3/10/2019
1
Effects of water and nutrient management decisions on production
of sweet cherry.
Denise Neilsen, Gerry Neilsen, Tom ForgeSummerland Research and Development Centre, Summerland,
BC. Canada
Presentation to Cherry Fruit School, Wenatchee, WA. Mar. 12, 2019.
Context for efficient water use
• Uncertainty in supply
• Competition for resources
• Improved production and fruit quality Lake Shasta CA. 2014
Since January 2000 large areas of W. N. America have been in drought. (NOAA 2016)
3/10/2019
2
Installing efficient, well engineered
systems Applying water to meet plant
requirements(irrigation scheduling)
Strategies for managing water well
Reducing soil water
evaporation
Precision managementMonitoring spatial variability in water
stress (emerging technology)
Improving water management irrigation scheduling
• how long an irrigation system should run
• matches water supply to demand• uses some measurement or
estimate of demand (soil moisture, climate)
0.4
0.8
1.2
1.6
2.4
2.0
2.8
Wat
er a
pp
lied
(in
)
0
Meeting water requirements
Potential water savings
Meeting water requirements (scheduled)
Meeting PEAK water requirements (scheduled)
Unscheduled irrigation
Electrical Resistance Block
Capacitance probes
Tensiometers
TDR probes
Weather data - ET
3/10/2019
3
Automated sensor systems
Sensors
Electronic switch
Solenoid valve
Pressure transducer
Data‐logger, computer, web site
Smart phone
Irrigator
Irrigation controller
Example of a multi-sensor system, communicating to various devices.There are others on the market
Schematic of a multi-sensor system, which controls the irrigation system
Limitations to fruit growth • Stomates
– Open: CO2 inflow for growth and transpiration also occurs
– Close: CO2 demand satisfied or if soil water can not meet transpiration demands
• Stomatal closure due to insufficient soil water can reduce growth
Carbon dioxide
Water vapour
3/10/2019
4
Monitoring transpiration
• Sap flow gauge used to monitor transpiration
Environmental limitations to transpiration
• In well watered trees sap flow was reduced – above 7mm (0.28in) /day potential ET– When air temperature above 35°C, 95°F
• high probability of water stress and reduced growth in cherries under these conditions regardless of irrigation strategy
R2 = 0.59
0
200
400
600
800
1000
15 25 35 45Maximum daily temperature (oC)
Sa
p f
lux
(m
l/d
ay)
R2 = 0.72
050
100150200250300350400
0 5 10 15Calculated daily ET (mm)
Dai
ly s
ap f
low
(ml/c
m2 T
CS
A)
Skeena/Gi.6 field Stardust/Mazzard greenhouse
Potential evapotranspiration (ET) Air temperature
3/10/2019
5
Management options in a well‐designed, scheduled irrigation system
• Irrigation frequency
• Irrigation type
Irrigation frequency
• How often should water be applied?
3/10/2019
6
Irrigation and soil management experiment on Skeena and Cristalina/Gi6
Loamy sand soil
Irrigation frequency (I1, I2)
Cultivar Cristalina or Skeena on Gisela 6
Soil management
1. P‐fertigation 20 g P/tree immediately after bloom
2. Mulching
3. Control
– 40g N tree for 6 wks after bloom
– 25 g K/tree for 4 wks in June
Cristalina
Skeena
Bark Mulch
Irrigation
Atmometer‐scheduled• ETcrop
• Same amount water – 4x 4 L/hr drip emitters per
tree– spaced 30cm from tree
• FrequencyI1‐ 4x/day (6h interval)
I2‐ 1 every 2 days
3/10/2019
7
Soil moisture in the root zone
• High frequency irrigation increased soil moisture content measured just before the next irrigation
TDR at 0-20cm
Yr. 2 Yr. 4 Yr. 5 Yr. 6 Yr. 7 Yr. 3
Sap flow (transpiration) in response to irrigation frequency in a loamy sand soil
• Sap flow higher when trees irrigated more frequently suggesting potentially greater growth
• Available water storage depleted under less frequent irrigation
Skeena/Gi.6- field site
36 in
4.0in
Cherry
1.6in 0.8inSemi-dwarf
Loamy sand
3/10/2019
8
36 in
3.0in 1.0in 0.5in 4.6in 1.9in 0.73in 7.6in 3.0in 1.2in
Cherry
Sandy loam Silt loamSand
• Available water storage capacity varies according to soil type, crop rooting depth, crop ability to extract water (allowable depletion)
• How frequently should it be replenished? ‐ as often as possible
Water – what is really available
CherryCherry
Irrigation and soil management effects on growth
• High frequency (4x/day) irrigation (I1)increased growth compared with irrigation 1x/2days (I2)
• Mulch also increased growth under high frequency irrigation in some years
Yr. 1 Yr. 3 Yr. 5 Yr. 7
3/10/2019
9
Yield and fruit quality
Yield (kg/tree) Average fruit size (g)
Yr. 5 Yr. 6 Yr. 7 Yr.5 Yr. 6 Yr. 7
Irrigation (I) Skeena Cristalina
I1 (4x/day) 23.6 13.4 7.1 11.8 9.8 10.3 11.8
I2 (1x/2days) 15.5 8.8 6.6 6.4 9.6 9.6 11.5
** * ** ns * ns
Soluble solids (%)
Yr. 5 Yr. 6 Yr. 7
Irrigation (I)
I1 (4x/day) 20.2 19.9 18.5
I2 (1x/2days) 21.4 20.8 18.7
*** ** ns
Irrigation frequency effects on growth, yield and fruit quality Years 5‐7
• High frequency irrigation – Increased soil moisture
– Increased tree growth
– Increased cumulative yield over 3 years
– Increased fruit size 1 year in 3
– Reduced soluble solids in 2 out of 3 years
• Mulch did not affect fruit quality
• Splits <5% in all years – not affected by treatments
3/10/2019
10
Irrigation type
Ph.D. Thesis work of Tristan Watson
Watson et al., Scientia Horticulturae 239:50-56 (2018)
Irrigation type experiment on Skeena/Gi.6 in a ‘replant’ orchard
Methods• Sandy loam soil• Skeena/Gi.6• 1.25m x 3m trained to Bibaum• Drip irrigation
– 2l/hr, 30cm spacing; – Two lines 15cm from the tree
row
• Microsprinkler irrigation– 20l/hr– Small radius(0.75m)
• Scheduling– 100% ET replacement– Atmometer+crop coefficients– Daily
Cro
p c
oef
fici
ent
(Kc)
0
0.4
0.8
1.2
0 5 10 15 20 25Weeks after shoot leaf budburst
3/10/2019
11
Soil Moisture
• 0‐30cm (0‐12in)
• Moisture content lower under micro‐sprinkler than drip
Effect of irrigation system on tree growth for newly planted Skeena/Gisela 6
• Tree growth was greater under drip irrigation
3/10/2019
12
Effect of irrigation system on yield for newly planted Skeena/Gisela 6
• Drip irrigation resulted in higher yield in the second year of cropping….
Fruit growth
• …… but did not reduce fruit growth
3/10/2019
13
Root organisms
• Plant root pathogens were lower under drip irrigation
• Plant root beneficial organisms were higher under drip irrigation
Plant pathogens – root lesion nematodes Plant beneficial organisms – VA-mycorrhizae
Irrigation type effect on growth and production
• Drip irrigation improved tree growth and yield compared with small‐radius microsprinkler…
• …but did not reduce fruit size
• Plant responses may have been due to
– Higher soil moisture under drip
– Fewer root pathogens under drip
– More root beneficial organisms under drip
3/10/2019
14
Nutrition in an efficient irrigation environment
• In irrigated production systems water management can control nutrient availability
• Micro‐irrigation offers good opportunities for controlled application of nutrients through fertigation ….
• ….which can be used to retain highly soluble nutrients like N in the root zone and increase the availability of immobile nutrients like P which get fixed in the soil……
• … and time applications to period of root uptake
N withdrawn
from leaves
N stored inwoody tissue
N remobilized
for new growth
N stored in leaves
Internal N cycling
When to apply ‐ Sources of N for growth
N removed inpruning
N removed infruit andpruning?
3/10/2019
15
N derived from 15N labeled fertilize
Remobilized N from storage
Millard et al., 2006. Tree Physiology 26, 527–536
Timing of nutrient remobilization and uptake in spring in sweet cherry
• Prunus avium for agro‐forestry/11 yr‐old trees• Early bud and leaf N requirements met mostly from remobilization, • Root uptake occurred around 30 days from budburst
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
-5 10 25 40 55 70Days from Bud Burst
Pro
po
rtio
n o
f m
axim
um
N c
on
ten
tin Shoot
Timing of sap flow in the spring
• Sap flow – water uptake starts around first white in sweet cherry
• Likely determines onset of rapid N uptake
0
50
100
150
200
80 85 90 95 100 105 110 115 120
sa
p f
low
ml/c
m2
TC
SA
Day of the year
Sap flow
Sap flow
side green
green tip
tight cluster
open cluster
firstfirst white
full bloom
Granier type thermal dissipation probe
3/10/2019
16
How much N?
• ~50‐130 kg N/ha recommended– high rate on coarse textured soils– low rates on soils with high organic matter or fine textureHanson and Proebsting 1996 in ‘Cherries crop production and physiology’ (eds. Webster & Looney )
N removal in fruit grown on a coarse‐textured soil, with scheduled irrigation and fertigation
How much N?
• Studies on other woody perennials (apples, raspberries) have indicated that up to 50% of seasonal N requirements can be met by recycling
• Supplying N at 50 kg/ha (45lb/acre), using fertigation and scheduled irrigation, sufficient to meet requirements on this coarse textured (loamy‐sand to sandy loam) soil
Cv/rootstock N inputskg/ha
Spacing(m)
Age(yr)
Fruit N kg/ha
Canopy N Total N
Skeena/Gi6 42 2x4 5 ~30
Cristalina/Gi6 42 2x4 7 ~45
Lapins/Gi5 30 4x4.5 12 ~20
Skeena/Gi6 (UFO) 50 1.5x4 7 ~15 67 82
Skeena/Gi5 (UFO) 50 1.5x4 7 ~19 68 87
Skeena/Gi3 (UFO) 50 1.5x4 7 ~13 60 73
3/10/2019
17
Summary N
Good N management depends on increasing N availability by
• Retention of N in root zone using good water management practice
• Timing applications to post bloom demand for root uptake (daily – 6weeks)
• Cherry trees can require relatively small N inputs
Phosphorus fertigation improves P availability
• Need to overcome soil P fixation• A single large dose of P increases availability in soil
solution and the soil early in the season
0
2
4
6
8
10
120 140 160 180 200 220
ortho‐PO
4‐P (μg/m
l)
Day of year
Single dose
Daily dose
Soil solution ortho-PO4 Extractable soil P
3/10/2019
18
Phosphorus effects on sweet cherry – first production years
• Skeena, Cristalina on Gi.6
• Fertigated P
– (20g P as 10‐34‐0) at bloom
• Effects on fruit yield and quality
– Increased cumulative yield over 3 years
– Increased fruit size 1 year in 3
– Increased stem pull force 2 years in 3
– Reduced soluble solids 2 years in 3
Summary P
• Mobility and availability of P can be improved by fertigation immediately after bloom
• P availability can also be increased by the use of organic amendments and mulches
3/10/2019
19
Thank youThank you
Cherries. Botany, Production and UsesEditors: J Quero‐Garcia, INRA Bordeaux, France, A Iezzoni, Michigan State University, USA, J Pulawska, Research Institute of Horticulture, Poland, G Lang, Michigan State University, USAChapter 9 Environmental Limiting Factors for Cherry Production. G. H. Neilsen, D. Neilsen and T. Forge
Chapter 8 Optimizing precision in orchard irrigation and nutrient management. Denise Neilsen and Gerry Neilsen
2017
March, 2019