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Blanco V, Kalcsits L. Relating microtensiometer-based trunk water potential with sap flow, canopy temperature, and trunk and fruit diameter variations for irrigated 'Honeycrisp' apple. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2024; 15:1393028. [PMID: 38855474 PMCID: PMC11157117 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1393028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2024] [Accepted: 05/07/2024] [Indexed: 06/11/2024]
Abstract
Instrumentation plays a key role in modern horticulture. Thus, the microtensiomenter, a new plant-based sensor that continuously monitors trunk water potential (Ψtrunk) can help in irrigation management decisions. To compare the response of the Ψtrunk with other continuous tree water status indicators such as the sap flow rate, the difference between canopy and air temperatures, or the variations of the trunk and fruit diameter, all the sensors were installed in 2022 in a commercial orchard of 'Honeycrisp' apple trees with M.9 rootstocks in Washinton State (USA). From the daily evolution of the Ψtrunk, five indicators were considered: predawn, midday, minimum, daily mean, and daily range (the difference between the daily maximum and minimum values). The daily range of Ψtrunk was the most linked to the maximum daily shrinkage (MDS; R2 = 0.42), the canopy-to-air temperature (Tc-Ta; R2 = 0.32), and the sap flow rate (SF; R2 = 0.30). On the other hand, the relative fruit growth rate (FRGR) was more related to the minimum Ψtrunk (R2 = 0.33) and the daily mean Ψtrunk (R2 = 0.32) than to the daily range of Ψtrunk. All indicators derived from Ψtrunk identified changes in tree water status after each irrigation event and had low coefficients of variation and high sensitivity. These results encourage Ψtrunk as a promising candidate for continuous monitoring of tree water status, however, more research is needed to better relate these measures with other widely studied plant-based indicators and identify good combinations of sensors and threshold values.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victor Blanco
- Department of Horticulture, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, United States
- Efficient Use of Water in Agriculture Program, Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology (IRTA), Lleida, Spain
| | - Lee Kalcsits
- Department of Horticulture, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, United States
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Conesa MR, Maestre-Valero JF, Blanco V. Editorial: Rising stars in precise sustainable irrigation. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2023; 14:1257658. [PMID: 37600170 PMCID: PMC10433891 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1257658] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2023] [Accepted: 07/24/2023] [Indexed: 08/22/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- María R. Conesa
- Department of Irrigation, Centro de Edafología y Biología Aplicada del Segura – Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CEBAS-CSIC), Murcia, Spain
| | - José F. Maestre-Valero
- Department of Agricultural Engineering, Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena (UPCT), Cartagena, Spain
| | - Victor Blanco
- Department of Horticulture, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, United States
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Blanco V, Willsea N, Campbell T, Howe O, Kalcsits L. Combining thermal imaging and soil water content sensors to assess tree water status in pear trees. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2023; 14:1197437. [PMID: 37346137 PMCID: PMC10280006 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1197437] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2023] [Accepted: 05/26/2023] [Indexed: 06/23/2023]
Abstract
Volumetric soil water content is commonly used for irrigation management in fruit trees. By integrating direct information on tree water status into measurements of soil water content, we can improve detection of water stress and irrigation scheduling. Thermal-based indicators can be an alternative to traditional measurements of midday stem water potential and stomatal conductance for irrigation management of pear trees (Pyrus communis L.). These indicators are easy, quick, and cost-effective. The soil and tree water status of two cultivars of pear trees 'D'Anjou' and 'Bartlett' submitted to regulated deficit irrigation was measured regularly in a pear orchard in Rock Island, WA (USA) for two seasons, 2021 and 2022. These assessments were compared to the canopy temperature (Tc), the difference between the canopy and air temperature (Tc-Ta) and the crop water stress index (CWSI). Trees under deficit irrigation had lower midday stem water potential and stomatal conductance but higher Tc, Tc-Ta, and CWSI. Tc was not a robust method to assess tree water status since it was strongly related to air temperature (R = 0.99). However, Tc-Ta and CWSI were greater than 0°C or 0.5, respectively, and were less dependent on the environmental conditions when trees were under water deficits (midday stem water potential values< -1.2 MPa). Moreover, values of Tc-Ta = 2°C and CWSI = 0.8 occurred when midday stem water potential was close to -1.5 MPa and stomatal conductance was lower than 200 mmol m-2s-1. Soil water content (SWC) was the first indicator in detecting the deficit irrigation applied, however, it was not as strongly related to the tree water status as the thermal-based indicators. Thus, the relation between the indicators studied with the stem water potential followed the order: CWSI > Tc-Ta > SWC = Tc. A multiple regression analysis is proposed that combines both soil water content and thermal-based indices to overcome limitations of individual use of each indicator.
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Affiliation(s)
- Victor Blanco
- Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center, Washington State University, Wenatchee, WA, United States
- Department of Horticulture, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, United States
| | - Noah Willsea
- Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center, Washington State University, Wenatchee, WA, United States
- Department of Horticulture, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, United States
| | - Thiago Campbell
- Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center, Washington State University, Wenatchee, WA, United States
- Department of Horticulture, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, United States
| | - Orlando Howe
- Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center, Washington State University, Wenatchee, WA, United States
- Department of Horticulture, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, United States
| | - Lee Kalcsits
- Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center, Washington State University, Wenatchee, WA, United States
- Department of Horticulture, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, United States
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Gonzalez Nieto L, Huber A, Gao R, Biasuz EC, Cheng L, Stroock AD, Lakso AN, Robinson TL. Trunk Water Potential Measured with Microtensiometers for Managing Water Stress in "Gala" Apple Trees. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 12:plants12091912. [PMID: 37176971 PMCID: PMC10180701 DOI: 10.3390/plants12091912] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2023] [Revised: 04/20/2023] [Accepted: 04/28/2023] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
The weather variations around the world are already having a profound impact on agricultural production. This impacts apple production and the quality of the product. Through agricultural precision, growers attempt to optimize both yield and fruit size and quality. Two experiments were conducted using field-grown "Gala" apple trees in Geneva, NY, USA, in 2021 and 2022. Mature apple trees (Malus × domestica Borkh. cv. Ultima "Gala") grafted onto G.11 rootstock planted in 2015 were used for the experiment. Our goal was to establish a relationship between stem water potential (Ψtrunk), which was continuously measured using microtensiometers, and the growth rate of apple fruits, measured continuously using dendrometers throughout the growing season. The second objective was to develop thresholds for Ψtrunk to determine when to irrigate apple trees. The economic impacts of different irrigation regimes were evaluated. Three different water regimes were compared (full irrigation, rainfed and rain exclusion to induce water stress). Trees subjected the rain-exclusion treatment were not irrigated during the whole season, except in the spring (April and May; 126 mm in 2021 and 100 mm in 2022); that is, these trees did not receive water during June, July, August and half of September. Trees subjected to the rainfed treatment received only rainwater (515 mm in 2021 and 382 mm in 2022). The fully irrigated trees received rain but were also irrigated by drip irrigation (515 mm in 2021 and 565 mm in 2022). Moreover, all trees received the same amount of water out of season in autumn and winter (245 mm in 2021 and 283 mm in 2022). The microtensiometer sensors detected differences in Ψtrunk among our treatments over the entire growing season. In both years, experimental trees with the same trunk cross-section area (TCSA) were selected (23-25 cm-2 TCSA), and crop load was adjusted to 7 fruits·cm-2 TCSA in 2021 and 8.5 fruits·cm-2 TCSA in 2022. However, the irrigated trees showed the highest fruit growth rates and final fruit weight (157 g and 70 mm), followed by the rainfed only treatment (132 g and 66 mm), while the rain-exclusion treatment had the lowest fruit growth rate and final fruit size (107 g and 61 mm). The hourly fruit shrinking and swelling rate (mm·h-1) measured with dendrometers and the hourly Ψtrunk (bar) measured with microtensiometers were correlated. We developed a logistic model to correlate Ψtrunk and fruit growth rate (g·h-1), which suggested a critical value of -9.7 bars for Ψtrunk, above which there were no negative effects on fruit growth rate due to water stress in the relatively humid conditions of New York State. A support vector machine model and a multiple regression model were developed to predict daytime hourly Ψtrunk with radiation and VPD as input variables. Yield and fruit size were converted to crop value, which showed that managing water stress with irrigation during dry periods improved crop value in the humid climate of New York State.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis Gonzalez Nieto
- School of Integrative Plant Sciences, Horticulture Section, Cornell University, Geneva and Ithaca, NY 14456, USA
| | - Annika Huber
- Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
| | - Rui Gao
- Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
| | - Erica Casagrande Biasuz
- School of Integrative Plant Sciences, Horticulture Section, Cornell University, Geneva and Ithaca, NY 14456, USA
| | - Lailiang Cheng
- School of Integrative Plant Sciences, Horticulture Section, Cornell University, Geneva and Ithaca, NY 14456, USA
| | - Abraham D Stroock
- Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
- FloraPulse Co., Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Alan N Lakso
- School of Integrative Plant Sciences, Horticulture Section, Cornell University, Geneva and Ithaca, NY 14456, USA
- FloraPulse Co., Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Terence L Robinson
- School of Integrative Plant Sciences, Horticulture Section, Cornell University, Geneva and Ithaca, NY 14456, USA
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Conesa MR, Conejero W, Vera J, Ruiz-Sánchez MC. Assessment of trunk microtensiometer as a novel biosensor to continuously monitor plant water status in nectarine trees. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2023; 14:1123045. [PMID: 36875560 PMCID: PMC9976420 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1123045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2022] [Accepted: 01/25/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
The objective of this work was to validate the trunk water potential (Ψtrunk), using emerged microtensiometer devices, as a potential biosensor to ascertain plant water status in field-grown nectarine trees. During the summer of 2022, trees were subjected to different irrigation protocols based on maximum allowed depletion (MAD), automatically managed by real-time soil water content values measured by capacitance probes. Three percentages of depletion of available soil water (α) were imposed: (i) α=10% (MAD=27.5%); (ii) α=50% (MAD=21.5%); and (iii) α=100%, no-irrigation until Ψstem reached -2.0 MPa. Thereafter, irrigation was recovered to the maximum water requirement of the crop. Seasonal and diurnal patterns of indicators of water status in the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum (SPAC) were characterised, including air and soil water potentials, pressure chamber-derived stem (Ψstem) and leaf (Ψleaf) water potentials, and leaf gas exchange, together with Ψtrunk. Continuous measurements of Ψtrunk served as a promising indicator to determine plant water status. There was a strong linear relationship between Ψtrunk vs. Ψstem (R2 = 0.86, p<0.001), while it was not significant between Ψtrunk vs. Ψleaf (R2 = 0.37, p>0.05). A mean gradient of 0.3 and 1.8 MPa was observed between Ψtrunk vs.Ψstem and Ψleaf, respectively. In addition, Ψtrunk was the best matched to the soil matric potential. The main finding of this work points to the potential use of trunk microtensiometer as a valuable biosensor for monitoring the water status of nectarine trees. Also, trunk water potential agreed with the automated soil-based irrigation protocols implemented.
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