Different Quantities of Applied Water on Olea europaea L. Cultivated under Humid Conditions
Publication: Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 143, Issue 9
Abstract
Due to increased occurrence and intensity of agricultural droughts in humid Mediterranean regions, monitored irrigation is becoming an increasingly inevitable element of agricultural practice. To determine the impact of different irrigation regimes on olive tree (Olea europaea L.) growth and crop yield, and of the olive oil production and biophenol content, a 3-year study was conducted in an olive grove located in a relatively humid region of southwestern Slovenia. The mean olive production from trees under full irrigation (replacement of 100% crop evapotranspiration) was significantly higher than those that were only rain fed or were under deficit irrigation (replacement of 33 and 66% crop evapotranspiration). There were no significant differences in total biophenol contents of the olive oil across these irrigation treatments. These irrigation effects can be explained according to the levels of precipitation throughout the growing season. Despite the positive effects of rainfall on these parameters, the mean olive oil yield of the rain-fed olives was about 30% lower than that for the deficit irrigation treatments.
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Acknowledgments
This study was supported by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food of the Republic of Slovenia and the Slovenian Research Agency (Project No. V4-0557). We would like to thank the Hlaj family for allowing us to perform our study in their olive grove in Dekani. We are grateful to Peter Korpar and our colleagues from the Science and Research Centre, University of Primorska, and the Institute for Mediterranean Agriculture and Olive Growing for their technical assistance, and to Damijana Kastelec for help with the statistical analyses. Our thanks also to the Experimental Centre for Olive Growing and LABS LLC Institute for Ecology, Olive Oil and Control, for their cooperation.
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Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Volume 143 • Issue 9 • September 2017
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©2017 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Oct 19, 2016
Accepted: Mar 27, 2017
Published online: Jun 19, 2017
Published in print: Sep 1, 2017
Discussion open until: Nov 19, 2017
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