2023-10-28 09:00:00
By INTA.
The change in climate transformed the precipitation and temperature regime on a global scale and Argentina is no stranger to this situation. At this point, the problem is that, in the countryside, the activity linked to food production has a strong dependence on the climate, more specifically on water – which often comes from rain, snow or thaws – and of temperatures, among other variables. Because the changes that occur in the climate affect the agricultural sector in different ways and with different magnitudes, an INTA research team focuses on studying how to continue producing quality fruits with the least amount of water possible, without sacrificing production. and quality.
In the irrigated valleys of North Patagonia, irrigation is an essential practice for the development of agricultural areas.. However, the operation of the irrigation system is one of the recharge factors of the phreatic aquifer, which registers shallow levels at the beginning of the productive season in almost 40% of the total surface of the Alto Valle. As a consequence, andIn recent years, associated problems have been detected, irrigation and drainage managementa consequence of the gradual rise of the water table.
Lucía Mañueco is a researcher at INTA Alto Valle –Río Negro– and is in charge of studying the performance of gravitational irrigation and the fluctuation of water table levels. to make more efficient use of water and to evaluate technologies that allow us to understand and satisfy the water needs of crops.
In that line, Mañueco quantified the entry of capillary water to the root zone from a shallow water table in different fruit crops, with gravitational and localized irrigation.
It was demonstrated that the surface water table is a complement to irrigation in the Williams pear crop under the conditions of the Upper Valley.
Lucía Mañueco, researcher at INTA Alto Valle –Río Negro–.
“The Upper Valley of Río Negro and Neuquén is an intensive fruit-growing area that is under irrigation and because the existence of shallow water tables modifies the water content in the soil profile.“It is important to estimate the amount of water that rises by capillarity to improve irrigation management and allow the crop to reach its maximum performance and development in stress-free conditions,” said Mañueco.
With this study, “It was demonstrated that the surface water table is a complement to irrigation in the Williams pear crop in the conditions of the Alto Valle“, indicated the INTA researcher who warned that the increase in soil moisture and the quantification of that amount of water must be considered in irrigation programming.
Walnuts: guidelines to produce with better water distribution
According to Claudio Giardina, specialist in irrigation technologies at INTA Rama Caída –Mendoza–, Irrigation management is a priority for agriculture in areas where rainfall is scarce or insufficient. “To irrigate with adequate efficiency, and ensure good yield of the fruit forest, a correct choice of the irrigation method is necessary to avoid periods of water deficit,” he explained.
Giardina studies how to choose the best irrigation strategy for growing walnut trees. In this sense, he explained that “The walnut tree in Argentina increased its cultivated area in the last two decades thanks to the incorporation of new technologies, including pressurized irrigation methods.”. In any case, this modernization did not always mean an increase in production, especially in shallow soils or soils with little water retention capacity, which can limit radical expansion.
In the semi-arid center-west of Argentina, water is the most limiting factor and the cost of each unit of water applied weighs on the economic efficiency of the crop. “So it is necessary to maximize efficiency,” stressed the INTA specialist who set out to evaluate how the crop uses irrigation water for its growth. Thus, through different strategies, he applied the same volume of irrigation water to achieve different wet soil surfaces.
To irrigate with adequate efficiency, and ensure good yield of the fruit forest, a correct choice of the irrigation method is necessary.
Claudio Giardina, specialist in irrigation technologies at INTA Rama Caída –Mendoza–.
Thus, a trial was carried out in a fruit forest of the Chandler cultivar grafted on Juglans hindsii rootstock with pressurized irrigation, in the town of Cuadro Benegas, San Rafael (Mendoza). to evaluate the response of different parameters, such as vegetative growth (root growth and distribution, trunk cross-sectional area growth, leaf area) and productive (yield and quality of nuts) to the variation in the volume of wet soil (VSM).
“The study included a treatment of 44% of the volume of wet soil with a double line of drippers per planting row; another with 56% volume of wet soil with a quadruple line of drippers per planting row and a last one with 42% volume of wet soil through a line of micro-sprinklers per planting row,” explained Giardina who added that, as a result , It was observed that the second treatment – four irrigation lines per row – ensured better vegetative growth, contributed to the expansion of the root system by occupying a greater volume of soil and with more root density, and allowed greater production and better quality..
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