Options Méditerranéennes, Series B: Studies and Research, no. 67: CIHEAM, Spain. ISBN 2-85352-482-5. Link: http://www.ciheam.org/index.php/en/publications/options-mediterraneennes


Publication Title: Models for assessment of actual evapotranspiration from remote sensing: theoretical basis.

The use of remote sensing

and geographic information

systems for irrigation

management in Southwest

Europe. Options

Méditerranéennes, Series B:

Studies and Research, no.

67: 95-103.

Nov 2012

Research


4 500

SUPPORTS

Chapter book published - Citation: Garcia Galiano, S, Baille A., 2012. Assessment of vegetation indexes from remote sensing: theoretical basis. In: The use of remote sensing and geographic information systems for irrigation management in Southwest Europe. Options Méditerranéennes, Series B: Studies and Research, no. 67: CIHEAM, Spain. ISBN 2-85352-482-5. Link: http://www.ciheam.org/index.php/en/publications/options-mediterraneennes

http://www.ciheam.org/index.php/en/publications/options-mediterraneennes


UPCT 2012



Publication Title: Estimation of actual evapotranspiration from remote sensing: application in a semiarid region

The use of remote sensing and geographic information systems for irrigation management in Southwest Europe. Options Méditerranéennes, Series B: Studies and Research, no. 67: 105-117.

Nov 2012

Research


4 500

SUPPORTS

- Chapter published - Citation: Hunink, J.E. and Baille, A., 2012. Overview of agro-hydrological models: tools to provide relevant soil water information for irrigation. In: The use of remote sensing and geographic information systems for irrigation management in Southwest Europe. Options Méditerranéennes, Series B: Studies and Research, no. 67: 65-75. CIHEAM, Spain. ISBN 2-85352-482-5.

Link: http://www.ciheam.org/index.php/en/publications/options-mediterraneennes


Publication

Perspectives and Challenges of Agricultural Water Management

2012

Research


4 500

SUPPORTS

Chapter published Citation: Fernández-Zamudio, M.A., Alcon, F., De-Miguel, M.D. (2012). Effects of Irrigation-Water Pricing on the Profitability of Mediterranean Woody Crops Problems. In Perspectives and Challenges of Agricultural Water Management. Manish Kumar (Eds.) Chap. 5: 91-112. InTech, Rijeka, Croatia. ISBN: 978-953-51-0117-8


UPCT 2012



Publication. Agricultural Water Management 118 (2013) 70– 78

January 2013 Research


4 1000

SUPPORTS

Article published: Citation: J.F.Maestre-Valero, V. Martínez-Alvarez, E . Nicolás (2013). Physical, chemical and microbiological effects of suspended shade cloth covers on stored water for irrigation. Agricultural Water Management, 118, 70-78 Abstract

The present study aims to identify the effect of installing Suspended Shade Cloth Covers (SSCCs) on the water quality of Agricultural Water Reservoirs (AWRs) for irrigation. Four AWRs located in the irrigated coastal plane of the Segura River Basin (south-eastern Spain) were monitored for 1 year. Two of them were covered with a black polyethylene SSCC, whereas the two others remained uncovered during the trial. The main physical, chemical and microbiological water quality parameters were monthly monitored with a multi-parametric instrument OTT-DS5 and water samples analysis. Additionally, a laboratory experiment replicating covered and uncovered AWR conditions was carried out to analyze the influence of water temperature and light intensity on the evolution of bacteria populations. The low transmitted solar radiation of the SSCC dramatically reduced the photosynthesis activity, limiting the algal bloom in covered AWRs. Despite this photosynthesis restriction and the lack of turbulence, the oxygen levels remained close to saturation in the covered AWRs as a result of the frequent water inflows. The installation of the cover also led to a reduction of 82% in Escherichia coli and faecal coliforms, partly due to the reduction of organic matter (mainly algae) and partly because of the lower water temperature. Data from the laboratory experiment confirmed the field results. Overall, the results show the implementation of SSCCs in AWRs produces significant effects in the stored water quality, which are mainly beneficial for irrigation purposes, especially in drip irrigation systems and when reclaimed water is reused.

UPCT 2012



Publication Water Policy Jan 2012 Research, stakeholders


6 500

SUPPORTS

Citation. Alcon, F., Martín-Ortega, J., Berbel, J., de Miguel, M.D. 2012. Environmental benefits of reclaimed water: an economic assessment in the context of the Water Framework Directive. Water Policy, 14, 148-159. Abstract The European Water Framework Directive (WFD) prescribes that all water bodies in Europe should achieve ‘good ecological status’ (GES). Maintaining a certain water flow is a pre-condition for the achievement of GES in areas of water scarcity. In such areas, reclaimed waste water is seen as a promising measure to keep river flow at a sufficient level. The contingent valuation method is applied here to estimate the non-market environmental benefits of using reclaimed water to maintain river flow levels in the Segura River Basin in south-eastern Spain. The assessment of the economic benefits of specific measures gives policy makers more information than a cost-effectiveness analysis alone, which is currently the most commonly used tool to assess potential measures under the WFD. The results show that the implementation of this measure produces significant non-market benefits that are larger than the investment and operational costs of reclaimed water treatment plants.

UPCT 2012



Publication Water Resources Management

2012 Research


6 500

SUPPORTS

Article published: Alcon, F., Martín-Ortega, J., Pedrero, F., N., Alarcon, J.J., de Miguel, M.D (online). Incorporating non-market benefits of reclaimed water into cost-benefit analysis: a case study of irrigated mandarin crops in southern Spain. Water Resource Management. Abstract: Maintaining a river system’s minimum water flow is a pre-condition for achieving the “good ecological status” prescribed by the European Water Framework Directive (WFD). In areas of water scarcity the reuse of treated water for agricultural irrigation is seen as a promising option to reduce the quantitative pressure on the resource. As part of assessing the viability of reclaimed water use in agriculture, and in accordance with the economic principles underpinning the WFD, a comprehensive economic analysis of this irrigation option is needed. This paper contributes to fill this knowledge gap by producing a cost-benefit analysis (CBA) of the use of reclaimed water in agriculture. The costs and benefits of reclaimed water use on an experimental mandarin farm in the south-east of Spain are compared with those of using surface water and a mixture of water sources. The novelty of this study is that non-market benefits are incorporated in the CBA. We thereby account for the increase in welfare that the environmental services of this supply option provide to society at large. These kind of “intangible” benefits are often ignored, but only the combination of market and non-market costs and benefits can produce a balanced assessment of water management options and lead to an efficient and sustainable allocation of the resource. Our results suggest that at the private and social level, when environmental benefits are included, the use of a mixture of water sources, including reclaimed water, seems the best option. However, at low mandarin prices (lower than 0.23 €/kg) the exclusive use of reclaimed water seems the most beneficial option.

UPCT 2012



Publication Irrigation Science 2012 Research


6 500

SUPPORTS

Article published: Alcon, F., Egea, G., Nortes, P. (online). Financial feasibility of implementing Regulated and Sustained Deficit Irrigation in almond orchards. Irrigation Science. Abstract: This study aims to assess the long-term economic viability of deficit irrigation (DI) strategies in almond trees (cv. Marta) grown in a semiarid area (South East Spain). A Discounted Cash Flow Analysis (DCFA) was performed to determine the profitability of the different irrigation regimes. Four irrigation treatments were evaluated over the first six years of an almond plantation: (i) full irrigation (FI), (ii) regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) receiving 40% ETc during kernel-filling and 100% ETc during the remainder of the growing season; (iii) mild-to-moderate sustained deficit irrigation (SDImm), irrigated at 75% ETc (first half of the experiment) and 60% ETc (second half of the experiment) over the entire growing season, and (iv) moderate-to-severe SDI (SDIms), irrigated at 60% ETc (first half of the experiment) and 30% ETc (second half of the experiment) over the whole growing season. Irrigation water profit was mainly determined by the annual volume of irrigation water applied (water costs are around 50% of variable costs). DCFA indicates that RDI and SDImm are the most economically feasible treatments, whereas FI and SDIms presented a similar degree of profitability over the six-year period. Simulation outputs derived for the whole useful life of the investment indicate that SDImm would be the most suitable irrigation treatment to be adopted by almond farmers in the study area. We conclude that in a context of water scarcity, DI is a financially feasible alternative to FI.

UPCT 2012



Publication Journal of Hydrology

2012 Research


4 1000

SUPPORTS

Article published: B. Gallego-Elvira, A. Baille, B. Martín-Gorriz, J.F. Maestre-Valero, V. Martínez-Alvarez. Evaluation of evaporation estimation methods for a covered reservoir in a semi-arid climate (south-eastern Spain). Journal of Hydrology 458–459 (2012) 59–67 Abstract: The main purpose of this study was to evaluate different methods of evaporation estimation for covered water reservoirs. A reservoir equipped with a suspended cover was fully monitored to register the evaporation rate and microclimate below the cover. The datasets were used to evaluate the performance of commonly used evaporation methods, namely energy budget, mass-transfer, combination (Penman and FAO-56 Penman–Monteith) and floating class-A pan. The mass-transfer formula based on the Sherwood number proposed for free convection conditions, which were observed to prevail below the cover, supplied reasonably good estimates of covered reservoir evaporation and it is a good option from a practical point of view, with low input data requirements. Detailed input data and modifications in the calculation of energy fluxes are required to get good evaporation estimations of covered surfaces with the energy budget and FAO-56 Penman–Monteith methods. Besides, some of the standard meteorological input data (such as wind speed at 2 m height) cannot be registered below the cover. Penman equation presented a poor performance related to the overestimation of the advective component for free convection conditions. The pan evaporation was found to be substantially higher than the reservoir evaporation, due to the particular characteristics of the tank, that increased surface temperature and hence evaporation rate. A simplified empirical mass-transfer formula was also proposed to estimate evaporation of covered water bodies from the only knowledge of the surface-to-air mixing ratio gradient.

UPCT 2012



Publication Journal of Hydrology

2012 Research


4 1000

SUPPORTS

Article published: M. Tanguyb, A. Baille, M.M. González-Real, C. Lloyd, B. Cappelaere, L. Kergoat, J.-M. Cohard. Evaluation of evaporation estimation methods for a covered reservoir in a semi-arid climate (south-eastern Spain). Journal of Hydrology 458–459 (2012) 59–67 Abstract: The objective of the study was to assess the performance of a new parameterisation scheme of ground heat flux (G) for retrieving surface fluxes from remote sensing data (MODIS-Terra). Formulae that are based on empirical relationships relating G to net radiation, Rn (G = aRn, a being a function of a vegetation index, VI) are currently used, but presented drawbacks, especially in bare or sparse vegetation areas because of the poor adequacy of VI-based relationships to account for changes in soil moisture. In this study, we proposed to link a to the evaporative fraction, EF. In a first step, using a non-dimensional form of the surface energy balance, we demonstrated that a is functionally related to EF and to the ratio c = G/H (H = sensible heat flux). In a second step, we proposed an EF-based parameterisation of a, using ground fluxes data sets collected throughout the years 2005, 2006 and 2007 at four flux-tower sites in West African countries (Mali, Benin, Niger) that differ in surface conditions and Monsoon influence. The analysis indicated that the average site-specific values of a and EF were well described by a linear relationship of the type a = aEF + b, with a = _0.22 and b = 0.23. In a third stage, we investigated whether ET-retrieval from remote sensing information (MODIS-Terra) using the new parameterisation of a perform better than the classical formulation through VI-based relationships. We found that the retrieved values of H using the new parameterisation supplied the best agreement with the observed ground data and significant improvement with respect to estimates from a–VI relationships. Advantages and limitations of the proposed parameterisation scheme were discussed.

UPCT 2012



Publication Tree physiology 2012 Research


4 1000

SUPPORTS

Article published: Gregorio Egea, María M. González-Real4, Alain Baille, Pedro A. Nortes, María R. Conesa, Isabel Ruiz-Salleres (2012) Effects of water stress on irradiance acclimation of leaf traits in almond trees Tree Physiology 00, 1–14 doi:10.1093/treephys/tps016 Abstract: Photosynthetic acclimation to highly variable local irradiance within the tree crown plays a primary role in determining tree carbon uptake. This study explores the plasticity of leaf structural and physiological traits in response to the interactive effects of ontogeny, water stress and irradiance in adult almond trees that have been subjected to three water regimes (full irrigation, deficit irrigation and rain-fed) for a 3-year period (2006–08) in a semiarid climate. Leaf structural (dry mass per unit area, N and chlorophyll content) and photosynthetic (maximum net CO2 assimilation, Amax, maximum stomatal conductance, gs,max, and mesophyll conductance, gm) traits and stem-to-leaf hydraulic conductance (Ks-l) were determined throughout the 2008 growing season in leaves of outer south-facing (S-leaves) and inner northwest-facing (NW-leaves) shoots. Leaf plasticity was quantified by means of an exposure adjustment coefficient (ε = 1-XNW/XS) for each trait (X) of S- and NW-leaves. Photosynthetic traits and Ks-l exhibited higher irradiance-elicited plasticity (higher ε) than structural traits in all treatments, with the highest and lowest plasticity being observed in the fully irrigated and rain-fed trees, respectively. Our results suggest that water stress modulates the irradiance-elicited plasticity of almond leaves through changes in crown architecture. Such changes lead to a more even distribution of within-crown irradiance, and hence of the photosynthetic capacity, as water stress intensifies. Ontogeny drove seasonal changes only in the ε of area- and mass-based N content and mass-based chlorophyll content, while no leaf age-dependent effect was observed on ε as regards the physiological traits. Our results also indicate that the irradiance-elicited plasticity of Amax is mainly driven by changes in leaf dry mass per unit area, in gm and, most likely, in the partitioning of the leaf N content

UPCT 2012



Publication Irrigation Science 2012 Research


4 1000

SUPPORTS

Article published: Gregorio Egea, Pedro A. Nortes, Rafael Domingo, Alain Baille, Alejandro Pérez-Pastor and María M. González-Real (2012). Almond agronomic response to long-term deficit irrigation applied since orchard establishment. Irrig Science, DOI 10.1007/s00271-012-0322-8 Abstract: This study assesses the long-term suitability of regulated (RDI) and sustained deficit irrigation (SDI) implemented over the first six growing seasons of an almond [Prunus dulcis (Mill.) D.A. Webb] orchard grown in a semiarid area in SE Spain. Four irrigation treatments were assessed: (i) full irrigation (FI), irrigated to satisfy maximum crop evapotranspiration (100% ETc); (ii) RDI, as FI but receiving 40% ETc during kernel-filling; (iii) mild-tomoderate SDI (SDImm), irrigated at 75–60% ETc over the entire growing season; and (iv) moderate-to-severe SDI (SDIms), irrigated at 60–30% ETc over the whole season. Application of water stress from orchard establishment did not amplify the negative effects of deficit irrigation on almond yield. Irrigation water productivity (IWP) increased proportionally to the mean relative water shortage. SDIms increased IWP by 92.5%, reduced yield by 29% and applied 63% less irrigation water. RDI and SDImm showed similar productive performances, but RDI was more efficient than SDImm to increase fruiting density and production efficiency (PE). We conclude that SDIms appears to be a promising DI option for arid regions with severe water scarcity, whereas for less water-scarce areas RDI and SDImm behaved similarly, except for the ability of RDI to more severely restrict vegetative development while increasing PE.

UPCT 2012



workshops


International Congress

Valencia (Spain) 08/07/2012

Agricultural technicians, researches, politicians.


2 500

SUPPORTS

1. Poster Presentation. 2. Technical aspects of WP 2.2. “Physical, Chemical and Microbiological Effects of Suspended Shade Cloth Covers on Stored Water for Irrigation”. 3. PDF distributed to participants (included in the proceedings). Abstract

The aim of this study was to identify the effect of installing suspended shade cloth covers (SSCCs) on the water quality of agricultural water reservoirs (AWRs) for irrigation. Four AWRs located in south eastern Spain were monitored for a year. Two of the AWRs were covered with a black polyethylene SSCC, whereas the two others remained uncovered during the experimentation period. Monthly, a multi-parametric instrument OTT-DS5 was used and water samples were collected to determine and analyze the main physical, chemical and microbiological water quality parameters respectively.

Results indicate a slight change in the thermal behaviour of the covered AWRs during the warmer months. Electrical conductivity presented a slow and progressive dismissing caused mainly by the frequent water renewals in the AWRs. The low transmitted solar radiation (1% transmission through the cover) reduced dramatically the photosynthesis activity and the algal bloom was highly limited. However, the oxygen levels were close to saturation regardless the installation of the SSCC. The chemical parameters were not affected by the installation of the cover and there was a significant reduction of E-coli and fecal coliforms in covered AWRs. Overall, the results show that the implementation of SSCCs in AWRs produces significant effects in the stored water quality, which are mainly beneficial for irrigation purposes, especially with drip irrigation systems and reuse of treated waste water.

UPCT 2012



National Congress

XXX Irrigation National Congress, Albacete (Spain)

12/06/2012

Agricultural technicians, researches, politicians


3 200

SUPPORTS

1. Oral Presentation. 2. Technical aspects of WP 3. “Análisis de la evolución de indicadores de benchmarking en la zona regable del Campo de Cartagena durante el periodo 2002-11”. 3. PDF distributed to participants (included in the proceedings). Resumen

Mediante la aplicación de indicadores de benchmarking se ha caracterizado la zona regable de la Comunidad de Regantes del Campo de Cartagena (CRCC) durante diez años (2002-11). Durante este periodo se ha producido la modernización del 84% de la Zona Regable de la CRCC (2006-09), así como han acontecido periodos de sequía con un volumen de agua disponible inferior al 25% de la dotación teórica (2006-08). Los indicadores de benchmarking utilizados se han basado en la propuesta de Malano y Burton (2001), considerando también otros indicadores propuestos por autores que han aplicado previamente técnicas de benchmarking en España (Rodríguez, 2003; Córcoles, 2009; Abadía et al., 2010).

Del estudio realizado se deriva que la escasez de agua produce una disminución de la eficiencia de distribución, un aumento de los costes y del consumo energético por m3 suministrado. De la comparación de la CRCC con otras comunidades de regantes se desprende que la CRCC presenta una gran irregularidad y baja disponibilidad de agua, tiene una alta eficiencia de distribución, un bajo consumo energético por m3 y el valor de la producción agrícola es muy alto.

El estudio de los indicadores de Benchmarking debe realizarse a lo largo del tiempo dado que factores como la sequía pueden afectar considerablemente los valores obtenidos.

UPCT 2012



Conference Wageningen, Netherlands

Nov-2012 Research


4 100

SUPPORTS

- Oral presentation (J. Hunink) - Title: Water Allocation in 2050: Tools and Examples. Proceedings to

Conference: Water Allocation and Green Growth - Link: http://www.wageningenur.nl/en/show/Water-allocation-and-green-

growth.htm


Seminar IVM-VU University Amsterdam

June 5, 2012 Researcher


6 25

SUPPORTS

Presentation by F. Alcón of the work entitled: Supply Uncertainty and the Economic Value of Irrigation Water in southern Spain

ACTIVITY 3: Regional scientific meetings, conferences and

workshops


Workshop Murcia (Spain) 10/01/2012 Irrigators, agricultural technicians and extensions agents


4 50

SUPPORTS

1. Presentation of New Irrigation Technique 3. Survey (form) on actual practices to analyse and discuss with stakeholders 3. prospective survey on technological forecasting

http://www.wageningenur.nl/en/show/Water-allocation-and-green-growth.htm

http://www.wageningenur.nl/en/show/Water-allocation-and-green-growth.htm

UPCT 2013-2014




Financial feasibility of

implementing Regulated and

Sustained Deficit Irrigation in

almond orchards

Alcon, F Egea, G.;

Nortes, P.




Springer -


September 2013 931-941

WP 6

Abstract:

This study aims to assess the long-term economic viability of deficit irrigation (DI)

strategies in almond trees (cv. Marta) grown in a semiarid area (southeast Spain). A

discounted cash flow analysis (DCFA) was performed to determine the profitability of

the different irrigation regimes. Four irrigation treatments were evaluated over the first 6

years of an almond plantation: (1) full irrigation (FI); (2) regulated deficit irrigation (RDI)

receiving 40 % ETc during kernel-filling and 100 % Etc during the remainder of the

growing season; (3) mild-tomoderate sustained deficit irrigation (SDImm), irrigated at

75 % ETc (first half of the experiment) and 60 % Etc (second half of the experiment)

over the entire growing season; and (4) moderate-to-severe SDI (SDIms), irrigated at

60 % ETc (first half of the experiment) and 30 % Etc (second half of the experiment)

over the whole growing season. Irrigation water profit was mainly determined by the

annual volume of irrigation water applied (water costs are around 50 % of variable

costs). DCFA indicates that RDI and SDImm are the most economically feasible

treatments, whereas FI and SDIms presented a similar degree of profitability over the

6-year period. Simulation outputs derived for the whole useful life of the investment

indicate that SDImm would be the most suitable irrigation treatment to be adopted by

almond farmers in the study area. We conclude that in a context of water scarcity, DI is

a financially feasible alternative to FI.

UPCT 2013-2014



Incorporating Non-market

Benefits of Reclaimed Water into

Cost-Benefit Analysis: A Case

Study of Irrigated Mandarin

Crops in southern Spain

Alcon, F.

Martín-Ortega, J.;

Pedrero, F.;

Alarcon, J.J.;

de Miguel, M.D.


Water Resources Management 27(6)


Springer


April 2013 1809-1820

WP 6

Abstract:

Maintaining a river system’s minimum water flow is a pre-condition for achieving the

“good ecological status” prescribed by the European Water Framework Directive (WFD).

In areas of water scarcity the reuse of treated water for agricultural irrigation is seen as a

promising option to reduce the quantitative pressure on the resource. As part of

assessing the viability of reclaimed water use in agriculture, and in accordance with the

economic principles underpinning the WFD, a comprehensive economic analysis of this

irrigation option is needed. This paper contributes to fill this knowledge gap by producing

a cost-benefit analysis (CBA) of the use of reclaimed water in agriculture. The costs and

benefits of reclaimed water use on an experimental mandarin farm in the south-east of

Spain are compared with those of using surface water and a mixture of water sources.

The novelty of this study is that non-market benefits are incorporated in the CBA. We

thereby account for the increase in welfare that the environmental services of this supply

option provide to society at large. These kind of “intangible” benefits are often ignored,

but only the combination of market and non-market costs and benefits can produce a

balanced assessment of water management options and lead to an efficient and

sustainable allocation of the resource. Our results suggest that at the private and social

level, when environmental benefits are included, the use of a mixture of water sources,

including reclaimed water, seems the best option. However, at low mandarin prices

(lower than 0.23 €/kg) the exclusive use of reclaimed water seems the most beneficial

option.

UPCT 2013-2014



Physical, chemical and

microbiological effects of

suspended shade cloth covers

on stored water for irrigation

J.F. Maestre-Valero V. Martínez-Alvarez;

E. Nicolas




Elsevier -


January 2013 70-78

WP2, Task 2.

Abstract

The present study aims to identify the effect of installing Suspended Shade Cloth Covers

(SSCCs) on the water quality of Agricultural Water Reservoirs (AWRs) for irrigation. Four

AWRs located in the irrigated coastal plane of the Segura River Basin (south-eastern

Spain) were monitored for 1 year. Two of them were covered with a black polyethylene

SSCC, whereas the two others remained uncovered during the trial. The main physical,

chemical and microbiological water quality parameters were monthly monitored with a

multi-parametric instrument OTT-DS5 and water samples analysis. Additionally, a

laboratory experiment replicating covered and uncovered AWR conditions was carried out

to analyze the influence of water temperature and light intensity on the evolution of bacteria

populations.

The low transmitted solar radiation of the SSCC dramatically reduced the photosynthesis

activity, limiting the algal bloom in covered AWRs. Despite this photosynthesis restriction

and the lack of turbulence, the oxygen levels remained close to saturation in the covered

AWRs as a result of the frequent

water inflows. The installation of the cover also led to a reduction of 82% in Escherichia coli

and faecal coliforms, partly due to the reduction of organic matter (mainly algae) and partly

because of the lower water temperature. Data from the laboratory experiment confirmed the

field results. Overall, the results show the implementation of SSCCs in AWRs produces

significant effects in the stored water quality, which are mainly beneficial for irrigation

purposes, especially in drip irrigation systems and when reclaimed water is reused.

UPCT 2013-2014



Effect of on-farm reservoirs

management with suspended

shade cloth covers on filtering

requirements for irrigation”

V. Martínez-Alvarez J.F. Maestre-Valero


Water Resources management In edition


Springer -


In edition In edition

WP2, Task 2

Abstract

In arid and semiarid regions, commonly affected by water scarcity, covering Agricultural

Water Reservoirs (AWRs) for irrigation by means of Suspended Shade Cloth Covers

(SSCCs) is showing itself to be an emerging water saving technique. In this study, we

have evaluated the effects that installing SSCCs have on the filtering requirements for

microirrigation associated to an improvement of the stored water quality. The

operational advantages of SSCCs have been identified, quantified and valued, in

comparison with the other common AWR management practices by carrying out

filtering trials at ten sites in south-eastern Spain.

Chlorophyll-a concentration and turbidity measurements evidenced that AWR

management can significantly affect the quality of stored water, with SSCC installation

being the most effective practice in controlling algae and wind-borne dust or debris

presence. Trials corroborated the extraordinary reduction of filtering requirements, as

covered reservoirs presented much higher volumes of treated water until filter

saturation; between two and three orders of magnitude higher than the other AWR

management practices. This result would imply a total annual reduction in operational

costs ranging from 359.6 to 598.0 € y-1. Therefore the effect of SSCCs installation on

filtering requirements is an essential consideration in their cost-effectiveness economic

assessment.

Keywords Pond management, Shading covers, Water quality, Algae control,

Operational cost.

UPCT 2013-2014



Effect of water scarcity and

modernisation on the

performance of

irrigation districts in south-

eastern Spain

V. Martínez-Alvarez

M. Soto-García, P.A.

García-Bastida, F.

Alcon, B. Martin-

Gorriz




Elsevier The Netherlands


June, 2013 11-19

WP3

Abstract

The present study analyses the performance dynamic in irrigation districts management

subjected to water scarcity and modernisation over time. The selected area was

Campo de Cartagena Irrigation District, which covers 41,065 ha in the Segura Basin

(Spain), one of the most water stressed regions in Europe. A set of performance

indicators was selected to characterise the effect of specific processes (modernisation)

or circumstances (water scarcity) in the service or behaviour of the irrigation district.

The results clearly show that water supply restrictions contributed to the important

performance changes observed

over time to a much greater extent than the modernisation process did. Fluctuations in

water availability resulted in high variations in performance indicators. This underlines

the fact that, in water stressed areas, their value must be considered time specific and

that the characterisations of irrigation districts management require good knowledge of

the system’s behaviour over long time periods. The modernisation in the selected area

was characterised so as to not involve the pressurisation of distribution networks,

resulting in quite different effects than those reported for modernisations involving

pressurisation: significant increases in energy use efficiency, yet with only a slight

improvement in water use efficiency. Finally, the strategies followed by farmers under

water supply constraints were also surveyed and discussed for the most important crop

groups in the area.

UPCT 2013-2014



Energy consumption for crop

irrigation in a semiarid climate

(south-eastern Spain)

B. Martin-Gorriz

M. Soto-García, P.A.

García-Bastida, F.

Alcon, V. Martínez-

Alvarez


Energy 55




2013 1084-1093

WP3

Abstract

This paper analyses the water-energy nexus in irrigation districts (IDs) under the semi-

arid conditions of south-eastern Spain. Three IDs supplied by different water sources

and subjected to water scarcity over time were studied throughout a 10-year period

(2002-2011). A set of performance indicators was selected to characterise water and

energy relationships at three management levels: basin, irrigation district, and farm.

Basin level was the largest energy consumer, representing 71-82% of the annual total

consumption, which ranged from 0.95 to 1.55 kWh m3. Basin energy consumption

increased depending on the water source as follows: surface water, recycled water,

groundwater, external water transfer, and

desalinated brackish water. ID level involved 12-15% of the annual total consumption.

The highest values were attained in periods of water scarcity, when the available

sources were those with higher energy requirements. ID modernisation resulted in

slight decreases in energy consumption at that level. At farm level, energy consumption

was lacking when farmers took advantage of the pressure head in the ID distribution

network, whereas it was from 0 to 0.19 kWh m3 when the available pressure head was

lost. Finally, water and energy productivities by the main crops were analysed.

UPCT 2013-2014



Adaptive strategies of on-farm

water management under water

supply constraints in south-

eastern Spain


P.A. García-Bastida,

B. Martin-Gorriz, M.

Soto-García






2014 59-67

WP3

Abstract

The study analyses the effect of irrigation water constraints on farm management in the

Campo de Cartagena Irrigation District (south-eastern Spain), which is characterised by

a semi-arid climate with a marked structural water deficit. The methodology applied was

the comparative assessment of management indicators during two periods with very

differing water availability. A set of performance indicators was selected and calculated

to assess the effects on on-farm water management and productivity.

The results indicate low productivity sensitivity to water supply constraints since the

farmers adopt a number of adaptive strategies, such as intensifying the extraction of

brackish groundwater, reducing the irrigated surface area of short-cycle crops, applying

deficit irrigation, and even desalinating brackish groundwater in the more sensible to

salinity crops. As a consequence of managing water with a greater salinity the

leachable fraction needed is increased, giving rise to greater irrigation requirements.

Moreover, the greater salinity of the irrigation water causes lower yields in the majority

of crops.

Although these adaptive strategies let the farmers maintaining their activity under water

scarcity periods, their effect in the groundwater and soil salinization as well as in the

crop production costs and yields can be unsustainable in the mid-long term.

UPCT 2013-2014



The role of information and

communication technologies in

the modernisation of water user

associations’ management

Soto-García M.

Del-Amor-Saavedra

P., Martin-Gorriz B.,

Martínez-Alvarez V.


Computer Electronics in Agriculture 98




2013 121-130

WP3

Abstract

Efficient and transparent water management in collective irrigation districts is the

principal commitment of Water User Associations (WUAs), which manage 70% of the

available water resources in Spain. This paper shows the role of Information and

Communication Technologies (ICTs) in the management of modernised WUAs. The

Campo de Cartagena WUA, a pioneering institution that has been applying ICTs to

irrigation district management in south-eastern Spain since 1999, was selected as the

case study. We analysed the effects of ICTs (including the Decision Support System,

Geographical Information System, Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition System,

Web and mobile applications) on both the performance of WUA management tasks and

the farmers’ adaptation to the new services. The main improvements in WUA

management performance were a more efficient and equitable allocation of water

resources, the establishment of water traceability, and the improvement in

management transparency, avoiding conflicts and vandalism. The new Web and mobile

services, provided 24 h a day 7 days a week, have been very well received by farmers.

Data from 2012 show that 27% of farmers used Web applications for their irrigation

management, reaching 63% in those farms with a surface area over 50 ha. This means

that currently 52% of the water supplied by the WUA was managed on the Internet.

UPCT 2013-2014


THESIS AUTHOR DRIRECTORS

Estudio de la Evolución de los

Regadíos mediante Técnicas de

Benchmarking. Aplicación en la

Región de Murcia

M. Soto-García B. Martin-Gorriz and



July 2013

WP3

Abstract

Competition for water use increases daily as a consequence of the growing world population,

climate change and the ever increasing demands of the various economic sectors. In this

context, the present thesis, framed in the European project SIRRIMED and more specifically in

WP3, deals directly with the characterization of the irrigated areas by applying benchmarking

techniques in order to propose the best management practices. For this study five Irrigation

Districts (IDs) in the Region of Murcia, which represent 38.5% of the regional irrigable area,

have been analyzed for a period of ten years (2002-11). The main contributions of the thesis

are the study of the water-energy nexus in IDs, as well as the effect of water scarcity and the

modernization of performance indicators on irrigable lands over such a long period.

The use of benchmarking techniques has revealed that the studied IDs have had very hight

agricultural production, with very hight distribution efficiency, but aasociated to high system

operating costs. The study IDs also were subjected to frequent water sortages and irregular

supply; water sortages produced large annual fluctuations in indicators IDs. The results clearly

show that water supply restrictions contributed to the important performance changes observed

over time to a much greater extent than the modernisation process did.

The results of the study also highlight the two differents types of modernisation processes:

“First generation” modernisation, involving the pressurisation of distribution networks, and

“Second generation” modernisation, whose fundamental characteristics focus on the

automation of hydraulic infrastructure and the incorporation of Information Technology and

Communications (ICTs). The latter provides an improved service to irrigators, the provision of

water traceability information, and a transparent, efficient and equitable water distribution.

Traditional performance indicators are no able to reflect these improvements and as a result

new indicators are proposed to quantify adequately this reality.

UPCT 2013-2014



Feasibility of using trunk diameter fluctuation and stem water potential reference lines for irrigation scheduling of early nectarine trees

J.M. de la Rosa

M.R. Conesa; R.

Domingo; R. Torres;

A. Pérez-Pastor


Agricultural Water Management 126 (2013)




2013 133-141

WP: 1

Abstract

A three-year experiment on early nectarine (Prunus persica L. Batsch cv. Flanoba) trees was carried out with the aim of studying the impact of environmental variables on the trunk diameter fluctuation parameters and the usefulness of the reference-lines derived from the relationship between different meteorological variables and plant water status indicators for sustainable irrigation scheduling. Plants were drip-irrigated and submitted to non-limiting soil water conditions. Measurements of stem water potential at midday (_stem), trunk daily growth rate (TGR) and maximum daily trunk shrinkage (MDS) were related with meteorological variables. MDS presented the best fitting line-regressions with both the average air temperature and vapour pressure deficit during the period 11.00–15.00 h solar time, since the most important fraction of trunk shrinkage occurred during that period of time, reaching 74% of MDS (on average over the three years studied), and sometimes 90%. The cause of the poor correlation of MDS with ET0 is discussed. Despite the continuous trunk growth of the trees during the experimental period and slight difference in crop load, inter-annual differences were not observed for the three reference lines obtained in any given year (fruit growth, early and late postharvest period).

UPCT 2013-2014



Effects of deficit irrigation applied during fruit growth period of late mandarin trees on harvest quality, cold storage and subsequent shelf-life

M.R. Conesa

M.D. García-Salinas;

J.M. de la Rosa; J.P.

Fernández-Trujillo; R.

Domingo; A. Pérez-

Pastor


Scientia Horticulturae 165 (2014)


Elsevier Holanda


2014 344-351

WP: 2

Abstract

The quality traits of fruit harvested from ‘Fortune’ mandarin trees (Citrus clementina Hort. Ex. Tanaka × C. reticulata Blanco) subjected to different irrigation strategies was studied at harvest, during cold storage (33 d at 5 ◦C), and after an additional shelf-life period of 5 d at 25 ◦C. Plant water status was also determined in the pre-harvest period. Irrigation treatments consisted of a control irrigated at 100% of crop evapotranspiration throughout the season, and two deficit irrigation treatments irrigated during the fruit growth period to maintain the ratio between the fruit growth rate (FGR) of the control trees and those of the water deficit treatment (signal intensity, SIFGR) at two different water stress levels: (i) Severe (DI10) when this ratio was around 1.1 (SIFGR), and (ii) moderate (DI5) when it was around 1.05. The amount of water applied in DI10 and DI5 represented a reduction of 40% and 29%, respectively, compared with the control. No negative effects on the yield parameters studied were observed. During the second fruit growth stage, differences in stem water potential at midday of around 0.4 and 0.9 MPa in DI5 and DI10 treatments, respectively, respect control promoted a significant decrease in FGR. Overall, both DI treatments improved fruit quality at harvest due to increased total soluble solids and juice proline content, fruit maintained their quality longer during storage than the control. Cold stored fruit of both DI treatments presented similar fruit hardness values but a higher juice proline content, total soluble solids and titratable acidity, and, as a consequence, a lower maturity index than the control. At the end of storage, DI fruit showed a thicker skin and lower commercial losses due to chilling injury.

UPCT 2013-2014



Response of late mandarin trees cv. ‘Fortune’ to deficit irrigation strategies on fruit production and quality traits at harvest and after cold storage

M.R. Conesa

J.M. de la Rosa; J.P.

Fernández-Trujillo; R.

Domingo; A. Pérez-

Pastor


Journal of the Science of Food and

Agriculture Submitted (2014)


Wiley


2014

WP: 2

Abstract

Blackground. Few references exist about regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) applied during the fruit phenological stages established from values derived of trunk diameter fluctuations. The sensitivity of adult hybrid ‘Fortune’ mandarin to three RDI treatments on total yield and fruit quality at harvest and after cold storage in a commercial orchard was tested during two consecutive growing seasons. Results. Control trees were irrigated to satisfy the maximum crop evapotranspiration while RDI-1 and RDI-2 presented a 20% and 40% reduction versus the control of water applied, respectively. Total yield and fruit quality at harvest were not significantly affected. The stage late II of fruit growth was the most sensitive period to water stress whereas the RDI applied among flowering and the stage I of fruit growth resulted in a significant higher number of fruits per tree and improving of irrigation water productivity respect to control. In both seasons, skin chrome decreased during cold storage concomitant with a decrease in titratable acidity. Fruit quality (titratable acidity, skin C* and ascorbic and glutamic acid) were more affected by cold storage than by differences among RDI treatments. Conclusions. The use of trunk diameter fluctuation was useful in order to restore the RDI irrigation to levels of control at the end of the stage early II. From a quality point of view, subsequent shelf-life tended to minimize the difference between treatments found at harvest. Quality traits (titratable acidity, ascorbic and glutamic acid) could be used as chilling biomarker..

UPCT 2013-2014



Early morning fluctuation in trunk diameter are highly sensitive to water stress in nectarine trees

J.M. de la Rosa I. Dodd; R. Domingo;

A. Pérez-Pastor


Irrigation Science Submitted (2014)


Springer


2014

WP: 1

Abstract

The sensitivity to water stress of different plant water status indicators was evaluated during two consecutive years in early nectarine trees grown in a semi-arid region. Measurements were made post-harvest and two irrigation treatments were applied: a control treatment (CTL), irrigated at 120% of crop evapotranspiration demand to achieve non-limiting water conditions, and a deficit irrigation treatment (DI), that applied around 37% less water than CTL during late postharvest. The plant water status indicators evaluated were midday stem water potential (Ψstem) and parameters derived from trunk diameter fluctuations (TDF): maximum daily shrinkage (MDS), trunk daily growth rate (TGR), early daily shrinkage measured between 0900 and 1200 h solar time (EDS), and late daily shrinkage (LDS) that occurred between 1200 h solar time and the moment that minimum trunk diameter was reached (typically 1600 h solar time). The most sensitive (highest ratio of signal intensity (SI) to noise) indicators to water stress were Ψstem together with EDS. The SI of EDS was greater than that of Ψstem, although with greater variability. EDS was a better indicator than MDS, with higher SI and similar variability. Although MDS was linearly related to Ψstem down to -1.5 MPa, thereafter MDS decreased with increasing water stress. In contrast, EDS was linearly related to Ψstem, although the slope of the regression decreased as the season progressed, as in the case of MDS. Further studies are needed to determine whether EDS is a sensitive indicator of water stress in a range of species.

UPCT 2013-2014



Implementing deficit irrigation scheduling through plant water stress indicators in early nectarine trees: I. Soil and plant water relations

J.M. de la Rosa R. Domingo; A. Pérez-

Pastor


Agricultural water management Submitted (2014)


Elsevier


2014

WP: 1

Abstract

A three-year experiment on early nectarine (Prunus persica L. Batsch cv. Flanoba) trees was carried out with the aim of increasing water use efficiency through applying a sustained irrigation treatment, in a commercial orchard in southern Spain. Experiments compared irrigation scheduling using conventional micrometeorology (110% of crop evapotranspiration, ETc) as a control treatment (TCTL), a treatment based on the normal practice of the farmer (TFARMER) and a regulated deficit irrigation treatment (TRDI), which involved irrigating the crop at the same level as the control (TCTL) during the critical periods of the first year (second rapid fruit growth period and 2 months after harvest) and at 60% TCTL during postharvest. In the last two years (2010 and 2011) the irrigation was scheduled to maintain the signal intensity (SI) of the maximum daily shrinkage of the trunk (MDS, SI = MDSTRDI/MDSTCTL) at different water stress levels depending on the phenological stage SI = 1.0 (non-water stress) and SI = 1.4 (moderate). Most of the time that irrigation scheduling was based on MDS SI, this parameter varied only slightly around the pre-established threshold values. The information

-1.5 MPa and MDS SI 1.5 as threshold values not to be exceeded during postharvest, since MDS and

values were only linear down to 1.5. The water saved amounted to 17, 15 and 37% of the amount used in the control in the three seasons, respectively. In contrast, the TFARMER treatment applied more water (about 20 and 5% more than TCTL) during the first two years, and 10% less than TCTL during the third season.

UPCT 2013-2014


ACTIVITY 2: International and national scientific meeting and

conferences


Conference Orihuela

(Spain)

18-

20/June/2013

Scientific

community;

Industry

1


¿nº? (not obligatory) Spain

SUPPORTS

Sensibilidad de indicadores de estrés hídrico en nectarino extratemprano

XXXI Congreso Nacional de Riegos


Conference Madrid

(Spain) 10-12/July/2013

Scientific

community;

Industry

1


¿nº? (not obligatory) Spain

SUPPORTS

Redes de sensores cableadas e inalámbricas. Estudio y aplicación en la instrumentación y control de riego en uva de mesa

Seminario Anual de Automática, Electrónica Industrial e Instrumentación

UPCT 2013-2014



Conference Dubrovnik,

Croatia

22-

27/September/2013

Scientific

community;

Industry

2


¿nº? (not obligatory) Europe

SUPPORTS

Increases of 40% in water use efficiency attained through a sustained irrigation strategy in a commercial nectarine orchard located in an area of low water availability

The 8th Conference on Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems – SDEWES Conference


Poster Dubrovnik,

Croatia

22-

27/September/2013

Scientific

community;

Industry

1


¿nº? (not obligatory) Europe

SUPPORTS

Feasibility of using references lines derived from plant water status indicators for irrigation schesuling of early nectarine trees

The 8th Conference on Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems – SDEWES Conference

UPCT 2013-2014


ACTIVITY 3: Regional scientific meetings, conferences and workshops


Conference

Castelldefels;

Barcelona

(Spain)

3/September/2013

Scientific

community

Policy makers

6


150 Spain

SUPPORTS

“Title of the document”. Adoption of irrigation water management policies to guarantee

water supply: a choice experiment

Authors: ALCON et al.


Conference

Castelldefels;

Barcelona

(Spain)

3/September/2013

Scientific

community

Policy makers

6


150 Spain

SUPPORTS

Análisis y predicción de la adopción de Riego Deficitario a través de un estudio de los

agentes implicados

[Authors: ALCON et al.

UPCT 2013-2014



Conference Madrid 26-29/08/2013 Scientific

community 3


200 10

SUPPORTS

“Análisis por niveles de gestión del consumo energético en el regadío del sureste

español”

Authors: Martín-Górriz, B., Martínez-Alvarez, V., Soto-García, M.


Conference Madrid 26-29/08/2013 Scientific community 2


200 10

SUPPORTS

“Efecto de las coberturas de sombreo suspendidas en balsas de riego sobre los

requerimientos de filtrado”.

Authors: Martínez-Alvarez, V., Maestre Valero, J.F.

UPCT 2013-2014



Conference Orihuela (Alicante)

10-12/06/2013 Scientific community 2


100 1

SUPPORTS

“Efecto sobre los requerimientos de filtrado de las coberturas de sombreo suspendidas

en balsas de riego”.

Authors: Martínez-Alvarez, V., Maestre Valero, J.F.


Conference Orihuela (Alicante)

10-12/06/2013 Scientific community 2


100 1

SUPPORTS

“Comportamiento de las explotaciones de Regadío del Campo de Cartagena ante

situaciones de sequía”.

Authors: García-Bastida, P.A., Martínez-Alvarez, V., Martín Górriz, B., Soto-García, M.

UPCT 2013-2014



Conference Valencia 23/October/2013 Scientific

community

3


100 2

SUPPORTS

“Title of the document”.

Contraste de métodos de estimación real desde teledetección: aplicación en una zona

semiárida.

Authors: MARTINEZ PEREZ et al.


Conference Orihuela

18/June/2013

Scientific

community

3


100 2

SUPPORTS


Estimación operacional de la evapotranspiración real desde teledetección:

aplicaciones en regadío

Authors: MARTINEZ PEREZ et al.

UPCT 2013-2014


ACTIVITY 4: Workshop, training courses and seminars


Workshop

Santiago de

Chile (Chile) day/month/year

Scientific

community; Industry

1 and

2


¿nº? (not obligatory) Chile and Perú

SUPPORTS

“Irrigation scheduling in woody crops”

Universidad de Chile

CER 2013-2014



conferences


Workshop Bologna, Italy 28/11/2013

Civil society;

Policy makers;

Medias

3


About 40 Italy

SUPPORTS


[Other that may be relevant]

ACTIVITY 6: Other materials (TV clips, TV/radio reportage, etc.)

TITLE DISSEMINATION

CHANNEL

DATE

Amministrare l’acqua Various local networks 28/11/2013

Other information:

WP

INRA 2012




An empirical expression to relate aerodynamic and surface temperatures for use within

single-source energy balance models.

Boulet G., Olioso A., Ceschia E., Marloie O., Coudert B., Rivalland V., Chirouze J.,

Chehbouni G.


Agricultural and Forest Meteorology N°161, 2012


Elsevier


21 April 2012 148-155

Internet link: DOI:10.1016/j.agrformet.2012.03.008

WP4 and WP5

Abstract

Single-source energy balance models are simple and particularly suited to assimilate

mixed pixel remote sensing data. Mixed pixels are made up of a combination of two

main elements, the soil and the vegetation. The use of single-source models implies

that the reference temperature for the estimation of convective fluxes, the aerodynamic

temperature, is linked to the available remotely sensed surface temperature. There are

many relationships relating both temperatures in the literature, but few that try to find

objective constraints on this link. These relationships accounts for the difference

between both temperatures by dividing the roughness length for thermal turbulent

transport by an expression known as “radiometric kB−1”, which depends mostly on Leaf

Area Index (LAI). Acknowledging that the two temperatures should be similar for bare

soil and high LAI conditions, we propose an empirical relationship between LAI and the

ratio of the difference between the aerodynamic and the air temperatures and the

difference between the surface and the air temperatures, also known as “β function”.

Nine datasets obtained in agricultural areas (four in south western France near

Toulouse, four in south eastern France near Avignon, one in Morocco near Marrakech)

are used to evaluate this new relationship. They all span the entire cropping season,

and LAI values range from 0 to about 5. This new expression of the β function is then

compared to the β function retrieved from measured sensible heat flux and in situ

radiometric measurements as well as the β function simulated by a two-source SVAT

model (ICARE). Its performance in estimating the sensible heat compares well to other

empirical or semi-empirical functions, either based on a β function or a radiometric

kB−1.

INRA 2012



Study of uncertainties from evapotranspiration models applied to LANDSAT data over

a Mediterranean agricultural region.

Mira M., Courault D., Hagolle O., Marloie O., Castillo-Reyes S., Gallego-Elvira B.,

Olioso A.


Proceedings EARSeL XXXX


XXX


XXX XXXX

Internet link:

WP4 and WP5

Abstract

A large variety of methods have been developed to retrieve surface energy fluxes, in

particular evapotranspiration (ET), from remote sensing data. As a lot of satellites

provide now a large amount of images at various spatial and temporal resolution, it is

necessary to evaluate the methods frequently used for ET mapping, as well as the

methodologies used to estimate the input variables (albedo, surface temperature,

emissivity, net radiation, LAI, NDVI…). The work presented here aims to assess

modeling uncertainties in ET estimations from multispectral data. Particular emphasis

is given to albedo estimation, 24 different models being tested from an important

Landsat-7 dataset. It was acquired over the Crau-Camargue region, located in South

Eastern France, between 2007 and 2010. In parallel to these images, continuous

ground measurements of albedo, land surface temperature (LST) and surface fluxes

are acquired for the same period for different surfaces, including irrigated and dry

grassland, natural vegetation and various crops. The results have shown that each

albedo model shows a quite large error (>11%) when compared with ground

measurements. Performances are different according to the studied site and spectral

band considered. The comparison between the different albedo models showed that

those were lower over coefficients sets that included the middle infrared bands.

Despite these errors, it appeared that according to the reliability of albedo estimation

(RMSER=11%), it was possible to retrieve latent heat flux estimates with an uncertainty

around 10 W·m-2 (ranging from -20 to 25 W·m-2).

INRA 2012



Uncertainties on evapotranspiration derived from Landsat images depending on

reliability of albedo input data over a Mediterranean agricultural region.


Lecerf R., Weiss M., Olioso A.


Proceedings ESA XXXX


XXX


XXX XXXX

Internet link: XXX

WP4 and WP5

Abstract

Evapotranspiration (ET) accounts for a dominant part of the hydrological cycle.

Globally, nearly two-thirds of precipitations over land are returned back to the

atmosphere by ET. This proportion may be higher in dry areas, such as the

Mediterranean basin. ET is difficult to assess in space and time because it depends on

the water status and the energy processes at the Earth surface, which are highly

variable. The work presented here aimed to quantify uncertainties in ET estimations

from multispectral data from Landsat-7/ETM+ over a Mediterranean agricultural region

depending on input data accuracy. Particular emphasis is given to albedo

estimation, 12 different models being tested. Continuous ground measurements of

albedo and net radiation were available for the period 2007 to 2010 for different

surfaces. According to the reliability of albedo estimation from Landsat-7 data, it is

possible to retrieve latent heat flux estimates with an uncertainty around 10 W·m-2.

INRA 2012




PUBLIC

WP

Conference

(international

conference)

32nd

EARSeL

Symposium.

Mykonos

Island,

Greece

21-24 May 2012 Scientific

community

WP4 and

WP5


150 31 countries mainly from Europe (Germany,

Greece, Italy, France, Poland…)

SUPPORTS

Oral presentation by Maria Mira

Study of uncertainties from evapotranspiration models applied to LANDSAT thermal

data over a Mediterranean agricultural region.

Internet link for the abstract: http://www.conferences.earsel.org/abstract/show/3001

Proceeding publications:

Study of uncertainties from evapotranspiration models applied to LANDSAT data over

a Mediterranean agricultural region.


Olioso A.

Conference organized by EARSeL (European Association of Remote Sensing

Laboratories)

Internet link: http://www.earsel.org/symposia/2012-symposium-Mykonos/index.php

http://www.earsel.org/symposia/2012-symposium-Mykonos/index.php

INRA 2012



Conference

(international

conference)

Sentinel-2

Preparatory

Symposium. ESA-

ESRIN, Frascati,

Italy

23 - 27

April 2012

Scientific

community

WP4

and

WP5


338

Italy, Germany, France, The Netherlands,

and 27 other countries mainly from Europe

and North America

SUPPORTS

Poster presentation


reliability of albedo input data over a Mediterranean agricultural region [poster]

Internet link for the abstract: XXX

Proceeding publications:


reliability of albedo input data over a Mediterranean agricultural region.


Lecerf R., Weiss M., Olioso A.

Conference organized by ESA (European Space Agency)

Internet link: http://www.s2symposium.org/

INRA 2012



Conference

(international

conference)

AGU Chapman

Conference.

Kona Hawai’i,

USA

19-22

February 2012

Scientific

community

WP4

and

WP5


300 USA, France, The Netherlands, Japan, Canada,

Australia, China, Germany, Spain…

SUPPORTS

Poster presentation:

Assessment of modelling uncertainties over a Mediterranean agricultural region using

evapotranspiration models based on LANDSAT thermal data.

Internet link for the abstract: (abstract on page 50)

http://www.agu.org/meetings/chapman/2012/acall/pdf/FinalProgram.pdf

Courault D, Mira M, Marloie O, Gallego-Elvira B, Hagolle O, Olioso A, Castillo-

Reyes S, 2012. Assessment of modelling uncertainties over a Mediterranean

agricultural region using evapotranspiration models based on LANDSAT thermal data.

AGU Chapman Conference on Remote Sensing of the Terrestrial Water Cycle, Kona

Hawai’i 19-22 February 2012.

Conference organized by AGU (American Geophysical Union)

Internet link: http://www.agu.org/meetings/chapman/2012/acall/index.php

http://www.agu.org/meetings/chapman/2012/acall/pdf/FinalProgram.pdf

http://www.agu.org/meetings/chapman/2012/acall/index.php

INRA 2012



PUBLIC

WP

Workshop

(international

workshop)

6th HyMeX

workshop,

Primosten, Croatia.

7-11 May

2012

Scientific

community

WP4 and

WP5


130 Mediterranean countries, Europe (France,

Spain, Croatia, Germany, Italy…)

SUPPORTS

Poster presentation

Assessment of evapotranspiration and biophysical variables from various remote

sensing data acquired on the HYMEX pilot site: ‘the Crau Camargue region’ [poster]

Internet link for the abstract:

https://www.penta-pco.com/hymex2012/abstract-

preview/abstracts_print.php?abstractID=845&tema=8&back=poster

Courault D., Olioso A., Castillo-Reyes S., Hagolle O., Mira M., Gallego-Elvira B.,

Marloie O., Weiss M.

Assessment of evapotranspiration and biophysical variables from various remote

sensing data acquired on the HYMEX pilot site: ‘the Crau Camargue region’.

Workshop organized by Hymex teams

Internet link: https://www.penta-pco.com/hymex2012/

INRA 2012



Workshop

(international

workshop)

6th HyMeX

workshop,

Primosten,

Croatia.

7-11 May

2012

Scientific

community

WP4 and

WP5


130 Mediterranean countries, Europe (France,

Spain, Croatia, Germany, Italy…)

SUPPORTS

Oral presentation by André Chanzy

Modelling water balance and biomass production at the regional scale: Example of the

Crau area.

Internet link for the abstract:

https://www.penta-pco.com/hymex2012/abstract-

preview/abstracts_print.php?abstractID=804&tema=3

Lecerf R., Chanzy A., Olioso A.

Modelling water balance and biomass production at the regional scale: Example of the

Crau area.

Workshop organized by Hymex teams

Internet link: https://www.penta-pco.com/hymex2012/

INRA 2012




PUBLIC

WP

Conference

(national

conference)

1st TOSCA

colloquium Paris

(France)

21-22 March

2012

Scientific

community 4 and 5


150 Mainly France

SUPPORTS

Poster presentation:

Suivi spatio-temporel de l’évapotranspiration à partir de données de télédétection dans

les domaines thermiques et solaires : développement d’une chaine de traitement de

données.

Olioso A., Boulet G., Castillo-Reyes S., Gallego-Elvira B., Mira M., Courault D.,

Marloie O., Lecerf R., Weiss M., Chehbouni A.G., Baret F., Jacob F., Lagouarde J.-P.,

Sobrino J.A., Hamimed A.

Conference organized by CNES (Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales)

Internet link: http://cnes.cborg.fr/TOSCA/


Cf mission 2012

INRA 2013-2014




Modelling of drainage and hay

production over the Crau aquifer for

analysing impact of global change

on aquifer recharge

Albert Olioso.

Olioso A.,

Lecerf R.,

Baillieux A.,

Chanzy A.,

Ruget F.,

Banton O.,

Lecharpentier P.,

Trolard F.,

Cognard-Plancq A.-L.,


Procedia Environmental Sciences 19, 2013


Elsevier Peer-reviewed scientific journal, available on

line.


2013 691–700

WP4 and WP5

Abstract

Changes in climate and land use affect water resources and agricultural production. It is

important to document these changes and to provide prospective scenarios for improving

knowledge and tools that will help stakeholders to anticipate their impacts and propose

adaptations. The recharge of the aquifer in the Crau plain mainly depends on the irrigation, in

excess, of grassland producing high quality hay. The sustainability of this system is challenged

by possible decreases in water availability from the Durance River, the main water source for

irrigation, and the decrease in irrigated grassland surfaces. We implemented a modelling system

combining the STICS crop model, used in a distributed mode, and the MODFLOW aquifer

model for analysing the evolution of hay production, aquifer recharge and water level in the

aquifer. The modelling system was implemented for several scenarios concerning climate and

land use evolutions, as well as water availability for irrigation, in a close future (2025-2035).

The main results showed that the level of the aquifer is seriously threatened by a decrease in

irrigation level, either because of a reduction of irrigated grassland surfaces, or because of a

limitation of water availability for irrigation. Conversely, the hay production (in term of

quantitative yield) would be enhanced by the increase in temperature, even in situation of

reduction of irrigation.

INRA 2013-2014



EVASPA (EVApotranspiration

Assessment from SPAce) tool:

An overview

Belen Gallego-Elvira

Gallego-Elvira B.

Olioso A.

Mira M.

Reyes-Castillo S.

Boulet G.

Marloie O.

Garrigues S.

Courault D.

Weiss M.

Chauvelon P.

Boutron O.


Procedia Environmental Sciences 19, 2013


Elsevier Peer-reviewed scientific journal,

available on line.


2013 303–310

WP4 and WP5

Abstract

Evapotranspiration (ET) is a fundamental variable of the hydrological cycle and its

estimation is required for irrigation management, water resources planning and

environmental studies. Remote sensing provides spatially distributed cost-effective

information for ET maps production at regional scale. We have developed EVASPA

tool for mapping ET from remote sensing data at spatial and temporal scales relevant

to hydrological or agronomical studies.

EVASPA includes several algorithms for estimating evapotranspiration and various

equations for estimating the required input information (net radiation, ground heat flux,

evaporative fraction…), which provides a way to assess uncertainties in the derivation

of ET. The tool integrates data from various remote sensing sensors and it can be

easily adapted to new sensors. To test the tool, evapotranspiration maps have been

produced for the Crau-Camargue pilot site (south-eastern France), where several

energy balance stations deployed in contrasted areas provide ground measurements.

An overall description of the tool and first results of performance assessment

(comparison to ground data) are presented here.

INRA 2013-2014



EVASPA (EVapotranspiration

Assessment from SPAce)

tool: overview and first

assessments.

Gallego-Elvira B.

Gallego-Elvira, B.

Olioso, A.

Mira, M.

Reyes-Castillo, S.

Boulet, G.

Marloie, O.

Garrigues, S.

Courault, D.

Weiss, M.


Geophysical Research Abstracts 15, 2013


EGU Abstract journal,

available on line.


2013 EGU2013-5455-1

WP4 and WP5

Abstract

Evapotranspiration (ET) is a fundamental variable of the hydrological cycle which plays a major role on surface water and energy balances. ET estimation is required for irrigation management, water resources planning and environmental studies. At the local scale ET can be accurately determined from detailed ground observations (eddy covariance towers, lysimeters) but at regional scale, numerous time-consuming and expensive installations would be required. Remote sensing provides spatially distributed cost-effective information for ET maps production at regional scale. EVASPA (EVapotranspiration Assessment from SPAce) tool has been developed to produce ET maps at relevant spatial and time scales for hydrological or agronomical purposes. The tool includes several ET estimation methods (S-SEBI method, the triangle approach and aerodynamic equations) and various equations for estimating the required input information (albedo, net radiation, ground heat flux. . . ). Highlighted features of this tool are: (i) the possibility of integrating data from various remote sensing sensors, (ii) to be easily adapted to new sensors, (iii) to provide an estimation of uncertainties (thanks to the combination of the various ET estimates) and (iv) to produce continuous daily ET maps even for days without available remote sensing images (by means of interpolation techniques). To test the tool, ET maps have been produced for the Crau-Camargue pilot site in south-eastern France. This site is a flat region characterized by highly contrasted wet and dry areas, with a high diversity of surfaces: irrigated meadows, dry grasslands (steppic area), saltmarsh scrubs, paddy fields, orchards, etc. Daily ET maps at kilometric spatial resolution are produced from MODIS data (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, platforms Terra and Aqua) and high resolution ET maps with a hectometric resolution from ETM+ (Enhanced Thematic

INRA 2013-2014


Mapper Plus, Landsat 7 platform) when images of the study area are available. Ground data from several surface energy balance stations deployed in contrasted areas of the pilot site are used to assess the performance of EVASPA simulations. First evaluations were performed by (i) comparing net radiation estimation from ETM+ to ground data with errors lower than 20 Wm

-

2, (ii) assessing the performances of the procedure used to interpolate daily ET for days without

images with errors around 0.35 mm d-1

, and (iii) comparing evolution of daily ET for the different ecosystems to ground station measurements showing that estimates were closely following ecosystem ET (error around 0.5 mm d

-1), for some of them in relation to the level of the water

table below. EVASPA tool is a prototype software developed in MATLAB within the frame of the European project SIRRIMED and with the support of CNES through the TOSCA research calls. SIRRIMED: Sustainable use of IRRIgation water in the MEDiterranean region, FP7, European Commission CNES : Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (France) TOSCA: Earth, Ocean, Continental Surfaces and Atmosphere

INRA 2013-2014



Modeling of drainage and hay

production over the Crau

aquifer for analyzing the

impact of global change on

aquifer recharge

Olioso, A.

Olioso, A.

Lecerf, R.

Baillieux, A.

Chanzy, A.

Ruget, F.

Banton, O.

Lecharpentier, P.

Alkassem Alosman,

M.

Ruy, S.

Gallego Elvira, B.


Geophysical Research Abstracts 15, 2013


EGU Abstract journal,

available on line.


2013 EGU2013-5525

WP4 and WP5

Abstract

The recharge of the aquifer in the Crau plain (550 km2, Southern Rhone Valley, France)

depends on the irrigation of 15000 ha of meadow using water withdrawn from the River

Durance through a dense network of channels. Traditional irrigation practice, since the XVIth

century, has consisted in flooding the grassland fields with a large amount of water, the excess

being infiltrated toward the water table. Today, the Crau aquifer holds the main resource in

water in the area (300 000 inhabitants) but changes in the agricultural practices and

progressive replacement of the irrigated meadows by urbanized area threaten the sustainability

of groundwater.

The distributed modeling of irrigated meadows together with the modeling of groundwater has

been undertaken for quantifying the contribution of the irrigation to the recharge of the aquifer

and to investigate possible evolution of hay production, water drainage, evapotranspiration and

water table under scenarios of climate and land-use changes. The model combines a crop

model (STICS) that simulates hay production, evapotranspiration and water drainage, a

multisimulation tool (MultiSimLib) that allows to run STICS over each agricultural field in the

aquifer perimeter, a groundwater model MODFLOW to simulate the water table from recharge

data (simulated drainage).

Specific models were developed for simulating the spatial distribution of climate, including

scenario of changes for the 2025 – 2035 time period, soil properties (influenced by irrigation),

and agricultural practices (calendar and amount), in particular irrigation and hay cutting. This

INRA 2013-2014


step was crucial for correctly simulating hay production level and amount of water used for

irrigation.

Model results were evaluated thanks to plot experiments and information from farmers

(biomass production, downward water flow, quantity of irrigated water, cutting calendar…), a

network of piezometers and remote sensing maps of evapotranspiration.

Main results included:

- the proportion of irrigation water that contributes to the recharge of aquifer was evaluated

to 75 %, which represent 80% of the total recharge;

- increase in temperature in the future leads to an increase in hay production (+ 10% in 2030

compared to now)

- increase in potential evapotranspiration in the future leads to an increase of meadow

evapotranspiration by 10% which has a significant impact on the amount of irrigation water

required to sustain the level of aquifer recharge and the level of the water table

- decrease in irrigated surfaces (-10% forecasted for 2030) results in a significant decrease

of aquifer recharge (- 8%) that may affect water resources in the area (amount almost

equivalent to water withdrawal for domestic use in the area)

- reduction in available water for irrigation directly affect the aquifer recharge: e.g. 30%

reduction in irrigation level result in a 35% reduction in drainage at the aquifer scale;

however, the production of hay would be just slightly affected.

This work was performed in the frame of Astuce et Tic project (French ministries financial

support) and Sirrimed project (European FP7 financial support).

INRA 2013-2014



EVASPA (EVApotranspiration

Assessment from SPAce)

tool: overview and first

assessments.

Olioso, A.

Olioso, A.

Gallego-Elvira, B.

Mira, M.

Reyes-Castillo, S.

Boulet, G.

Marloie, O.

Garrigues, S.

Courault, D.

Weiss, M.

Chauvelon, P.

Boutron, O.


IGARSS Symposium Proceedings 2013

ISBN: 978-1-4799-1113-4


IEEE USB Key


2013 Paper number: WE1.T12.3.

WP4 and WP5

Abstract

Evapotranspiration (ET) is a fundamental variable of the hydrological cycle and its estimation is

required for irrigation management, water resources planning and environmental studies.

Remote sensing provides spatially distributed cost-effective information for ET maps production

at regional scale. We have developed EVASPA tool for mapping ET from remote sensing data

at spatial and temporal scales relevant to hydrological or agronomical studies.

EVASPA includes several algorithms for estimating evapotranspiration and various equations

for estimating the required input information (net radiation, ground heat flux, evaporative

fraction…), which provides a way to assess uncertainties in the derivation of ET. The tool

integrates data from various remote sensing sensors and it can be easily adapted to new

sensors. To test the tool, evapotranspiration maps have been produced for the Crau-Camargue

pilot site (south-eastern France), where several energy balance stations deployed in contrasted

areas provide ground measurements. An overall description of the tool and first results of

performance assessment (comparison to ground data) are presented here.

INRA 2013-2014



Impact of surface emissivity and

atmospheric conditions on

surface temperatures estimated

from top of canopy brightness

temperatures derived from

Landsat 7 data.

Olioso, A.

Olioso, A.

Mira, M.

Courault, D.

Marloie, O.

Guillevic, P.



ISBN: 978-1-4799-1113-4


IEEE USB Key

IEEE Xplore digital library


2013 3033- 3036

DOI 10.1109/IGARSS.2013.6723465

WP4

Abstract

The method to derive surface temperature from top of canopy brightness temperature developed by Olioso (1995) is tested over the Avignon-Crau-Camargue area (France) using Landsat-7 ETM+ images. The difference between surface temperature and brightness temperature depends on surface emissivity, incident atmospheric radiation and the temperature itself. Differences up to 2 K were obtained for a surface emissivity of 0.97. It can increase up to 7 K when surface emissivity was 0.91. The surface temperature derived from Landsat data were in agreement with the ground measurements when using local calibration of the surface emissivity derivation method and a modification of the calculation of atmospheric radiation as compared to Olioso (1995). The impact of error in emissivity derivation was higher than the impact of errors in deriving atmospheric radiation.

INRA 2013-2014



Validation of MODIS albedo

products with high resolution

albedo estimates from

FORMOSAT-2.

Mira, M.

Mira, M.

Courault, D.

Olioso, A.

Weiss, M.

Marloie, O.

Baret, F.

Hagolle, O.

Gallego-Elvira, B.



ISBN: 978-1-4799-1113-4


IEEE USB Key

IEEE Xplore digital library


2013 3250-3253

DOI 10.1109/IGARSS.2013.6723520

WP4 and WP5

Abstract

Among MODIS products (freely available to the scientific community from 2001), albedo data

(MCD43B3) are 16 days composites at 1km spatial resolution, widely used for various

applications in climate models, but which still remains difficult to validate. The objective of this

study is to propose a method to validate these products with high spatial and temporal

resolution data. 31 FORMOSAT-2 images acquired over a small region in the South-Eastern

France at 8m for spatial resolution were aggregated at MODIS resolution using a Point Spread

Function. The correlation coefficient resulting from comparisons between albedo MODIS and

the 1-km FORMOSAT-2 albedos varied from 0.93 to 0.98, which show reasonably accurate

results for this study area.

INRA 2013-2014



Bilan hydrique des

agrosystèmes de Crau face aux

changements globaux.

Olioso, A.

Olioso, A.

Lecerf, R.

Chanzy, A.

Ruget, F.

Huard, F.

Baillieux, A.

Rossello, P.

Lecharpentier, P.

Trolard, F.

Charron, F.

Ruy, S.

Alkassem Alosman,

M.

Cognard-Plancq, A.-L.

Seguin, B.

Courault, D.

Gallego-Elvira, B.

Garrigues, S.


- -

BOOK TITLE NUMBER, DATE OR FREQUENCY

Ecologie et conservation d’une steppe

méditerranéenne. La plaine de Crau. 2013


Edition Quae, Paris, France. Book

ISBN-13 9782759220823.


2013 Pages 266-288

and 4 color plates

WP 4 and WP 5

Abstract

INRA 2013-2014


TITLE MAIN AUTHOR DATE

Combining crop and

groundwater flow models to

evaluate the impact of

irrigation on the groundwater

resources in the Crau aquifer

(SE France)

Baillieux A., Lecerf R., Olioso A., Chanzy

A., et al. 2014

Forthcoming


Remote sensing monitoring of

evapotranspiration of a

Mediterranean saltmarsh

ecosystem

Gallego-Elvira B., Olioso A., Garrigues S., Chauvelon P., et

al.

2014

Forthcoming

INRA 2013-2014



Sensitivity of net radiation

estimation from Landsat-7

ETM+ to errors in surface

temperature and albedo.

Mira M., Olioso A., Courault D., Gallego-

Elvira B. .2014

Forthcoming


Evapotranspiration in the

Mediterranean saltmarsh

scrubs of the Rhône River

Delta (south-eastern France)

and it relationship with the

shallow water table.

Gallego-Elvira B., Olioso

A., Garrigues S.,

Chauvelon P., Boutron O.,

Mira M. and Marloie O.

2014

Forthcoming

INRA 2013-2014



conferences


International

Conference

(oral

presentation)

Napoli, Italy 19-21 June

2013 Scientific

WP4

and

WP5


150 World wide (majority European)

SUPPORTS

Modelling of drainage and hay production over the Crau aquifer for analysing impact of

global change on aquifer recharge

Oral presentation by Albert Olioso

Full list of authors: Olioso A., Lecerf R., Baillieux A., Chanzy A., Ruget F., Banton O.,

Lecharpentier P., Trolard F., Cognard-Plancq A.-L.,

Conference name: International Conference on Monitoring and Modeling Soil-Plant-

Atmosphere Processes, « Four Decades of Progress in Monitoring and Modeling of

Processes in the Soil-Plant-Atmosphere System: Applications and Challenges »

INRA 2013-2014



International

Conference

(Poster

presentation)

Napoli, Italy 19-21 June

2013 Scientific

WP4

and

WP5


150 World wide (majority European)

SUPPORTS

EVASPA (EVApotranspiration assessment from SPAce) tool: an overview

Poster presentation by Albert Olioso

Full list of authors: Gallego-Elvira B., Olioso A., Mira M., Reyes-Castillo S., Boulet

G., Marloie O., Garrigues S., Courault D., Weiss M., Chauvelon P., Boutron O.

Conference name: International Conference on Monitoring and Modeling Soil-Plant-

Atmosphere Processes, « Four Decades of Progress in Monitoring and Modeling of

Processes in the Soil-Plant-Atmosphere System: Applications and Challenges ».

INRA 2013-2014



International

Conference

(poster

presentation)

Rennes,

France

13-16 may

2013 Scientific

WP4

and

WP5


- World wide

SUPPORTS

Estimation of evapotranspiration in the Mediterranean saltmarsh scrubs of the

Rhône River Delta, (south-eastern France).

Poster presentation by Belen Gallego-Elvira

Full list of authors: Gallego-Elvira B., Olioso A., Chauvelon P., Boutron O.,

Marloie O., Garrigues S., Mira M., Courault D.,

Conference name: HydroEco’2013, 4th International Multidisciplinary Conference

on Hydrology and Ecology

INRA 2013-2014



International

Conference

(oral

presentation)

Vienna,

Austria

7-12 april

2013 Scientific

WP4

and

WP5


- World wide

SUPPORTS

EVASPA (EVapotranspiration Assessment from SPAce) tool: overview and first

assessments

Oral presentation by Belen Gallego-Elvira

Full list of authors: Gallego-Elvira, B., Olioso, A., Mira, M., Reyes-Castillo, S.,

Boulet, G., Marloie, O., Garrigues, S., Courault, D., Weiss, M.

Conference name: European Geophysical Union General Assembly 2013

INRA 2013-2014



International

Conference

(oral

presentation)

Vienna,

Austria

7-12 april

2013 Scientific

WP4

and

WP5


- World wide

SUPPORTS

Modelling of drainage and hay production over the Crau aquifer for analyzing

impact of global change on aquifer recharge

Oral presentation by Antoine Baillieux

Full list of authors: Baillieux, A., Olioso, A., Lecerf, R., Chanzy, A., Ruget, F.,

Banton, O., Lecharpentier, P., Alkassem Alosman, M., Ruy, S., Gallego Elvira,

B.

Conference name: European Geophysical Union General Assembly 2013

INRA 2013-2014



International

Conference

(oral

presentation)

Melbourne,

Australia

21-26 july

2013 Scientific

WP4

and

WP5


World wide

SUPPORTS

EVASPA (EVApotranspiration Assessment from SPAce) tool: overview and first

assessments

Video link to the presentation:

http://www.igarss2013.org/ShowRecording.asp?C=CD188497


Full list of authors: Olioso, A., Gallego-Elvira, B., Mira, M., Reyes-Castillo, S.,

Marloie, O., Garrigues, S., Courault, D., Weiss, M., Boulet, G., Chauvelon, P.,

Boutron, O.

Conference name: IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing

Symposium (IGARSS) 2013

http://www.igarss2013.org/ShowRecording.asp?C=CD188497

INRA 2013-2014



International

Conference

(oral

presentation)

Melbourne,

Australia

21-26 july

2013 Scientific

WP4


World wide

SUPPORTS

Impact of surface emissivity and atmospheric conditions on surface

temperatures derived from Landsat 7 brightness temperature.


http://www.igarss2013.org/ShowRecording.asp?C=88AFCAE0


Full list of authors: Olioso, A., Mira, M., Courault, D., Marloie, O., Guillevic, P.

Conference name:

IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS)

2013

http://www.igarss2013.org/ShowRecording.asp?C=88AFCAE0

INRA 2013-2014



International

Conference

(oral

presentation)

Melbourne,

Australia

21-26 july

2013 Scientific

WP4

and

WP5


World wide

SUPPORTS

Validation of MODIS albedo products with high resolution albedo estimates from

FORMOSAT-2


http://www.igarss2013.org/ShowRecording.asp?C=EF4BB166

Oral presentation by Dominique Courault

Full list of authors: Mira, M., Courault, D., Olioso, A., Weiss, M., Marloie, O.,

Baret, F., Hagolle, O., Gallego-Elvira, B

Conference name:

IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS)

2013

INRA 2013-2014



International

Conference

(oral

presentation)

Matera, Italy 3-6 June 2013 Scientific

WP4


Mainly Europe

SUPPORTS


temperatures derived from Landsat 7 brightness temperature

Link to the abstract:

http://www.conferences.earsel.org/abstract/show/3791


Full list of authors: Mira, M., Olioso, A., Courault, D., Marloie, O., Guillevic, P.

Conference name:

33rd EARSeL (European Association of Remote Sensing Laboratories)

Symposium 2013

INRA 2013-2014



International

Conference

(oral

presentation)

Matera, Italy 3-6 June 2013 Scientific

WP4

and

WP5


Mainly Europe

SUPPORTS

EVASPA (EVapotranspiration Assessment from SPAce) tool: overview and first

assessments


http://www.conferences.earsel.org/abstract/show/3795


Full list of authors: Olioso, A., Gallego-Elvira, B., Mira, M., Reyes-Castillo, S.,

Boulet, G., Marloie, O., Garrigues, S., Courault, D., Weiss, M.

Conference name:

33rd EARSeL (European Association of Remote Sensing Laboratories)

Symposium 2013

INRA 2013-2014



International

workshop

(oral

presentation)

Cassis,

France

7-10 October

2013 scientific

WP4

and

WP5


Mediterranean Bassin

SUPPORTS

Evaluations of the EVASPA tool for mapping EVApotranspiration from SPAce


http://www.hymex.org/?page=private/workshops/7/view_abstract&num=90


Full list of authors: Gallego-Elvira B., M. Bahir, A.G. Garcia, J. Hunink, A. Baille,

G. Boulet, O. Boutron, P. Chauvelon, D. Courault, C. Di Bella, S. Garrigues, Y.

Inoue, O. Marloie, B. Martin, O. Merlin, M. Mira, A. Olioso, S. Reyes-Castillo, V.

Rivalland, M. Weiss

workshop name:

7th HyMeX Workshop

http://www.hymex.org/?page=private/workshops/7/view_abstract&num=90

INRA 2013-2014



National

conference

(oral

presentation)

Valencia

University,

Spain

4th October

2013 Scientific

WP4


Spain

SUPPORTS


temperatures derived from Landsat 7 brightness temperatures.


Full list of authors: Maria Mira, A. Olioso, O. Marloie, P. Guillevic

Conference name:

IV Jornada Científica sobre “Aplicaciones de la Teledetección”

INRA 2013-2014



International

Conference

(oral

presentation)

Québec,

Canada

July 13-18,

2014 Scientific

WP4


World wide

SUPPORTS

Quantifying uncertainties in land surface temperature due to atmospheric correction:

application to Landsat-7 data over a Mediterranean agricultural region.


Full list of authors: Mira M., Olioso A., Rivalland V., Courault D., Marloie O., Guillevic P.

Conference name:

IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (IGARSS) 2014


International

Conference

(poster

presentation)

Avignon,

France

3-7 February

2014 Scientific

WP4

and

WP5


World wide

SUPPORTS

MODIS albedo validation with higher spatial resolution estimates from FORMOSAT-2

Abstract: https://colloque.inra.fr/gv2m/content/download/1404/13556/

Poster presentation by Maria Mira

https://colloque.inra.fr/gv2m/content/download/1506/14142/version/1/file/GV2M_Poster_S6.15

_Mira.pdf

Full list of authors: Mira M., Courault D., Olioso A., Weiss M., Baret F., Hagolle O., Gallego-

Elvira B.

Conference name:

Global Vegetation Monitoring and Modeling

https://colloque.inra.fr/gv2m/content/download/1404/13556/

INRA 2013-2014



International

Conference

(poster

presentation)

Avignon,

France

3-7 February

2014 Scientific

WP4

and

WP5


World wide

SUPPORTS

Evaluation of EVASPA, a tool for mapping EVApotranspiration from SPAce

Abstract: https://colloque.inra.fr/gv2m/content/download/1407/13565/

Poster presentation by Albert Olioso

Full list of authors: Gallego-Elvira B., M. Bahir, A.G. Garcia, J. Hunink, A. Baille, G.

Boulet, O. Boutron, P. Chauvelon, D. Courault, C. Di Bella, S. Garrigues, Y. Inoue, O.

Marloie, B. Martin, O. Merlin, M. Mira, A. Olioso, S. Reyes-Castillo, V. Rivalland, M.

Weiss

Conference name:

Global Vegetation Monitoring and Modeling


International

Symposium

(oral

presentation)

Raleigh, North

Carolina,

U.S.A.

April 7-11, 2014 Scientific

WP4

and

WP5


World wide

SUPPORTS

Evapotranspiration monitoring in the Mediterranean saltmarsh scrubs of the Rhône River Delta,

(south-eastern France).


Full list of authors: Gallego-Elvira B., Olioso A., Chauvelon P., Boutron O., Marloie O.,

Garrigues S.

Conference name: Evapotranspiration: Challenges in Measurements and Modeling from a

Leaf to Landscape Scale and Beyond

INRA 2013-2014



International

Symposium

(oral

presentation)

Raleigh, North

Carolina,

U.S.A.

April 7-11, 2014 Scientific

WP4

and

WP5


World wide

SUPPORTS

Evaluation of EVASPA, a tool for mapping evapotranspiration from space


Full list of authors: Olioso A., Gallego-Elvira B., Bahir M., Garcia A.G., Hunink J., Baille A.,

Boulet, G., Boutron, O., Chauvelon P., Courault D., Di Bella C., Garrigues S., Inoue Y.,

Marloie O., Martin B., Merlin O., Mira M., Reyes-Castillo S., Rivalland V., Weiss M.

Conference name:

Evapotranspiration: Challenges in Measurements and Modeling from a Leaf to Landscape Scale

and Beyond


International

Symposium

Torrent,

Valencia,

Spain.

22-26th

September 2014 Scientific

WP4

and

WP5


World wide

SUPPORTS

Evaluation of EVASPA, a tool for mapping evapotranspiration from space

Full list of authors: Olioso A., Gallego-Elvira B., Bahir M., Garcia A.G., Hunink J., Inoue Y.,

Baille A., Boulet G., Boutron O., Chauvelon P., Di Bella C., Garrigue S., Marloie O., Martin B.,

Merlin O., Mira M., Reyes-Castillo S., Rivalland V., Weiss M.

Conference name:

4th International Symposium on Recent Advances in Quantitative Remote Sensing: RAQRS'IV

INRA 2013-2014



International

Symposium

Torrent,

Valencia,

Spain.

22-26th


WP4

and

WP5


World wide

SUPPORTS

Validation of MODIS albedo product with higher spatial resolution estimates from

FORMOSAT-2

Full list of authors: Mira M., Baret F., Weiss M., Courault D., Hagolle O., Gallego-Elvira B.,

Olioso A.

Conference name:



International

Symposium

Torrent,

Valencia,

Spain.

22-26th


WP4


World wide

SUPPORTS

Atmospheric correction effect on land surface temperatures derived from LANDSAT-7 ETM+

data

Full list of authors: Mira M., Olioso A., Rivalland V., Courault D., Marloie O., Guillevic P.

Conference name:


INRA 2013-2014


ACTIVITY 3: Regional and local scientific meetings and conferences


Regional

workshop

(oral

presentation)

Domaine du

Merle, Salon

de Provence,

France

01/06/2013

Scientific and

Stakeholders (civil

society, policy

makers)

WP4

and

WP5


25 France (local institution)

SUPPORTS

Simulation prospective du drainage et des rendements des prairies irriguées -

impact sur le fonctionnement de l’aquifère de Crau

Oral presentation by Antoine Baillieux

Workshop name:

Premier workshop SICMED-CRAU



Stakeholder

meeting

Hotel

Commuautaire

du SAN Ouest

Provence,

Istres,

France

25/11/2013

Stakeholders

(civil society, policy

makers)

WP5



SUPPORTS

Discussion on the requirements for the elaboration of the “aquifer management

contract”

Participative action (concertation) organized by SYMCRAU.

First meeting: Nappe de la Crau : quel équilibre entre usages et recharge ?

Participation A. Olioso, A. Baillieux

INRA 2013-2014



Stakeholder

meeting

Mas Thibert,

Arles,

France

28/11/2013

Stakeholders


makers)

WP5



SUPPORTS

Discussion on the requirements for the elaboration of the “aquifer management

contract”


Third meeting: L’eau, quelle place dans l’aménagement de l’espace craven ?

Participation A. Olioso, A. Baillieux


Stakeholder

meeting

Domaine du

Merle - Salon

de Provence,

France

18/12/2013

Stakeholders


makers)

WP5



SUPPORTS

Synthesis of the discussion on the requirements for the elaboration of the “aquifer

management contract”


Synthesis meeting: Diagnostic de la nappe de Crau

Participation A. Olioso, A. Baillieux, A.-L. Cognard-Plancq

INRA 2013-2014


ACTIVITY 6: Other materials (TV clips, TV/radio reportage, etc.)

TITLE DISSEMINATION

CHANNEL

DATE

Quel est l’impact de l’urbanisation

de la société et du changement

climatique en agriculture et sur les

territoires ?

Slide Show

2014

Other information:

WP:

Authors : Collectif EMMAH

Slide show first presented at the Paris International Agricultural Show, as part of the INRA exhibits .”Les Agricultures du Futur”.

Paris, Parc des expositions, Porte de Versailles. Hall 4, Allée E, stand n° 105. February 21st – March 1st, 2014, 9 h - 19 h.

TITLE DISSEMINATION

CHANNEL

DATE

La télédétection pour suivre le

fonctionnement des territoires Slide Show

2014

Other information:

WP:

Authors : Collectif EMMAH

Slide show first presented at the Paris International Agricultural Show, as part of the INRA exhibits .”Les Agricultures du Futur”.

Paris, Parc des expositions, Porte de Versailles. Hall 4, Allée E, stand n° 105. February 21st – March 1st, 2014, 9 h - 19 h.

LEC 2011



TYPE WP

Publication: Article

SUPPORTS

G Egea, IC Dodd, MM González-Real, R Domingo, A Baille (2011) Partial rootzone drying improves almond tree leaf-level water use efficiency and afternoon water status compared to regulated deficit irrigation. Functional Plant Biology 38, 372-385.

TYPE WP

Publication: Article

SUPPORTS

IC Dodd, G Egea, AI Martin-Vertedor, P Romero, JG Pérez-Pérez (2011) Partial rootzone drying: chemical signalling theory and irrigation practice. Acta Horticulturae in press.

LEC 2011




Conference Presentations

[Nature of targeted stakeholders]


[E.g. number of newsletters, brochures, presentation speeches…]

[Quantitative impact on stakeholders]

SUPPORTS

WP:

International Symposium on Vegetable Grafting, Viterbo, Italy (3-5 October 2011)

Evaluating the effects of root-supplied ABA on scion vigour and water use.







SUPPORTS

WP:

International Conference on Food Security: Crop Production and Resource Use, Beijing, China (7-10 September 2011)

Biological water saving in irrigated crops: reconciling water availability and food security

LEC 2011








SUPPORTS

WP:

XIX Reunion de la Sociedad Espanola de Fisiologia Vegetal, Castellon, Spain (22-24 June 2011)

Exploiting root-to-shoot signalling of drying soil







SUPPORTS

WP:

“Plant Biotechnology: Green for Good” Olomouc, Czech Republic (20-21 June 2011)

Root system biotechnology: impacts of genetic and rhizosphere engineering on root-to-shoot signalling

LEC 2011








SUPPORTS

WP:

UK Irrigation Association meeting “Obstacles, risks and opportunities for irrigators” Peterborough, UK (2 March 2011)

A new approach to irrigating crops ?







SUPPORTS

WP:

Biosciences Knowledge Transfer Network meeting “New paradigms for crop and soil management” London, UK (9 February 2011)

Doing more with less: reconciling water availability and food security

LEC 2011








SUPPORTS

WP:

Association of Applied Biologists meeting on Water and Nitrogen Use Efficiency in plants, Grantham, UK (15-16 December 2010)

Effects of partial rootzone drying on water use efficiency







SUPPORTS

WP:

International Horticultural Congress, Lisbon, Portugal (23-27 August 2010)

Partial rootzone drying: chemical signalling theory and irrigation practice

LEC 2011



Departmental Seminars





SUPPORTS

WP:

1 April 2011 University of Applied Sciences (HTW) Dresden, Germany

Manipulating plant long distance chemical signalling to balance water supply and demand


Departmental Seminars





SUPPORTS

WP:

15 October 2010 INRA Bordeaux, France

Manipulating plant long distance chemical signalling to improve crop water use efficiency

LEC 2011



Technical Workshops (to technical managers and farmers)





SUPPORTS

WP:

7 October 2011 Water saving agriculture : irrigation management

Presentation to LandSkills Yorkshire and Humber group


Technical Workshops (to technical managers and farmers)





SUPPORTS

WP:

2 November 2010 Deficit irrigation: theory and practice

Presentation to the Waitrose Responsible Agronomy course

LEC 2012




Partial root-zone drying

increases water use efficiency

of lemon ‘Fino 49’ trees

independently of root-to-shoot

ABA signalling

Pérez-Pérez, Juan G Dodd, IC;

Botía, P…


Functional Plant Biology 39


CSIRO Medium


2012 366-378

WP 1

Abstract

To determine whether irrigation strategy altered the sensitivity of citrus leaf gas exchange to soil, plant and atmospheric variables, mature (16 year old) lemon ‘Fino 49’ trees (Citrus limon (L.) Burm. fil. grafted on Citrus macrophylla Wester) were exposed to three irrigation treatments: control (irrigated with 100% of crop potential evapotranspiration, ETc), deficit irrigation (DI) and partial root-zone drying (PRD) treatments that both received 75% ETc during the period of highest evaporative demand and 50% ETc otherwise. Furthermore, to assess the physiological significance of root-to-shoot ABA signalling, the dynamics of leaf xylem ABA concentration ([X-ABA]leaf) were evaluated over two soil wetting and drying cycles. Although stomatal conductance (gs) declined with increased leaf-to-air vapour pressure deficit (LAVPD) and lower leaf water potential and soil water availability, [X-ABA]leaf was only related to stomatal closure in well irrigated trees under moderate (< 2.5 kPa) atmospheric VPD. Differences in [X-ABA]leaf were not detected between treatments either before, or immediately after (< 12 hours) re-watering the dry side of the root system of PRD trees. Leaf water potential was higher in control trees, but decreased similarly in all irrigation treatments as LAVPD increased. In contrast, both DI and PRD trees showed lower stomatal sensitivity to LAVPD than control trees. Although DI and PRD decreased stomatal conductance and photosynthesis, these treatments did not decrease yield, while PRD increased crop water use efficiency by 83% compared to control trees. Thus PRD-induced enhancement of crop water use efficiency in a semi-arid environment seems to involve other physiological mechanisms than increased [X-ABA]leaf.

LEC 2012



Contrasting physiological effects

of partial root-zone drying in

field-grown grapevine (Vitis

vinifera L. cv. Monastrell)

according to total soil water

availability

Romero, P Dodd, IC;

Martinez-Cutillas, A


Journal of Experimental Botany 63


Oxford University Press Medium


2012 xxx-yyy

WP 1

Abstract

Different spatial distributions of soil moisture were imposed on field-grown grapevines by applying the same irrigation volumes to the entire (DI – deficit irrigation) or part of the (PRD- partial root-zone drying) root zone. Five treatments were applied: controls irrigated at 60% ETc (crop evapotranspiration) for the whole season (308 mm year-1); DI-1 and PRD-1 that received the same irrigation as controls before fruit set, 30% ETc from fruit set to harvest and 45% ETc postharvest (192 mm year-1); and DI-2 and PRD-2 that were the same, except that 15% ETc was applied from fruit set to harvest (142 mm year-1). Compared to DI-1, PRD-1 maintained higher leaf area post-veraison and increased root water uptake, whole plant hydraulic conductance, leaf transpiration and stomatal conductance and photosynthesis, but decreased intrinsic gas exchange efficiency without causing differences in leaf xylem ABA concentration. Compared to DI-2, PRD-2 increased leaf xylem ABA concentration and decreased root water uptake, whole plant hydraulic conductance, leaf transpiration, stomatal conductance and photosynthesis, mainly at the beginning of PRD cycles. Distinctive PRD effects (eg. greater stomatal closure) depended on the volumetric soil water content of the wet root zone, as predicted from a model of root-to-shoot ABA signalling.

LEC 2012



Long-distance abscisic acid

signalling under different vertical

soil moisture gradients depends

on bulk root water potential and

average soil water content in the

root zone

Puértolas, J.

Alcobendas, R;

Alarcón, J.J.; Dodd, IC


Plant Cell and Environment 36(8)


Wiley-Blackwell Medium


2013 1465-1475

WP 1

Abstract

To determine how root to shoot abscisic (ABA) acid signalling is regulated by vertical soil moisture gradients, root ABA concentration ( [ABA]root ), the fraction of root water uptake from, and root water potential of different parts of the root-zone, along with bulk root water potential, were measured to test various predictive models of root xylem ABA concentration [RX-ABA]sap. Beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L. cv. Nassau) were grown in soil columns and received different irrigation treatments (top and basal watering, and withholding water for varying lengths of time) to induce different vertical soil moisture gradients. Root water uptake was measured at 4 positions within the column by continuously recording volumetric soil water content (θv). Average θv was inversely related to bulk root water

potential (root). In turn, root was correlated with both average [ABA]root and [RX-ABA]sap. Despite large gradients in θv, [ABA]root and root water potential was homogenous within the root zone. Consequently, unlike some split-root studies, root water uptake fraction from layers with different soil moisture did not influence xylem sap [ABA]. This suggests two different patterns of ABA signalling, depending on how soil moisture heterogeneity is distributed within the root-zone, which might have implications for implementing water-saving irrigation techniques.

LEC 2012



workshops


Conference:

“Plant-Soil interactions

to enhance food

security”

Beijing 26-27

March 2012

Scientific

Community

1/2


50 2 (UK, China)

SUPPORTS

“Optimising water-saving irrigation technologies at the farm scale”.

Oral Presentation by Dr I Dodd


Conference: New

Frontiers in Soil

Physics

Rothamsted

Research UK

1-2 October

2012

Scientific

Community

1


30 4

SUPPORTS

Water-saving agriculture: what do we need to measure?.


LEC 2012



PUBLIC

WP

Conference:

International Root

Research Society

University of

Dundee (UK)

26-29

June 2012

Scientific

Community

1


300 50

SUPPORTS

“Root distribution alters physiological responses to soil moisture heterogeneity”.

Oral Presentation by Dr J. Puertolas


workshops


PUBLIC

WP

Conference:

Waitrose Innovation

Forum

London (UK)

15

February

2012

Scientific

community,

Industry

1, 2


50 1

SUPPORTS

“Water-saving irrigation methods and precision farming”


LEC 2012



PUBLIC

WP

KARIM Open

Forum

(Workshop):

Environmental

Solutions for

Water and

Agriculture

Dublin 16 May 2012

Scientific

community

Industry

1, 2


30 2 (UK, Ireland)

SUPPORTS

“Reconciling food security and water availability”



PUBLIC

WP

Posters at a

Conference

SCI

Headquarters,

London (UK)

29/November/2012

Scientific

community

Industry

Policy

makers

1, 2


50 4

SUPPORTS

“Root vigour in potato: a key factor to maintain yield with less water”.

“Sustainable use of irrigation water in the Mediterranean region (SIRRIMED)”

2 Posters presented by J. Puertolas & I.Dodd

LEC 2012




PUBLIC

WP

Presentation Khon Kaen,

Thailand

29 January

2012

Scientific

Community

1


20 1

SUPPORTS

“Exploiting root-to-shoot signalling to enhance crop water use efficiency”.


LEC 2013-2014




“Long-distance abscisic acid

signalling under different

vertical soil moisture gradients

depends on bulk root water

potential and average soil water

content in the root zone”

Puértolas, Jaime.

Alcobendas, R

Alarcón, JJ

Dodd, IC

TITLE OF PERIODICAL SERIES

NUMBER,

DATE OR

FREQUENCY

Plant Cell and Environment 36

PUBLISHER PLACE OF

PUBLICATION

Scientific

Journal

DATE OF PUBLICATION RELEVANT

PAGES

2013 1465-1475

WP 1

To determine how root-to-shoot abscisic acid (ABA) signalling is regulated by vertical

soil moisture gradients, root ABA concentration ([ABA]root), the fraction of root water

uptake from, and root water potential of different parts of the root zone, along with bulk

root water potential, were measured to test various predictive models of root xylem

ABA concentration [RX-ABA]sap. Beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L. cv. Nassau) were grown

in soil columns and received different irrigation treatments (top and basal watering, and

withholding water for varying lengths of time) to induce different vertical soil moisture

gradients. Root water uptake was measured at four positions within the column by

continuously recording volumetric soil water content (v). Average v was inversely

related to

bulk root water potential (root). In turn, root was correlated with both average [ABA]root

and [RX-ABA]sap. Despite large gradients in v, [ABA]root and root water potential was

homogenous within the root zone. Consequently, unlike some split-root studies, root

water uptake fraction from layers with different soil moisture did not influence xylem

sap (ABA).

This suggests two different patterns of ABA signalling, depending on how soil moisture

heterogeneity is distributed within the root zone, which might have implications for

implementing water-saving irrigation techniques.

LEC 2013-2014



“Root vigour in potato (Solanum

tuberosum): a key trait conferring

drought tolerance”

Puértolas, J.

Ballester, C;

Elphinstone, D;

Dodd, IC


NUMBER,

DATE OR

FREQUENCY

Functional Plant Biology submitted

PUBLISHER PLACE OF

PUBLICATION

Scientific

Journal


PAGES

WP2

To test the hypothesis that drought tolerance in potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is explained by root vigour, drought tolerant variety Horizon and the non-drought tolerant Maris Piper were grown in a polytunnel located in the Northwest of England, and subjected to different irrigation treatments during the tuber bulking stage: full irrigation (FI), alternating partial root-zone drying (PRD-A), fixed partial root-zone drying (PRD-F), and whole root-zone drying (WRD). Applying 60% or less irrigation volume compared to full irrigation significantly decreased tuber yield in Maris Piper but not in Horizon. This was related to the higher root density of Horizon in deep (> 40 cm) permanently wet soil layers. When plants were grown in 5 L pots in a glasshouse experiment for two months, both cultivars showed similar gas exchange, leaf water potential, leaf xylem abscisic acid concentration, specific leaf area, and shoot biomass. Under well-watered conditions, root growth was three-fold higher in Horizon compared to Maris Piper, while water deficit drastically reduced this difference. Thus under field conditions, Horizon seems to maintain yield by securing access to water stored in deep moist layers. However, this advantage may require particular environmental or cultural conditions to be expressed, such as sufficiently deep soils or sufficient water in the

early stages after emergence.

LEC 2013-2014



“El vigor de la raíz es

determinante en la selección de

variedades de patata resistentes

a la sequía” (Root vigour is key

in potato variety selection for

drought tolerance)

Puértolas, J.

Ballester, C;

Elphinstone, D;

Dodd, IC


NUMBER,

DATE OR

FREQUENCY

Horticultura 310

PUBLISHER PLACE OF

PUBLICATION

Interempresas, Molins de Rei, Spain Dissemination

Journal


PAGES

December 2013 26-31

WP2

LEC 2013-2014



conferences


Conference Lisbon

(Portugal) 24-28/07/2013

Scientific

Community


International

SUPPORTS

Is long-distance abscisic acid signaling and local root water potential dependant on

how soil moisture is heterogeneously distributed?


Conference Madrid 26-28/08/2013 Scientific

Community


International

SUPPORTS

Influence of root vigour on drought resistance in two potato varieties

CE.RE.TE.TH 2011





Workshop Volos (Greece) 15/01/2011

Water governance authorities, agricultural technicians and associations, regional self-government


1 17

SUPPORTS

WP: 1. Workshop Report


Publication

PCI 2011, 15th Panhellenic Conference on Informatics, IEEE

30 September – 2 October 2011

Research


1 100

SUPPORTS

WP: 1. Article published

CE.RE.TE.TH 2011



Workshop Volos (Greece) 19/07/2011

Water governance authorities, agricultural technicians and associations, regional and local self-government


1 11

SUPPORTS

WP: Workshop Report (PDF)

CE.RE.TE.TH 2011




Presentation Volos 21/10/2011

Water governance authorities, associations, regional and local self-government, academics


1 presentation/speech 100

SUPPORTS

WP: 1. Powerpoint presentation


Presentation of the ENVI SOFTWARE

Volos 7/4/2011 Professionals, academics, students


1 PRESENTATION EVENT 24

SUPPORTS

WP: 1. Poster

CE.RE.TE.TH 2013-2014




Management zones

delineation using fuzzy

clustering techniques in

grapevines

Tagarakis A.

Liakos V., Fountas S.,

Koundouras S. and

Gemtos T.


Precision Agriculture 10.1007/s11119-012-9275-4

PUBLISHER WP RELEVANT PAGES

Springler (e-journal) 1 10.1007/s11119-012-9275-4

DATE OF PUBLICATION

Abstract: Precision viticulture aims at managing vineyards at a sub-field scale

according to the real needs of each part of the field. The current study focused on

delineating management zones using fuzzy clustering techniques and developing a

simplified approach for the comparison of zone maps. The study was carried out in a

1.0 ha commercial vineyard in Central Greece during 2009 and 2010. Variation of soil

properties across the field was initially measured by means of electrical conductivity,

soil depth and topography. To estimate grapevine canopy properties, NDVI was

measured at different stages during the vine growth cycle. Yield and grape composition

(must sugar content and total acidity) mapping was carried out at harvest. Soil

properties, yield and grape composition parameters showed high spatial variability. All

measured data were transformed on a 48-cell grid (10 × 20 m) and maps of two

management zones were produced using the MZA software. Pixel-by-pixel comparison

between maps of electrical conductivity, elevation, slope, soil depth and NDVI with

yield and grape composition maps, set as reference parameters, allowed for the

calculation of the degree of agreement, i.e. the percentage of pixels belonging to the

same zone. The degree of agreement was used to select the best-suited parameters

for final management zones delineation. For the year 2009 soil depth, early and mid

season NDVI were used for yield-based management zones while for quality-based

management zones ECa, early and mid season NDVI were utilized. For the year 2010

ECa, elevation and NDVI acquired during flowering and veraison were used for the

delineation of yield-based management zones while for quality-based management

zones ECa and NDVI acquired during flowering and harvest were utilized. Results

presented here could be the basis for simple management zone delineation and

subsequent improved vineyard management.

CE.RE.TE.TH 2013-2014


TITLE MAIN AUTHOR OTHER

AUTHOR/S

Contribution to the Study of Regional

Actual Evapotranspiration with the Use of

Surface Energy Balance and Remote

Sensing for Central Greece

M Spiliotopoulos A Loukas,

H Michalopoulou

TITLE OF PERIODICAL SERIES NUMBER, DATE OR

FREQUENCY WP

Advances in Meteorology,

Climatology and Atmospheric Physics Special Issue. 2013 4

PUBLISHER PLACE OF

PUBLICATION RELEVANT PAGES

SPRINGER Heidelberg 309-315

Abstract: Actual Evapotranspiration (ETa) is one of the main components of the

hydrologic cycle and a continuous effort arises in order to improve its estimation. In this

study in-situ data from selected meteorological stations over central Greece are used

to calculate daily ETa values during the warm season. These values then are

combined with ETa values computed with SEBAL (Surface Energy Balance Algorithm

for Land) method. SEBAL is an image-processing model comprised of twenty-five

computational submodels that computes ETa and other energy exchanges as a

component of energy balance. A series of Landsat-7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus

(ETM+) satellite images were acquired and used for the estimation of ETa on a pixel-

by-pixel basis. Landsat images consist of eight spectral bands with a spatial resolution

of 30 meters for Bands 1 to 7. ETa values generated from two different sources are

then analyzed and annotated. Finally ETa values are mapping provided a useful and

efficient tool for the estimation of regional actual evapotranspiration used for water

resources and irrigation scheduling and management.

http://scholar.google.gr/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=el&user=tlPzPuYAAAAJ&sortby=pubdate&citation_for_view=tlPzPuYAAAAJ:UebtZRa9Y70C




CE.RE.TE.TH 2013-2014



workshops


Conference

Agricultural

University of

Nanjing; Nanjing

(China)

4/11/2012

Scientific community; Industry; Policy makers; Medias

1


120 20

SUPPORTS

“Performance Test of a Na+ Accumulation Model as part of a Decision Support System

for Closed Hydroponic Systems Management”.



Workshop

Library of Filiatra;

Filiatra, Peloponnese

(Greece)

10/05/2012

Scientific community

Civil society

Medias

1


35 1

SUPPORTS

“New technologies in greenhouse equipment for water saving”.

CE.RE.TE.TH 2013-2014



Workshop

Regional Department

of Geotechnical

Society of Greece;

Larisa (Greece)

27/11/2012


Policy makers

Medias

1


50 1

SUPPORTS

“The Greenhouse, a tool for water saving”.


Media briefings

Pilot greenhouse at

Velestino; Volos,

(Greece)

Civil society

4


1

SUPPORTS

“New technologies in hydroponic systems in greenhouses”.

CE.RE.TE.TH 2013-2014


ACTIVITY 6: Open days in Pilot Farms


Workshop

Greenhouse Pilot farm

(Experimental farm of

Univ. of Thessaly at

Velestino); Volos (Greece)

23/05/

2012

Scientific community;

Industry; Civil society;

Policy makers; Medias

1


50 1

SUPPORTS

“Open day for new technologies on hydroponic systems in greenhouses”.


Workshop

Greenhouse Pilot farm

(Experimental farm of

Univ. of Thessaly at

Velestino); Volos

(Greece)

14/11/

2012


Industry

Civil society

Policy makers

Medias

1


50 1

SUPPORTS

“Open day for new technologies for water saving in greenhouses and screenhouses”.

UCO 2011



workshops


Presentation

“Water Matters” IAEA Scientific Forum, Vienna, Austria

2011-11-21 Decision makers and Scientifics


One speech 500

SUPPORTS

WP:

Program http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/Meetings/PDFplus/2011/cn190/cn190_ProgrammeBookAndBiodata.pdf

http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/Meetings/PDFplus/2011/cn190/cn190_ProgrammeBookAndBiodata.pdf



UCO 2012




Report of the hydrological station

of Santaella (2011-2012

season). RESEL network.

Mateos, L. -


RESEL-DataBase Annual


Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y

Medio Ambiente Periodical report

DATE OF PUBLICATION WP

2012 5-


“AquaData and AquaGIS: Two

computer utilities for temporal

and spatial simulations of

waterlimited yield with

AquaCrop”

Lorite, I.J.

García-Vila, M.,

Santos, C., Ruiz-

Ramos, M., Fereres,

E.


Computers and Electronics in Agriculture Submitted


Elsevier Journal

DATE OF PUBLICATION WP

2013 4, 5-

UCO 2012



workshops


Conference Fortaleza

(Brazil) 28/05/2012

Policy makers, industry,

scientific community, civil

society

WP4

and

WP5


600 International

SUPPORTS

E. Fereres. ‘Technological Innovations and their Role in the Expansion of Irrigation

Worldwide’. In: IV WINOTEC Workshop International de Inovaçoes Tecnológicas na

Irrigaçao. 28-31 May 2012.


PUBLIC

WP

Conference Angers

(France) 03/07/2012

Scientific

community

WP2


200 International

SUPPORTS

E. Fereres. ’Deficit irrigation of horticultural crops: progress and challenges’. In: Second

Symposium on Horticulture in Europe, 1st – 5th July 2012.

UCO 2012



PUBLIC

WP

Conference IAEA; Vienna

(Austria) 25/07/2012

Scientific

community,

policy makers

WP2


250 International

SUPPORTS

E. Fereres, ‘Enhancing the contribution of isotopic techniques to the expansion of

precision irrigation’. In: FAO/IAEA International Symposium on Managing Soils for

Food Security and Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation. 23-27 July 2012.


PUBLIC

WP

Conference San Juan

(Argentina) 26/09/2012

Scientific

community,

Industry

WP2


300 International

SUPPORTS

E. Fereres. ‘Advances in Irrigation Management of Olive Orchards’. In: VIIth

International Symposium on Olive Growing’. ISHS, September 25-29.

UCO 2012



PUBLIC

WP

Conference

Volcani

Center, Bet

Dagan

(Israel)

03/12/2012

Scientific

community,

policy makers

WP2, WP4

and WP5


200 International

SUPPORTS

E. Fereres. ‘Improving water productivity in irrigated agriculture: Are we reaching the

limits?’. In: International Workshop addressing the Global Food Crisis. Agricultural

Research Organization. Volcani Center, 2-4 December 2012.


PUBLIC

WP

Conference

The Royal

Society;

London (UK)

28/11/2012 Scientific

community

WP4 and

WP5


70 UK, Spain

SUPPORTS

E. Fereres. ‘Managing Water under Uncertainty and Risk’. In: Meeting on Spanish

Science in The Royal Society.

UCO 2012



workshops


PUBLIC

WP

Conference EMRA; East

Malling (UK) 01/02 /2012

Scientific

community

WP2


200 UK

SUPPORTS

E. Fereres. ‘Bewley Lecture: Water Productivity in Open and Protected Cultivation’. In:

EMRA Members’ Day on ‘Improving water productivity, yields and quality in UK

agriculture and horticulture’.


PUBLIC

WP

Conference RAI, Madrid

(Spain) 30/10/2012

Industry, civil

society,

policy makers

WP4 and

WP5


120 Spain

SUPPORTS

E. Fereres. ‘Demand, use and consumption of water in irrigation agriculture’. Jornadas

reflexiones sobre el agua. Real Academia de Ingeniería.

UCO 2012




PUBLIC

WP

Workshop UNIA; Baeza

(Spain) 11/05/2012

Scientific

community,

industry and

civil society

WP4 and

WP5


22 Spain

SUPPORTS

M. García-Vila. ‘AquaCrop model. Theory and applications’. In: program ‘University

expert on management of irrigation and irrigation users association’ of International

University of Andalusia. 2012.


PUBLIC

WP

Workshop UNIA; Baeza

(Sapin) 12/05/2012

Scientific

community,

industry and

civil society

WP4 and

WP5


22 Spain

SUPPORTS

E. Fereres. ‘Irrigation management under water scarcity’. In: program ‘University expert

on management of irrigation and irrigation users association’ of International University

of Andalusia. 2012.

UCO 2012




PUBLIC

WP

- Cordoba

(Spain) 16/05/2012

Scientific

community

WP2


7 Morocco, Spain

SUPPORTS

Open day in pilot farms (WP2) with visiting scientists of the Hassan II Institute of

Agronomy and Veterinary Sciences

UCO 2013-2014




AquaData and AquaGIS: Two

computer utilities for temporal

and spatial simulations of water-

limited yield with AquaCrop

Lorite, I.J.

García-Vila, M.,

Santos, C., Ruiz-

Ramos, M., Fereres,

E.

TITLE OF

PERIODICAL

SERIES

NUMBER, DATE OR FREQUENCY

Computers and

Electronics in

Agriculture

2013, vol.96


Elsevier Journal

DATE OF


2013 227-237

WP 4 and 5

Abstract

The crop simulation model AquaCrop, recently developed by FAO can be

used for a wide range of purposes. However, in its present form, its use

over large areas or for applications that require a large number of

simulations runs (e.g., long-term analysis), is not practical without

developing software to facilitate such applications. Two tools for managing

the inputs and outputs of AquaCrop, named AquaData and AquaGIS, have

been developed for this purpose and are presented here. Both software

utilities have been programmed in Delphi v. 5 and in addition, AquaGIS

requires the Geographic Information System (GIS) programming tool

MapObjects. These utilities allow the efficient management of input and

output files, along with a GIS module to develop spatial analysis and effect

spatial visualization of the results, facilitating knowledge dissemination. A

sample of application of the utilities is given here, as an AquaCrop

simulation analysis of impact of climate change on wheat yield in Southern

Spain, which requires extensive input data preparation and output

processing. The use of AquaCrop without the two utilities would have

required approximately 1000 h of work, while the utilization of AquaData

and AquaGIS reduced that time by more than 99%. Furthermore, the use of

GIS, made it possible to perform a spatial analysis of the results, thus

providing a new option to extend the use of the AquaCrop model to scales

requiring spatial and temporal analyses.

UCO 2013-2014



Assessing Irrigation Scheme

Water Use and Farmers’

Performance using Wireless

Telemetry Systems

Lorite, I.J.

Santos, C., García-

Vila, M., Carmona,

M.A., Fereres, E.

TITLE OF

PERIODICAL

SERIES

NUMBER, DATE OR FREQUENCY

Computers and

Electronics in

Agriculture

2013, vol. 98


Elsevier Journal

DATE OF


2013 193-204

WP 4 and 5

Abstract

Assessing irrigation performance is essential for judicious water

management in agriculture. A wireless telemetry system was used to collect

water use records at the individual field level during two irrigation seasons

in the Genil – Cabra Irrigation Scheme (GCIS), Spain. A total of 1365 plots

were monitored, encompassing around 7500 ha devoted mainly to wheat,

olive, cotton, sunflower, garlic and maize, and served by an on-demand

pressurized irrigation system. Substantial variability in field water usage

among farmers was detected in the irrigation management of different

crops within the GCIS, based on the detailed water use records. The

variability detected within each crop included variations in the amount of

water use as well as in the timing of water applications. Using the

information provided by the telemetry system, a new graphical irrigation

performance assessment based on variability analysis is proposed. Finally,

in an attempt to explain the observed variability, interviews were carried out

with farmers and their responses indicated that much of the variability was

caused by variations in their approaches to deficit irrigation. In the case of

olive orchards, tree age was an important element explaining the variability

in water amounts.

UCO 2013-2014



conferences


Workshop

FAO

Headquaters,

Rome (Italy)

3-

4/October/2013

Scientific

community

4 and 5


- International

SUPPORTS

“Crop yield and water-productivity gaps: methods, problems and solutions”. E. Fereres

Technical Meetings. FAO


Conference Perth

(Australia) 02/09/2013

Scientific

community, industry,

policy makers

2, 4,

and 5


- International

SUPPORTS

“Optimizing crop production and water productivity tradeoffs: annual vs. perennial

crops”. E. Fereres

InterDrought IV. The 4th Internacional Conference on Integrated Approaches to

Sustain and Improve Plant Production under Drought Stress.

UCO 2013-2014




Conference

Estación

Experimental

de Aula Dei

(CSIC);

Zaragoza

(Spain)

21/02/2013

Scientific

community, industry,

civil society

2 and

4


- Spain

SUPPORTS

“Respuesta de los cultivos al agua”. E. Fereres

“2013: Año Internacional de la Cooperación en la Esfera del Agua”

EIC 2012



workshops


Presentation Wolfsburg

(Germany) 23/10/2012

Irrigators, policy

makers, civil society 7


60 Germany, Spain, Egypt

SUPPORTS

1. EIC general Assembly 2. Progress report of SIRRIMED project. Juan Valero de Palma 3. Presentation of Irrigation features in Germany and particularly in Lower Saxony

area 4. Visit to water infrastructures and irrigation fields


Exhibitions Wolfsburg

(Germany) 24/10/2012 Irrigators, civil society

7


60 Germany, Spain, Egypt

SUPPORTS

Visit to agricultural irrigation farms

Visit to water storage infrastructures

EIC 2013-2014



conferences


Conference,

general

assembly

Bucharest,

Romania 14/10/2013

Policy makers and

water irrigation

users and

managers


40 3

SUPPORTS

Presentation of the SIRRIMED updates during the General Assembly of EIC, this

event attended 50 people among policy makers, final users, presidents of Irrigators

Communities.

DEB 2012




Effect of Two Different Irrigation

Techniques and Partial Root Zone

Drying on Potato Crop

Roua Hajj

Sleiman

Ihab Jomaa


Master of Science 15 October 2012


Lebanese University – Beirut

Lebanon

WP RELEVANT PAGES

2 1-56

Abstract

In Lebanon, potato is widely planted and in three different seasons. Potato is highly

sensitive to water shortages. An experiment of early spring potato season was

conducted at the Lebanese Agricultural Research Institute of Tal Amara (LARI) to

investigate the plant response to two irrigation systems (mini-sprinkler and T-tape drip)

and through the application of the Partial Root Depletion regimes (PRD). Treatments of

three irrigation regimes were applied. First (mini-sprinkler, T0) and second (T-tape drip,

T1) treatments were irrigated at 100% crop evapotranspiration (ETc). The third

treatment (T-tape, T2) was irrigated with only 50% ETc, starting from tuber initiation-

phenological stage. Water requirement were determined using a nearby weather

station and through the computation of reference evapotranspiration (ET0). Water

evapotranspiration throughout the season has reached about 550 mm. Rooting depth

has fitted previous studies in relation to the growing degree days (GDD), which indicate

the possibility to follow this trend of root evolution in the area of the experiment for crop

modelling purposes. Root development has demonstrated horizontal spreading in mini-

sprinkler system where the water uptake has been concentrated mainly in the upper 20

cm of soil depth. Drip system of T1 had shown a root water uptake in the first 30 cm of

soil. For PRD, the root system tends to uptake water from deeper soil horizons. Mini-

sprinkler (T0) and drip irrigation (T1) had demonstrated no significance difference in

tuber yield with about 0.56 and 0.504 t/ha respectively. PRD influenced tuber yield (P <

0.05), and reaching 0.28 t/ha. Cost surveys and farmer questioning have demonstrated

that the instalment cost by hectares is 7100$ and 9100$ for drip and sprinkler systems

respectively. Drip irrigation applies less water per crop which decreases fuel

consumption. PRD requires further investigations using drip irrigation techniques and in

different plant phenological stages in order to establish the optimum water application

requirements.

DEB 2012



TYPE PLACE DATE TARGET PUBLIC

Workshop LRA (Bekaa-Lebanon) 05/12/2012 Civil Society

SIZE OF AUDIENCE WP

25 7

SUPPORTS

Sustainable Irrigation Management in the Mediterranean Region

PPT presentation + flyers and poster

DEB 2013




Presentation

Litany, west

Bekaa -

Lebanon

21/06/2013 Civil society 7


20 Lebanon

SUPPORTS

Brochures: water irrigation management in Mediterranean region



Workshop

Litany, west

Bekaa -

Lebanon

28/06/2013 Civil society 3


15 Lebanon

SUPPORTS

Title: manipulation and use of the new irrigation systems

DEB 2013



Workshop Cebas research

center in Murcia, SP

28-31

10/2013 Scientific community

7


4 Lebanon

SUPPORTS

Visits to Almeria region: irrigation projects and management



Presentation

Litany, west

Bekaa -

Lebanon

28/06/2013

19/08/2103

20/10/2013

Civil society 7


13 Lebanon

SUPPORTS

Visual: grown potatoes

IAV-CHA 2011




Publication (Master’s Thesis)

Agadir (Morocco) September 2011

Research


3 Uncountable (national and international

community)

SUPPORTS

WP: Theses published by Amina ElMastor, Moussa Doumbouya and Ahmed Trimach



SIRRIMED STEERING

COMMITTEE MEETING

Agadir(Morocco) 30 Nov.-1 Dec.

2011

Researchers within the

SIRRIMED Consortium


40 40 researchers from the 9 partner

countries

SUPPORTS

WP: Meeting schedule and program; meeting minutes

IAV-CHA 2011




Meeting and visit to the tomato trial

Agadir (Morocco) 03 -04/03/2011

and 20 December 2011

by regional and national water

use stakeholders (legislators,

growers, technicians,

administrators)


2 200

SUPPORTS

WP: Oral presentation of SIRRIMED project and the results obtained thus far, with a visit to the greenhouse tomato trial

ACTIV,ITY 6: Open days in Pilot Farms


Interviews Agadir (Morocco) February-June

2011

growers, legislators, water

managing associations,

technicians and engineers, farm

managers


3 questionnaires (watershed, district and farm)

60 each

SUPPORTS

WP: Questionnaires

IAV-CHA 2011



Technical field visits

Agadir (Morocco) Various dates

Students and technicians from the Souss and Tadla regions


10 120

SUPPORTS

WP: In situ visits to the tomato research plot

IAV-CHA 2012



TITLE MAIN

AUTHOR OTHER AUTHOR/S

Comparative effects of partial rootzone

drying and deficit irrigation on

physiological parameters of tomato

crop.

N. Affi

A. El Fadl, M. El Otmani,

M. C Benismail, L. M

Idrissi, R. Salghi and A.

El Mastor.


Scholar Research Library-Der Pharma

Chemica Vol. 4


2012 pages: 2402-2407

WP2

Abstract: The experiment object was to compare the effects of the partial rootzone

drying (PRD) and the deficit irrigation (DI) strategies applied with 50% of water

requirements on leaf stomatal conductance, signal intensity, root development and

water use efficiency (WUE) of tomato grown under greenhouse and on soilless. Three

treatments were applied: control that was fully and conventionally irrigated, PRD and

DI in which 50% of water requirements were applied using PRD and DI irrigation

strategies, respectively. Fo PRD treatment, alternation between the two rootzone sides

took place each three days. When vapor pressure deficit rises, PRD and DI stomatal

conductance was 26% and 15% respectively lower than control. The comparison

between treatments in terms of signal intensity revealed a better resistance to water

deficit for PRD-50. Root profile results corroborated previous findings. In fact, when

compared to Control, the total number of root hairs is increased by 11% and 90% for

DI-50 and PRD-50, respectively. Compared to control, water use efficiency was

improved for both treatments: DI and PRD were, respectively, 155% and 160% more

efficient.

IAV-CHA 2012



workshops


Workshop: 2ème Colloque

International Sur la

Gestion et la Préservation

des Ressources en Eau

Meknes,

Morocco

27-29 April

2012

Scienjtific Society

and Industry users

2


200 participants International

SUPPORTS

Effect of regulated deficit irrigation on tomato plant water relations and productivity

N. Affi, A. El-Fadl, M. El-Otmani, M.C. Benismail and A. El Mastor. Effect of regulated deficit irrigation on tomato plant water relations and productivity, 2ème Colloque International Sur la Gestion et la Préservation des Ressources en Eau. Meknes, Maroc, 27-29 Avril 2012. Book of Abstract: page 200.

Abstract: Water scarcity is becoming a major problem in agriculture development in the Mediterranean region. In Morocco and in the Souss valley in particular, it is becoming a limiting factor for horticultural crops including the tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum L.). This region is a major supplier of fresh tomato to export as well as to the domestic market. Average greenhouse tomato water requirement is about 7 000 to 8 000 m3/ha for a 9-month production cycle. The present research aims to better managing water supply via the implementation of new irrigation strategies with the objective of reducing amounts of water supplied without any negative effect on yield or fruit characteristics. An experiment was performed in order to evaluate the effect of regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) on yield and physiological responses of tomato grown under greenhouse on a sand substrate. Three treatments were applied: control that was fully and conventionally irrigated (application of 100% of water needs), RDI-70 and RDI-50 in which 70% and 50% of tomato water requirements were supplied respectively. RDI treatments showed the lowest leaf stomatal conductance and maintained, therefore, leaf water content. Compared to the control, root hair number increased by 15% and 60% respectively for RDI-70 and RDI-50. In addition, stem maximum daily shrinkage revealed that RDI-50 showed a better resistance to water shortage along the tomato life cycle and, thus, the plants performed well and gave a higher water use efficiency (41 kg of fruit per m3 of supplied water) compared to the other treatments.

IAV-CHA 2012



Symposium: 7th

International symposium

on irrigation of

horticultural crops

Geisenheim

, Germany

16-20

June 2012

Scientific Society

and Industry

WP2


300 International

SUPPORTS

Improvement of Tomato Water Productivity by the Use of Partial Rootzone Drying

Irrigation Strategy

N. Affi, A. El-Fadl, M. El-Otmani, M.C. Benismail and A. El Mastor. Improvement of Tomato Water Productivity by the Use of Partial Rootzone Drying Irrigation Strategy. 7th International symposium on irrigation of horticultural crops. Geisenheim, Germany, 16-20 Juin 2012, Book of Abstracts, page 73.

Keywords: tomato, PRD, stomatal conductance, MDS, WUE

Abstract: Water scarcity is becoming a major problem for agricultural development in the Mediterranean area. The Souss valley of Morocco is a major supplier of tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum L.) both for export and for the domestic market. Current average water use for the tomato is 8 000 m3/ha for an 8-9 month production cycle. This research aims at developing irrigation strategies with the goal of reducing water supply without any significant negative effect on yield or fruit characteristics. The objective of the present work was to assess the effects of the partial root zone drying (PRD) irrigation on leaf stomatal conductance, relative leaf water content (RWC), stem maximum daily shrinkage (MDS), root development and water use efficiency (WUE) of tomato grown under greenhouse (1300 m2) on a sand culture. Three treatments were applied: a control that received 100% of the water requirement, PRD-70 and PRD-50 in which 70% and 50% of water requirements were applied. The root system was divided in two with alternation of irrigation between the two root zones every three days. When vapor pressure deficit rises, PRD treatments showed a decrease in leaf stomatal conductance with, respectively, 17% and 26% compared to control. PRD-50 had the highest leaf water content during the experimental period. During periods of low and moderate climatic demand, MDS showed the same trend for the three irrigation strategies. When vapor pressure deficit rose, PRD-50 had a better resistance to water shortage. Number of root hairs increased by 20% and 90%, respectively for PRD-70 and PRD-50. Water use efficiency was the highest (P < 0.001) for PRD-50 with 43 kg of fresh fruit per m3 of applied water. These results will be discussed in view of plant water relations.

IAV-CHA 2012



Symposium: 2nd

symposium on

horticulure in Europe,..

Angers,

France.

1-5 July

2012

Scientific Society

and Industry

2


500 International

SUPPORTS

Effect of Partial Rootzone Drying on Growth, Yield and Biomass Distribution of a

Soilless Tomato crop

N. Affi, A. El-Fadl, M. El-Otmani, M.C. Benismail and A. El Mastor. Effect of Partial Rootzone Drying on Growth, Yield and Biomass Distribution of a Soilless Tomato crop. 2nd symposium on horticulure in Europe. Angers, France, 1-5 Juillet 2012, Abstract Book: page 87 Abstract. Water is becoming a limiting factor for agricultural production in many areas of the Mediterranean Basin. Modern water supply techniques and strategies as well as technologies for monitoring the water status in the soil-plant atmosphere continuum with the objective of water economy are becoming a component of any production system that targets a sustainable production. The objective of the present research was to assess the effects of partial rootzone drying (PRD) as a water supply strategy on tomato growth, productivity and biomass allocation. The variety Prystilla grafted onto Beaufort rootstock was used at a density of 6 000 plants/ha. Plants were grown under greenhouse, on a sand substrate and cared for according to the needs. The plants were trellised on 2 arms per plant. Three treatments were applied: a control that was fully and conventionally irrigated (receiving 100% of the water requirements), PRD-70 and PRD-50 in which, respectively, 70% and 50% of water requirements were supplied using PRD. At planting, the root volume was divided into two halves each half was irrigated separately. Alternation of irrigation between the two root halves took place each three days. The total yield statistically differed (P < 0.05) and control gave the highest total yield (252 tons/ha). Compared to PRD-70 and control, PRD-50 yield decrease rates were, respectively, 16% and 30%. In terms of fruit number, PRD-50 showed 23% and 16% less fruits than PRD-70 and control, respectively. Fruit size was affected by treatment with PRD-50 treatment producing 66% and 53% more class 3 fruits (small size) than, control and PRD-70 (P < 0.05), respectively, while those of class 2 and 1 (which are preferred for export) were, respectively, 36% and 61% lower than for PRD-70 and control. For plant growth, the difference was not significant when comparing control to PRD-70 but was significant when comparing PRD-70 and control to PRD-50 (P < 0.05). No effect was on total biomass but root biomass was higher for stressed plants compared to control (P< 0.05).

IAV-CHA 2012



Conference: 6th

International conference

on Water Resources in

the Mediterranean Basin

Sousse,

Tunisie

10-12 October

2012

Scientific Society

and Industry

2


200 International

SUPPORTS

L’effet de l’irrigation par assèchement partiel des racines et l’irrigation déficitaire sur

les paramètres physiologique d’une culture de tomate sous serre

Affi, A. El-Fadl, M. El-Otmani, M.C. Benismail and A. El Mastor. Comparative effect of partial rootzone drying and deficit irrigation on physiological parameters of tomato. 6th International conference on Water Resources in the Mediterranean Basin, Sousse, Tunisie , 10-12 Octobre 2012, book abstract page 651.

Abstract. Dans le but d’économie de l’eau, une expérimentation a été réalisée sur tomate sous serre et plantée sur un substrat sableux. Elle comprend trois traitements : un apport de 50% des besoins en eau de la culture a été pratiqué en utilisant l’irrigation déficitaire (DI-50) et l’irrigation par assèchement partiel des racines (PRD-50) comparé à un témoin conventionnellement irrigué et recevant 100% des besoins en eau. Pour le PRD-50, le système racinaire a été divisé en 2 et chaque moitié recevait l’apport d’eau avec une alternance de trois jours. En réponse à l’augmentation du déficit de pression de vapeur, et comparés au témoin, PRD-50 et DI-50 présentent des réductions respectives de la conductance stomatique de 26% et 15%. Cette diminution s’est traduite par une hausse de la teneur en eau relative des feuilles pour ces deux traitements. Les amplitudes de contraction du diamètre de la tige montrent une meilleure résistance au déficit hydrique sous PRD-50. Par rapport au témoin, l’initiation des racines absorbantes est améliorée de 90% et 11% respectivement pour PRD-50 et DI-50.

IAV-CHA 2012




PUBLIC

WP

Course Practicals:

Travaux pratiques sur la

gestion de l'irrigation au

profit des étudiants de

3ème année cycle

ingénieur,

Pilot tomato

greenhouse at

CH Agadir

19/1/2012,

23/1/2012,

13/12/2012 and

24/12/2012

Students in

higher

education

2


50 Moroccan

SUPPORTS

Course title: Irrigation water management and determination of supply


PUBLIC

WP

Course Practicals :

Travaux pratiques au profit

des étudiants techniciens

sur les techniques

culturales appliquées à la

tomate sous serre,

Pilot tomato

greenhouse at

CH Agadir

10/10/2012

Students in

higher

education.

2


30 Moroccan

SUPPORTS

Course title: Cultural Practices in Protected Cultivation

IAV-CHA 2012




Study visit : Visite au

profit de cadres et

agriculteurs

egyptiens, 10/11/2012

Pilot experimental

tomato

greenhouse, CH

Agadir

10/11/20

12

Policy makers,

industry

2


15 Egyptians

SUPPORTS

Visit under UNIDO and AGQ supervision


Study visit : Visite d'un

groupe de jeunes

chercheurs allemands

dans le cadre d'une

tournée au Maroc visant

l'étude des outils de

gestion de l'eau en

agriculture

CH Agadir: pilot

experimental

tomato

greenhouse

20/10/

2012

Young German

Research and

extension persons

working in

Agriculture

2


20 Germans

IAV-CHA 2012



Study visit : Visite au profit

de cadres et techniciens

de l'office regional de mise

en valeur agricole de Tadla

ayant pour thème la

gestion de l'eau d'irrigation

CH Agadir: pilot

experimental

tomato

greenhouse

15/10/

2012

Ministry of

Agriculture

technicians and

Engineers in

agriculture

working in

theTadla region

on Morocco

2


20 Moroccans

SUPPORTS

SAPIAMA 2012




Presentations

and exhibitions

Taroudant,

Morocco 16/03/2012

Industry : citrus

producers

WP2


12 Morocco

SUPPORTS

Visit to the experiment field. Explanation of the aim of the experiments to save water

and have a good quality production with high yield


Presentations

and exhibitions

Taroudant,

Morocco 08/06/2012

Industry : citrus

producers

WP2


15 Morocco

SUPPORTS

Visit to the field to show the effect of different treatments on the fruit set and the

production

SAPIAMA 2012



Presentations

and exhibitions

Taroudant,

Morocco 05/10/2012

Industry : citrus

producers

WP2


20 Morocco

SUPPORTS

Visit to the field to show the effect of different treatments on the yield and the quality of

the citrus fruits


Presentations

and exhibitions

Taroudant,

Morocco 24/10/2012

Students from

agricultural school

WP2


23 Morocco

SUPPORTS

Visit to the field to show the effect of different water management systems on the yield

and the quality of the citrus fruits

NRC 2011




21st Congress on

Irrigation and Drainage, 62

nd

International Executive Council meeting and 8

th

International Micro Irrigation Congress

Tehran, Iran 15 to 23 October

2011

[Scientific community and

irrigation professionals]


1

SUPPORTS

WP: “Use of poor quality water for irrigation (WG-PQW) and water and crops (WG- CROP).”



Workshop with local stakeholders

Nubaria (Egypt) 13/6/2011 Irrigators and agricultural technicians


1 20

SUPPORTS

WP: 1. Presentation of SIRRIMED (PowerPoint) 2. Technical aspects of sustainable irrigation (PDF distributed to participants) 3. Survey (form) on actual practices to analyse and discuss with stakeholders

NRC 2011


YPE WHERE WHEN TARGET PUBLIC

One day conference Adelaide, Australia

25/06/2012 [Researchers and members of the

WG-CROP


1 [50]

SUPPORTS

WP: Fifth Meeting of the WG- CROP. Strategy Theme: On-Farm.


One day conference Adelaide, Australia

25/06/2012 [Researchers and members of the

WG-CROP


1

SUPPORTS

WP: Seventeenth Meeting of the WG- PQW. Strategy Theme: On-Farm.

NRC 2011



One day conference

National research centre

July 4, 2011. [Researchers]


1 [50]

SUPPORTS

WP: Workshop Title and date: “Sustainable use of irrigation water for wheat production” which held at National research Centre, Cairo on July 4, 2011.



Presentation Nubaria (Egypt) 13/6/2011

Stakeholders:

irrigators and

agricultural

technicians


1 20

SUPPORTS

WP: 1. Presentation of SIRRIMED (PowerPoint) 2. Technical aspects of sustainable irrigation (PDF distributed to participants) 3. Survey (form) on actual practices to analyse and discuss with stakeholders

NRC 2011




Open day on pilot farm

Imam Malek village

7 May 2011 [Irrigators and

agricultural technicians]


1 20

SUPPORTS

WP:


Open day on pilot farm

ElNaser village 5 May 2011 [Irrigators and

agricultural technicians]


1 18

SUPPORTS

WP:

NRC 2012




“GEO-5- Water” Abdelhamid,

Magdi

Maite Aldaya, Bjorn Alfthan, Peter Koefoed Bjornsen, Mariele Evers, Gensuo Jia, Ljubomir Jeftic, Alioune Kane, Santiago Reyna and Judith Weis

TITLE OF PERIODICAL SERIES WP

Global Environment Outlook-5 7


UNEP

First published by the United Nations Environment Programme Copyright , United Nations Environment Programme


June 2012 97-132

Leading author:

Link: http://unep.org/geo/pdfs/geo5/GEO5_report_C3.pdf

Abstract:

Human water demands, with only limited improvements in efficiency, are increasing and are already unsustainable in many regions. Nevertheless, potential exists for efficiency gains: irrigation efficiency, for example, could be increased by approximately one-third simply by implementing existing technology. At the local level, integrated demand and supply strategies are critical. At a riverbasin level, more efficient and fair water allocation systems are needed. More broadly, virtual water trade can ease water demands in some locations.

http://unep.org/geo/pdfs/geo5/GEO5_report_C3.pdf

NRC 2012



“GEO-5-Land

chapter” Abdelhamid, Magdi

Björn Alfthan, Fethi Ayache,

Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, Chizoba

Chinweze, Jana Frélichová,

Lawrence Hislop, William K. Pan,

Björn Schulte-Herbrüggen,

Jessica Smith, Carlos Souza Jr.,

Tracy L. Timmins (GEO Fellow)

and Leo C. Zulu

TITLE OF PERIODICAL SERIES WP

Global Environment Outlook-5 7


UNEP

First published by the United Nations Environment Programme Copyright , United Nations Environment Programme


June 2012 65-96

Contributing author:

Link: http://unep.org/geo/pdfs/geo5/GEO5_report_C4.pdf

Abstract:

Many terrestrial ecosystems are being seriously degraded because land-use decisions often fail to recognize noneconomic ecosystem functions and biophysical limits to productivity. For example, deforestation and forest degradation alone are likely to cost the global economy more than the losses of the 2008 financial crises. The current economic system, built on the idea of perpetual growth, sits uneasily within an ecological system that is bound by biophysical limits. However, some market-based approaches that attach value to ecosystem services offer incentives to reduce environmental damage.

http://unep.org/geo/pdfs/geo5/GEO5_report_C4.pdf

NRC 2012



“Response of Surface-Irrigated Wheat (Triticum aestivum) to Deficit Irrigation in the Newly Reclaimed Lands of Nubaria, Egypt”

Abdelhamid, Magdi

Sallam, Ahmed Khalifa, Hamdy Mounzer, Oussama, Alarcon, Juan José


FREQUENCY

Proceeding of “Wheat for food security in Africa: Science

and policy dialogue about the future of wheat in Africa”

conference held in United Nations Conference Centre,

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 8 – 12 October 2012.

October 2012


CYMMIT 1) Addis Ababa, Ethiopia


8-12 October, 2012 7

WP 1

Abstract: Wheat, a key staple food in Egypt, occupies about 33% of the total winter crop area,

accounts for 9% of water resources, and contributes 17% of the total added value in Egyptian

agriculture. Because of its importance in the Egyptian diet, wheat is considered a strategic

commodity in the country. Conventionally, irrigation scheduling has aimed to meet full crop

evapotranspiration (ET), as the relationship between ET and crop production of most of the

major field crops is linear. However, the limited availability of irrigation water is increasingly

forcing farmers to apply deficit irrigation (DI, applying less water than crop ET). This practice

decreases irrigation demand, allowing water to be diverted to alternative uses. The success of

any deficit irrigation technique can be measured by comparing its agronomic effects to

conventional (optimal) irrigation. This study was conducted to identify wheat crop stages during

which the crop can withstand water stress with limited effect on yield and quality, and to identify

ways of irrigation management to increase water-use efficiency and limit water loss. Two field

experiments with wheat (Triticum aestivum) cv. Sakha 93 were conducted at Nubaria Agricultural

Research Station, El-Nasser farm, during 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 in calcareous soils. The

crop was planted in basins, and surface irrigation methods were used. The following treatments

were imposed: 100% ETc all stages (T1), 75% ETc all stages (T2), 50% ETc all stages (T3),

50% ETc at tellering only and 100% the rest (T4), 50% ETc at booting only and 100% the rest

(T5), 50% ETc at grain filling only and 100% the rest (T6), and 50% ETc at tellering and 50%

ETc at filling and 100% the rest (T7). The study concluded that all DI treatments achieved similar

grain yield component traits, except for T3 (50% ETc all stages), which showed significantly

lower scores. T1 (100% ETc all stages) showed highest values in all yield component traits,

including the highest value of biological yield and grain yield. However, water-use efficiency

based on grain yield and biological yield of wheat were significantly lower compared to all other

treatments.

http://www.uneca.org/uncc/

NRC 2012



“Growth, Ion Accumulation, Heavy Metal Uptake, and Yield of Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Grown at Salinity and Affected by Nitrogen Fertilizer Form”

Abdelhamid, Magdi Rady, Mostafa Mounzer, Oussama, Alarcon, Juan José


FREQUENCY

Proceeding of “Wheat for food security in Africa: Science and policy dialogue about the future of wheat in Africa” conference held in United Nations Conference Centre, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 8 – 12 October 2012.

October 2012


CYMMIT Addis Ababa, Ethiopia


October 2012 6

WP 1

Abstract: Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), the most important cereal crops used for human nutrition in Egypt, is often grown on saline soils. To alleviate the deleterious salinity effects, different strategies of proper management of nitrogen (N) fertilizer have been employed to attain optimum growth under saline conditions. The objective of this study was to examine the extent to which N-forms could ameliorate the effects of salt stress on growth, ion accumulation, heavy metal uptake, and wheat yield. A field experiment with wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cv. Sakha 93 tolerant to salinity was conducted at salt affected soil with EC 7.89 dS m-1 in 2011/2012 at the experimental farm of Faculty of Agriculture, Fayoum University, Fayoum, Egypt. 14 treatments in a randomized complete block design were used with 3 replications: control (control indicates no N-fertilizer) [T1], recommended N as ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) (160 kg N = 476 kg N/ha with 33.5% N [T2], recommended N as urea (CO(NH2)2) (160 kg N = 348 kg/ha urea with 46% N) [T3], poultry manure (PM1) (PM1 = 10 t/ha) [T4], cattle manure (CM1) (CM1 = 20 t/ha) [T5], bio-N (cerealine) (cerealine at rate of 1.9 kg/ha) [T6], ½NH4NO3 + PM2 (PM2 = 5 t/ha) [T7], ½NH4NO3 + CM2 (CM2 = 10 t/ha) [T8], ½NH4NO3 + cerealine [T9], ½urea + PM2 [T10], ½urea + CM2 [T11], ½urea + cerealine [T12], cerealine + CM1 [T13], and ⅓NH4NO3 + cerealine + CM2 [T14]. Results show that T13 and T14 recorded the highest values of total chlorophyll, total carotenoids, free proline, soluble sugars and amino acids, N, P, K, and Ca, K/Na, and Ca/Na, and the lowest concentration of Na and heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Ni, Cr, Co, Zn, and Cu) compared to all other treatments, including control at 105 days after sowing (DAS). All treatments with urea (solely, combined with poultry or cattle manure, or with cerealine) gave the highest values of Pb, Cd, Ni, Cr, Co, Zn, and Cu at 105 DAS. At harvest, T3 and T10 (½urea + PM2) resulted in highest values of the measured heavy metals in wheat straw as compared to all other treatments. Poultry manure treatments (T4) gave higher values of heavy metals. T13 and T14 gave the highest values of number of spikes per square meter, grain yield per square meter, grain yield (t/ha), and wheat straw yield (t/ha) as compared to all other treatments. T13 and T14 produced higher grain yield (6.664 t/ha and 7.850 t/ha, respectively) than the average grain yield in Egypt (6.452 t/ha) in 2011/2012. The increase in productivity represents 210% and 247% of control. T13 and T14 reduced the content of Pb, Cd, Ni, Cr, Co, Zn, and Cu as compared to all other treatments. Values of control plants were close to values of T13 and T14.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrogen




http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon



NRC 2012



workshops


Publication

Conference

Workshops

Press releases

Media briefings

Presentations

Exhibitions

Poster

United Nations

Conference

Centre, Addis

Ababa (Ethiopia)

8-12/

10/

2012


(higher education,

Research)

Industry

Civil society

Policy makers

Medias

7


220 22 countries

SUPPORTS

“Wheat for food security in Africa: Science and policy dialogue about the future of wheat

in Africa, 8 - 12 October, 2012, United Nations Conference Centre, Addis Ababa,

Ethiopia”.

Two posters presentation were shown during the conference and two abstracts were

published on book of abstracts of the conference as follows:

2) Abdelhamid, M.T., Sallam, A.A, Khalifa, H. E. Mounzer, O. H. and Alarcon, J. J.

(2012) Response of surface-irrigated wheat (Triticum aestivum) to deficit

irrigation in the newly reclaimed lands of Nubaria, Egypt. In: “Wheat for food

security in Africa: Science and policy dialogue about the future of wheat in

Africa”. PP.7. October 8 - 12, 2012, United Nations Conference Centre, Addis

Ababa, Ethiopia

3) Abdelhamid, M.T., Rady, M.M. , Mounzer, O. H. and Alarcon , J. J. (2012)

Growth, ion accumulation, heavy metal uptake, and yield of wheat (Triticum

Aestivum L.) grown at salinity and affected by nitrogen fertilizer form. In: “Wheat

for food security in Africa: Science and policy dialogue about the future of wheat

in Africa”. PP.6. October 8 - 12, 2012, United Nations Conference Centre, Addis

Ababa, Ethiopia







NRC 2012



Conference

Workshops

Presentations

GIZ; Berlin

(Germany)

26-27/

3/

2012



Industry

Civil society

Policy makers

Medias

7


150 20 countries

SUPPORTS

Attending Planning Workshop for the EU SWIM “Sustain Water MED” Project (Network of Demonstration activities for Sustainable Integrated Wastewater Treatment and Reuse in the Mediterranean) to be held in Berlin on 26th and 27th March 2012.


Publication

Conference

Workshops

Press releases

Media briefings

Presentations

Exhibitions

Poster

ECRAAL offices,

Brussels

(Belgium)

25-27/

1/

2012



Industry

Civil society

Policy makers

Medias

7


150 20 countries

SUPPORTS

“WATER NODE 2012 -International research & innovation co-operation in the EU: the

water challenge, 25 - 27 January, 2012, Brussels, Belgium”.

One plenary presentation was done during the conference and titled “Coping with Water

Scarcity for Food Security in Egypt”.

Dr. Magdi Abdelhamid, speaking at ECRAAL’s WATER NODE Conference in January

2012, introduced the challenge of “Coping with Water Scarcity for Food Security in

Egypt.” In his presentation, Dr. Abdelhamid defined water scarcity as being when water

availability is below 1000 cubic meters per person each year, and when the demand for

water in these circumstances exceeds available water supplies.

NRC 2012



workshops


Presentations

Conference

Workshops

National

Research

Centre; Cairo

(Egypt)

26/12/2012


(higher education,

Research)

Industry

Civil society

Policy makers

Medias

1


40 Egypt and world

SUPPORTS

Certificate of organizing workshop titled "Sustainable use of water for irrigation in the

newly reclaimed land" held at National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt on 26 December

2012.

This workshop held based on NRC activities on "Sustainable use of irrigation water in

the Mediterranean region” project funded by EU-FP7.

This workshop was supported by President of NRC and comprised two speakers with

two lectures given by Dr Magdi Abdelhamid, Associate Professor of Botany at National

Research Centre. In addition to lecture of Dr Magdi, a lecture by Prof. Dr Hussein

Abdel Shafy, Professor of environmental Engineering, environment division, National

Research Centre. The following lectures presented were as follows:

1) “Sustainable use of water for irrigation in Nubaria region”

2) “Water reuse in Egypt”

In addition to previous both lectures, a short talk was done by Prof. Dr Wafaa Hagag,

Head of Agriculture and Biology Division, National research Centre. It was frutful

discussion as well.

NRC 2012


ACTIVITY 4: Regional and International presentations


Presentations

Conference

Workshops

National

Research

Centre; Cairo

(Egypt)

26/12/2012


(higher education,

Research)

Industry

Civil society

Policy makers

Medias

1


40 Egypt and world

SUPPORTS

Certificate of presenting a lecture titled “Sustainable use of water for irrigation in

Nubaria region” during the workshop titled "Sustainable use of water for irrigation in the

newly reclaimed land" held at National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt on 26 December

2012.

This presentation was based on NRC activities on "Sustainable use of irrigation water

in the Mediterranean region” project funded by EU-FP7.

NRC 2012



Publication

Conference

Workshops

Press releases

Media briefings

Presentations

Exhibitions

Poster

ECRAAL offices,

Brussels

(Belgium)

25-27/

1/

2012



Industry

Civil society

Policy makers

Medias

7


150 20 countries

SUPPORTS

“WATER NODE 2012 -International research & innovation co-operation in the EU: the

water challenge, 25 - 27 January, 2012, Brussels, Belgium”.

One plenary presentation was done during the conference and titled “Coping with Water

Scarcity for Food Security in Egypt”.

Dr. Magdi Abdelhamid, speaking at ECRAAL’s WATER NODE Conference in January

2012, introduced the challenge of “Coping with Water Scarcity for Food Security in

Egypt.” In his presentation, Dr. Abdelhamid defined water scarcity as being when water

availability is below 1000 cubic meters per person each year, and when the demand for

water in these circumstances exceeds available water supplies.

NRC 2012




PUBLIC

WP

Workshops

Presentations

Technische

Universitdt

Munchen;

Freising-

Weihenstephan;

(Germany)

28/11 – 6/12/ 2012

Scientific

community

(higher

education,

Research)

Industry

1


8 Germany, Austria, Egypt

SUPPORTS

Certification of successful attendance of the high-throughput precision phenotyping

course held at Technische Universitdt Munchen, Germany from November 29 to

Decentber 6, 2012

Withing framework of our collaboration research work with Technische Universitdt

Munchen through our bilateral research project titled “Improvement of drought and salt

tolerance of wheat genotypes under field conditions by high throughput precision

phenotyping” funded by Egypt-Germany, I have attend this training course.

I got acquainted and was trained in the theory and practical application of spectral sensing and imaging. Specifically theoretical and practical knowledge and skills devoted to the use of hyperspectral reflectance based sensing, thermal imaging as well as digital photo imaging were acquired. The course also included the detailed evaluation of spectral sensing and imaging data. With this course successful grounds have been laid to establish, test and further develop advanced phenotyping technologies.

NRC 2012



Workshops

Presentations

International

Agricultural

Research and

Training

Center,

Menemen;

Izmir (Turkey)

2-13/7/2012


(higher education,

Research)

Industry

Civil society

Policy makers

Medias

1


22

Egypt; Pakistan; Iraq; Tunusia; Iran; Uzbekistan;

Kazakhstan; Rumania; Oman; Iran; Uzbekistan;

Bulgaria; Nigeria, Macedonia

SUPPORTS

Certificate of attendance of the 3th International Course on “Sustainable Management

of Soil and Water Resources” held on 02-13 July 2012 at International Agricultural

Research and Training Center, Menemen Izmir, Turkey”.


Workshops

Presentations

ICARDA

office, Cairo

(Egypt)

9-16/4/2012


(higher education,

Research)

Industry

Civil society

Policy makers

Medias

1


22 Egypt, Morocco, United Kingdom, Syria, India,

USA,

SUPPORTS

Certificate of attendance the specialised training workshop on: “Soil and Water

Modelling in a GIS Environment”, organized by International Center for Agricultural

Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), Aleppo, Syria & agricultural Research Center,

Egypt, which held on 9-16 April 2012, Cairo, Egypt.

NRC 2012




- Interviews

- Workshops

- Presentations

- Poster

Emam

Malik

village,

Nubaria

(Egypt)

2/5/2012

- Researchers

- Civil society

- Farmers

- Policy makers

- Media

7


25 Egypt


- Interviews

- Workshops

- Presentations

- Poster

Ali

Mubarak

village,

Nubaria

(Egypt)

8/5/2012

- Researchers

- Civil society

- Farmers

- Policy makers

- Media

7


20 Egypt


- Interviews

- Workshops

- Presentations

- Poster

Al

Nasser

farm,

North

of

Tahrir,

Nubaria

(Egypt)

12/5/2012

- Researchers

- Civil society

- Farmers

- Policy makers

- Media

7


30 Egypt

NRC



TITLE MAIN


“Potassium fertiliser enhances the salt-tolerance of common bean

(Phaseolus vulgaris L.)”

Dawood, M.G Dawood, M.G., Abdelhamid, M.T. and Schmidhalter, U.


FREQUENCY

Journal of Horticultural Science & Biotechnology Bimonthly, 6 issues/year


Headley Brothers Ltd. UK


March 2014 89 (2) 185–192

WP: 1 & 2

Abstract:

Sodium chloride (NaCl) is the most abundant salt that contributes to soil salinity. The response

of plants to excess NaCl is complex, involving changes in their morphology, physiology, and

metabolism. Potassium (K) is not only an essential macronutrient for plant growth and

productivity, but it is also a primary osmoticum for maintaining the low water potential of plant

tissues. A pot experiment was conducted in the wire-house of the National Research Centre,

Cairo, Egypt, during the 2010 – 2011 season, to examine the potential role of K fertiliser in

alleviating the deleterious effects of NaCl-salinity on some physiological and biochemical traits

of two recombinant inbred lines (RILs) of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.; RIL 147 and

RIL 115).The results showed that salinity levels of 25 mM (S1) and 50 mM NaCl (S2) caused

significant decreases in the numbers of pods per plant, the fresh weight (FW) and dry weight

(DW) of pods per plant, shoot DW per plant, as well as in the level of photosynthetic pigments,

compared to plants irrigated with tap water (S0). A dose of 150 mg K2O kg–1 soil (K2)

mitigated these harmful effects of salinity on common bean yield and on the content of

photosynthetic pigments. Both salinity levels (S1 and S2) and treatment K2 caused significant

increases in proline, free amino acid, and soluble carbohydrate concentrations, as well as

peroxidase and polyphenol oxidase activities, relative to the corresponding control plants. In

contrast, both RILs show a decrease in their phenolic compound concentrations due to salinity

and/or the application of K2 compared to control plants (i.e., treatment S0K1; where K1 = 25

mg K2O kg–1 soil).The K+:Na+ ion ratio decreased significantly as the salinity level increased,

and increased significantly under treatment K2. We conclude that treatment K2 mitigated the

adverse effects of salinity (NaCl) through the effect of K+ ions enhancing the levels of

photosynthetic pigments, anti-oxidant enzyme activities, osmoprotectant concentrations, and the

K+:Na ion ratio, all of which were reflected in an improvement in plant performance.

http://www.scimagojr.com/journalsearch.php?q=Headley%20Brothers%20Ltd&tip=pub

NRC


TITLE MAIN


“Simulation of the Effect of Water Conservation on Crops in Egypt”

Ouda Samiha

Ouda Samiha, Khalil Fouad, Noreldin

Tahany


FREQUENCY

Book ISBN: 3659417661


LAP Lambert Academic Publishing AG & Co KG

Germany


6 July 2013 Paperback, 84 pages

WP: 1 & 2

Abstract:

Yield-Stress model employed soil water depletion equations to instantly predict potential yield of 10 summer and winter crops under varying degree of water and salinity stresses in Egypt. Studying the depletion of soil water from the root zone was used in irrigation scheduling to save on the applied irrigation water to these crops. The model prediction showed good agreement between measured and predicted yield and water consumptive use values, which implied that the model is capable of investigating alternatives deficit water irrigation, saline water irrigation and/or deficit saline water irrigation.The use of the model could partially replacing expensive field experiments. The ability of Yield-Stress model to simulate the effect of water and salinity stresses provide an appropriate irrigation management tool to maximize yield and to save irrigation water.

http://www.fishpond.com.au/c/Books/a/Ouda+Samiha

http://www.fishpond.com.au/c/Books/a/Ouda+Samiha

http://www.fishpond.com.au/c/Books/a/Khalil+Fouad

http://www.fishpond.com.au/c/Books/a/Noreldin+Tahany

http://www.fishpond.com.au/c/Books/a/Noreldin+Tahany

http://www.fishpond.com.au/c/Books/p/LAP+Lambert+Academic+Publishing+AG+%26+Co+KG

http://www.fishpond.com.au/c/Books/p/LAP+Lambert+Academic+Publishing+AG+%26+Co+KG

NRC


TITLE MAIN


“Modeling the Irrigation Schedule on Wheat under Climate Change Conditions”

M. A. A. Abdrabbo

M. A. A. Abdrabbo Samiha Ouda and Tahany Noreldin


FREQUENCY

Nature and Science, 2013;11 (5) Monthly


Marsland Press, New York USA


May 2013 11 (5): 10-18

WP: 2 & 4

Abstract:

The effect of climate change on wheat grown under sprinkler irrigation was studied

using previous data of two growing seasons (2008/09 and 2009/10); these data were

used to calibrate CropSyst model. Furthermore, a field experiment was conducted at

El-Giza Governorate in 2010/11 growing season; the data of this experiment (2010/11

season) was used to validate the CropSyst model. The treatments of the validation

experiment composed of two wheat cultivars (Sakha 93 and Giza 168) and four

irrigation treatments (0.6, 0.8,1.0 and 1.2 of ETc). Two climate change scenarios (A2

and B2) were used to assess the consequences of climate change on wheat yield in

2060. A new irrigation schedule developed by Basic Irrigation Schedule (BIS) model

was used to improve water productivity under climate change conditions. The results

showed that CropSyst model was able to predict wheat yield with high degree of

accuracy for both calibration and validation procedures. The results also indicated that,

in general, the yield of both cultivars will be decrease under climate change; however

the reduction was lower for Sakha 93, as compared with Giza 168. The application of

the new irrigation schedule under climate change conditions increased water

productivity under the two climate change scenarios, compared with irrigation amount

resulted from 0.8, 1.0 and 1.2 of ETc, for both wheat cultivars. Moreover, Sakha 93

gave the highest water productivity. Our results suggested that if we want to reduce

yield losses for wheat under climate change conditions and increase water

productivity, Sakha 93 should be cultivated and BIS model should be used to schedule

irrigation.

NRC


TITLE MAIN


“The relationship between water regimes and maize productivity under drip irrigation system: a statistical model”

Mehanna, H.M

Mehanna, H.M.; Hussien, M.M. and Abo Baker, N.H.,


FREQUENCY

Journal of Applied Sciences Research Frequency 12/year


American-Eurasian Network for Scientific Information

Jordan


26-Aug-2013 9(6): 3735-3741

WP: 2 & 4

Abstract: Irrigation frequency is one of the most important factors in drip irrigation scheduling and

production planning, where water resources are limited, that affects soil water regime, water

and fertilization use efficiency and crop yield. Therefore, field experiments were conducted for 2

years in the summer season of 2011 and 2012 on sandy loam soil to investigate the effects of

irrigation frequency under surface and subsurface drip irrigation systems on growth parameters,

grain yield, N, P and K uptakes, and water use efficiency (WUE) of maize (Zea mays L.). The

results indicated that the highest values of maize growth parameters were gained when

irrigating plants with 100 % of the ETc (2500 m3/fed.= high frequency) treatment by using

subsurface drip irrigation system. On the contrary, the lowest values appeared by irrigating

plants by 1900 m3/fed. (70 % of ETc = low frequency) under surface drip irrigation system.

There were no significant differences between the growth parameters values by using the two

experimental irrigation systems, but the differences increased by using the different water

quantities. The highest maize grain yield (2638 and 2575 kg/fed.) were gained by using control

irrigation water quantity (2500 m3/fed.) comparing with the other two water quantities under

subsurface and surface drip irrigation system, respectively. The significant differences were

appeared for N, P and K uptakes values by the effect of water quantities, and the interaction

between water quantities and irrigation systems, but there were no significance under the

individual effect of irrigation systems. The relationship between water quantities and maize

grain yield using drip irrigation system under semi arid conditions is 1st degree.

NRC


TITLE MAIN


“Using Automation Controller

System and Simulation Program for Testing Closed Circuits of Mini-Sprinkler Irrigation System”

Mansour, H. , Mehanna, H. , El-Hagarey, M. and Hassan, A.


FREQUENCY

Open Journal of Modelling and Simulation 4 per year


Scientific Research Publishing Inc. USA


April 2013 1, 14-23

WP: 2 & 4

Abstract: The field experiments were conducted at the experimental farm of Faculty of agricultural,

southern Illinois University SIUC, USA. The project makes the irrigation automated. With the

use of low cost sensors and the simple circuitry makes currently project a low cost product,

which can be bought even by a poor farmer. This research work is best suited for places where

water is scares and has to be used in limited quantity and this proposal is a model to modernize

the agriculture industries at a mass scale with optimum expenditure. In the field of agricultural

engineering, use of sensor method of irrigation operation is important and it is well known that

closed circuits of Mini-sprinkler irrigation system are very economical and efficient. Closed

circuits are considered one of the modifications of Mini-sprinkler irrigation system, and added

advantages to Mini-sprinkler irrigation system because it can relieve low operating pressures

problem at the end of the lateral lines. In the conventional closed circuits of Mini-sprinkler

irrigation system, the farmer has to keep watch on irrigation timetable, which is different for

different crops. Using this system, one can save manpower, water to improve production and

ultimately profit. The data could be summarized in following: Irrigation methods under study

when using lateral length 60 mcould be ranked in the following ascending order according the

values of the predicted and measured head losses CM1M-SIS < CM2M-SIS.The correlation

(Corr.) coefficients were used to compare the predicted and measured head losses along the

lateral lines of all the closed circuits designs. Generally, the values of correlation analysis were

(>0.90) were obtained with 0% field slope60 mlength (experimental conditions) for all closed

circuits.The interaction between irrigation methods: at the start there are significant differences

between CM2M-SIS and CM1M-SIS.

NRC


TITLE MAIN


“Using of growth regulators for improving water use efficiency of canola under water deficit”

Mehanna H.M

Mehanna H.M., Hussein M.M. and Gafaar, N.A.,


FREQUENCY

Middle East Journal of Applied Sciences 6/year


IDOSI Publications L.L.C United Arab Emirates


2013 3(4): 161-168

WP: 1 & 2

Abstract: In order to maximize the water use efficiency of canola under deficit irrigation conditions (100%, 75% and 50% of the Etc), two growth regulators [150 ppm and 300 ppm of citric acid (organic acid) and 150 ppm and 300 ppm of glutamic acid (amino acid )] are sprayed to study the response of growth, yield and yield components of canola plants. A field experiment was conducted in the two winter growing seasons of 2011/2012 and 2012/2013 at the Research and Production Farm of the National Research Centre, El-Nubaria Sector, El-Beheira Governorate, Egypt. The results indicated that there were clear positive effects of using 75% of the Etc on all growth parameters of canola plants (Plant height, root length, dry weight of stem, root, leaves and whole plant, and number of leaves and branches per plant), as well as the seed and oil yields and 100 seed weight, except for number of capsules per plant where the highest number was obtained by using 100% of the Etc. Generally, spraying plants by 300 ppm of the citric acid improved the growth, yield and its components. The highest water use efficiency was obtained by using 50% of Etc and spraying plants by 150 ppm glutamic acid, followed by spraying plants by 300 ppm citric acid and irrigation with 75% of the Etc. So, spraying canola plants by 300 ppm citric acid improved the response of canola plants under the moderate deficit conditions (75% of the Etc), as well as spraying with 150 ppm glutamic acid under the highest level of water

deficit (50% Etc).

NRC


TITLE MAIN


“Optimization of fertigation process under drip irrigation system by using geotextile sheets in sandy soil”

Mehanna, H.M.;

Mehanna, H.M.; Okasha, E.M. and Abdou, M.A.A


FREQUENCY

World Applied Sciences Journal 12/year




2013 27 (6) PP. 688 – 693

WP: 2

Abstract: This study was designed to clarify the effect of placing geotextile material under the soil surface on fertilizers distribution (using the electrical conductivity (EC) as an indicator) in the soil profile

in a field experiment for Navel orange trees (one year old) under surface drip irrigation system

(SDI) in sandy soil. Geotextile is made by the use of the method of polyester filament netting

and consolidating with fiber array of three dimensional structures. Geotextile has clear

mechanical properties, excellent longitudinal and transverse drainage properties as well as

excellent resistance against ageing, acids, alkalis and biological attacks. This study aims to

detect the effect of fixing this material under soil surface on the salts distribution resulted by the

fertigation process with surface drip irrigation system. Results indicated that using of the

geotextile sheets at 25 cm depth increased the salinity concentration in the top soil layer (0-25

cm) more than that obtained without using these sheets or using them at 37.5 cm depth,

moreover there are no big differences between salinity concentration values obtained by using

these sheets at 25 cm depth and 37.5 cm depth. So, the fixed geotextile sheets at 25 cm depth

are more suitable for vegetables production (shallow roots), but at 37.5 cm depth or deeper for

tree productivity to save water and fertilizers in the active root zone. Also results concluded that

using of geotextile sheets at 37.5 cm and 25 depths improved the yield per orange tree by

150% and 19%, respectively comparing with that obtained without using these sheets.

NRC


TITLE MAIN


“Water deficit and foliar

fertilization and their effect on

growth and photosynthetic

pigments of jatropha plants”

Hussein M.M Hussein M.M; Mehanna H.M.,

and Sharbat, M. El-Lethy


FREQUENCY

World Applied Sciences Journal 6/year




2013 27 (4) PP. 454 - 461.

WP: 1 & 2

Abstract:

In order to study the effect of K foliar fertilizer under different irrigation treatments, a pot

experiment was conducted in the greenhouse of the National Research Centre, Dokki, Giza,

Egypt. Results revealed that increasing the depletion of available soil moisture before irrigation

caused decreases in plant height and area of green leaves. Stem, leaves, top and whole plant

dry weight were not significantly affected by these irrigation treatments. Spraying with both

concentrations of potassium citrate (KC) significantly an increased growth criterion i.e. plant

height, number and area of green leaves, roots, stem and leaves fresh weight of jatropha

plants. The highest increment as a result of spraying jatropha plants with KC was in roots as

well as stem dry matter and the lowest was in leaves dry weight. The enhancing effect may be

due to that KC act as fertilizer and as antioxidant. Potassium spraying was more effective under

irrigation after depletion of 60% (D2) of available soil moisture and followed by that irrigated

after depletion of 40% (D3) available soil moisture and the treatment 80% depletion (D1) before

irrigation came later. Chlorophyll and carotenoids concentrations were decreased with the

drought treatments, while total chlorophyll concentration only decreased by D1 and slightly

increased with D2 compared to that of the regularly irrigated treatment. Nevertheless, chl. b

was quietly decreased with D1 and tended to increase to be more than the control.

Furthermore, Chl. a: Chl. b ratio was lowered sharply with drought treatment and the reverse

was true for Chl. a + Chl b: carotenoids ratio. Chl. b was decreased with both K treatments but

the decrement was more with F2 (spraying of potassium citrate in the rate of 1.5 g/l) in

comparable with D1 or that of plants sprayed by distilled water. On the other hand, the Chl. a +

Chl. b ratio showed the opposite trend. Carotenoids was slightly increased with moisture stress

treatment, however, the highest values of Chl.a was obtained with K1 treatment meanhile, Chl.

a + Chl. b: carotenoids ratio was not affected by F1 (spraying of potassium citrate in the rate of

0.75 g/l) but was decreased with F2 (spraying of potassium citrate in the rate of 1.5 g/l)

treatment.

NRC


ACTIVITY 2: International scientific conferences


Publication

Conference

Workshops

Press releases

Media briefings

Presentations

Exhibitions

Poster

INTERDROUGHT

-IV, 2-6

September 2013

– Crown Perth,

Western Australia

(Australia)

2-6/

9/

2013


(higher education,

Research)

Industry

Civil society

Policy makers

Medias

1, 2 &

7


380 30 countries

SUPPORTS

A posters presentation was shown during the conference and abstracts was published on

book of the abstracts of the conference as follows:

Abstract:

While drought stress is the major abiotic constraint to agricultural production, wheat is

considered one of the most important food crops planted worldwide. In order to examin the

photosynthetic capacity, anti-oxidant compounds in wheat plants exposed to drought stress

realative to well watered plants, a pot experiment was conducted at the wire-house of the

National Research Centre, Dokki, Cairo, Egypt, during December - January 2011-2012.

Uniform wheat grains were sown in 16 cmØ plastic pots filled with 2 kg sandy soil. Field water

capacity of the sandy soil was 10%. Ten days after sowing (DAS), Soil water content was

maintained at about 90% of field water capacity. The level of soil moisture was controlled by

weighing pots and daily loss of water was supplemented twice (morning and afternoon). Thirty

DAS, the pots were arranged into 2 groups (18 pots for each). The first group was considered

as control (Well-watered), and soil water content was maintained at about 90% of field water

capacity till the end of the experiment. The second group of pots, drought stress was imposed

by withholding water supply and lasted till soil water content of the pots reached 5%

(Permanent wilting point%), and was considered as water limited treatment (water limited).

For photosynthetic activity measurements, pots were placed in a glass chamber where 14CO2

was generated by the reaction between 10 % HCl and NaH14CO3. Light was from a

florescent lamp After 15 minutes exposure, excess 14CO2 was trapped in a 1N NaOH solution.

Plant leaves were collected, frozen for 30 minutes, then oven dried and used. Several

parameters were measured after imposing drought stress, i.e., 24, 48, 72, 96, and 168 h.

Drought stress significantly reduced SPAD values, fresh weight, dry weights, and 14C-Fixed

(Bq g-1 d.wt) gradually after 24, 48, 72, 96 and 168 h. Ascorbic acid (mmol g-1 FW), total

tocopherols (mmol g-1 FW), carotenoids (mg g-1 FW), and total phenols (mg g-1 FW) increased

gradually after 24, 72, and 168 h (after withholding water) with water stress, while there were

not effects were observed on the well watered plants with time.

NRC



Publication

Conference

Workshops

Press releases

Media briefings

Presentations

Exhibitions

Poster

1st CIGR Inter-

Regional

Conference on

Land and Water

Challenges –

Bari, Italy

10-14

Sept.,

2013

Scientific

community (higher

education,

Research)

Industry

Civil society

Policy makers

Medias

2, 4 &

7


380 30 countries

SUPPORTS

Ouda S., T. Noreldin, N, Abou El-Fatouh, A. Osman, M. Karrou, A. Swelam and T.

Oweis. 2013. Calibration of CropSyst model for wheat grown under three soil

conditions in Egypt.

A posters presentation was shown during the conference and abstracts was published on

book of the abstracts of the conference.

NRC



workshops


Presentations

Conference

Workshops

National

Research

Centre; Cairo

(Egypt)

22/04/2013


(higher education,

Research)

Industry

Civil society

Policy makers

Medias


65 Egypt and world

SUPPORTS

Certificate of organizing workshop titled "Water Resources Pollution: Problems and

Challenges" held at National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt on 22 April 2013.

This workshop held based on NRC activities on "Sustainable use of irrigation water in

the Mediterranean region” project funded by EU-FP7.

This workshop was supported by President of NRC and comprised two speakers with

two lectures given by Dr Magdi Abdelhamid, Associate Professor of Botany at National

Research Centre. In addition to lecture of Dr Magdi, a lecture by Prof. Dr Mohamed H.

Amer, Ministry of Irrigation and water Resources. The following lectures presented

were as follows:

3) “Sustainable use of water for irrigation in Nubaria region”

4) “Water Resources Pollution: Problems and Challenges”

In addition to previous both lectures, a short talk was done by Prof. Dr Wafaa Hagag,

Head of Agriculture and Biology Division, National research Centre. It was fruitful

discussion as well.


NRC


ACTIVITY 4: Regional and International presentations


Presentations

Conference

Workshops

National

Research

Centre; Cairo

(Egypt)

22/04/2013


(higher education,

Research)

Industry

Civil society

Policy makers

Medias


65 Egypt and world

SUPPORTS

Certificate of presenting a lecture titled “Sustainable use of water for irrigation in

Nubaria region” during the workshop titled "Water Resources Pollution: Problems and

Challenges" held at National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt on 22 April 2013.

This presentation was based on NRC activities on "Sustainable use of irrigation water

in the Mediterranean region” project funded by EU-FP7.


NRC




PUBLIC

WP

Workshops

Presentations

International

Maize and

Wheat

Improvement

Center;

CIMMYT,

(Mexico)

15/05 – 31/05/ 2013

Scientific

community

(higher

education,

Research)

Industry

1, 2 &

7


1 Mexico

SUPPORTS

Certification of successful attendance of the training on ″Training on physiology for

breeding under abiotic stress condition″ held at International Maize and Wheat

Improvement Center; CIMMYT, (Mexico), lasted from 15/05/2013 to31/05/ 2013.

NRC



TYPE PLACE DATE TARGET PUBLIC W

P

- Interviews

- Workshops

- Presentations

- Poster

Imam

Malik

village,

Noubaria

(Egypt)

17/4/201

3

- Researchers

- Civil society

- Farmers

- Policy makers

- Media


30 Egypt


P

- Interviews

- Workshops

- Presentations

- Poster

Ali

Mubarak

village,

Noubaria

(Egypt)

26/4/2013

- Researchers

- Civil society

- Farmers

- Policy makers

- Media


25 Egypt

NRC



P

- Interviews

- Workshops

- Presentations

- Poster

Al Nasser

farm,

Noubaria

(Egypt)

10/5/201

3

- Researchers

- Civil society

- Farmers

- Policy makers

- Media


29 Egypt

Documents

D7.7 Third and final report on “Dissemination activities” · Organized by the Spanish Water Technology Platform (PTEA). ... strategies in fruit orchards. However, these water