The olive tree (Olea europaea) is well known for its adaptation to dry conditions and able to produce quality fruits even under extreme water-limited environments. Despite anatomical and physiological drought resistance mechanisms olive plants may experience considerable water stress during summer. With global climate change olives are more often exposed to longer summer droughts negatively affecting growth, development and yield. Therefore irrigation of olive orchard is a feasible agronomical measure. In this work we describe physiological performance of differently irrigated olive trees throughout the season. High spring photosynthetic rates were severely reduced in summer due to reduced water availability. A decrease can be related to stomatal closure and corresponds well with the drop of water potential. Irrigation significantly mitigated this negative effect.
D.10 Educational activities
COBISS.SI-ID: 8554617In 2015 Slovenian Istria recorded extreme dry conditions, which greatly influenced olive production. In order to determine soil water deficit and minimal irrigation ratio in olive production under extreme dry conditions, irrigation experiment in olive orchard was set. Three deficit irrigation treatments, based on percentage of potential crop reference evapotranspiration (ETp) were evaluated (15% crop evapotranspiration ETc, 33% ETc, 40% ETc). Results show that in addition to soil characteristics and accumulated soil water storage also position and exposition of the orchard influence irrigation demand
B.03 Paper at an international scientific conference
COBISS.SI-ID: 8529017Olive trees have been traditionally cultivated under rainfall conditions, as they are well known to be resistant to drought. In high-density, irrigated olive orchard, greater yields and reduced alternate bearing behaviour are recorded. However, since most olives are grown in areas subjected to water scarcity, regulated deficit irrigation is a promising technique for achieving quality yield with lower water consumption. In an intensive olive orchard (Olea europaea L., cv. ‘istrska belica’) in south east Slovenia (Slovenian Istria), soil water conditions under three continuous deficit irrigation treatments (15% crop evapotranspiration (ETc), 33% ETc, 40% ETc) were compared to full irrigation (100% ETc) and rain-fed conditions. Soil water content was measured by using TDR (Time Domain Reflectometry) probes, and in this paper soil water conditions from May throught September in 2015 were evaluated. Soil water storage under rain-fed conditions was depleted at the beginning of the study season. Full irrigation (100% ETc) provided optimum soil water conditions, under this treatment soil water content remained in the range of field capacity throughout the season (between 28 and 32 %). Under deficit treatments, 40% ETc and 33% ETc, soil water conditions remained on the lower end of plant available water (around 25 %), intermittently reaching water content of permanent wilting point (18 %). Soil water content under 15% ETc treatment and rain-fed conditions remained between 20 and 10%, which is close to or below permanent wilting point. Amount of water, added with irrigation in the studied period varied between individual tree rows. This indicates at the influence of orchard structure on water demand.
B.03 Paper at an international scientific conference
COBISS.SI-ID: 1538833092