Abstract
Improvements in the efficiency of water use in Australian vineyards have included a move away from diffuse or ‘total cover’ irrigation techniques to drip irrigation systems. This change in irrigation method has a significant effect on moisture distribution within the soil profile, with implications for root growth, root-system architecture, and soil-water acquisition. Those issues are addressed in this paper. Our report is based on grapevines that had been established under a diffuse irrigation system (overhead sprinklers or microjets) and subsequently converted to drippers. Results are also presented to show the influence of soils with different water holding capacities on root distribution within a single vineyard. Variations in soil texture within a vineyard were found to influence the vertical distribution of roots, whereas irrigation history had more influence on horizontal variations in root density within a depth range. Conversion of vines from sprinkler irrigation to drippers resulted in a marked increase in total root mass (volume) under the drip line, particularly 25–50 cm below the surface. Roots were differentially influenced by irrigation history according to their diameter class. Under drip irrigation, the largest increase in root-length density occurred with roots in diameter classes between 1 and 4 mm diameter. Grapevines established under sprinklers, and subsequently converted to drip irrigation, had significantly larger root systems (within the volume of soil sampled) than did vines maintained under sprinklers throughout. Therefore, vines established under sprinkler irrigation and then converted to drippers may be better equipped to cope with deficit irrigation during drought (via either RDI or PRD), by virtue of those additional roots.
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Claims 6
Claim · model-written summary
Soil texture influenced vertical root distribution.
- Organ / stage
- rootse0
- Treatment
- Variations in soil texturee0
- Outcome
- vertical distribution of rootse0
- Setting
- vineyarde0
VitisNot reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Variations in soil texture within a vineyard were found to influence the vertical distribution of roots”
t0“grapevine root distribution”
Claim · model-written summary
Irrigation history more strongly influenced horizontal root-density variation.
- Organ / stage
- roote0
- Treatment
- irrigation historye0
- Outcome
- horizontal variations in root densitye0
- Direction
- more influencee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“irrigation history had more influence on horizontal variations in root density within a depth range”
t0“grapevine root distribution”
Claim · model-written summary
Converting sprinkler-irrigated vines to drippers increased total root mass under the drip line.
- Organ / stage
- roote0
- Treatment
- Conversion of vines from sprinkler irrigation to dripperse0
- Outcome
- total root mass (volume)e0
- Direction
- marked increasee0
- Qualifier
- 25–50 cm below the surfacee0
- Comparator
- sprinkler irrigatione0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Conversion of vines from sprinkler irrigation to drippers resulted in a marked increase in total root mass (volume) under the drip line, particularly 25–50 cm below the surface.”
t0“grapevine root distribution”
Claim · model-written summary
Under drip irrigation, root-length density increased most for roots 1–4 mm in diameter.
- Organ / stage
- rootse0
- Treatment
- drip irrigatione0
- Outcome
- root-length densitye0
- Direction
- largest increasee0
- Qualifier
- between 1 and 4 mm diametere0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Under drip irrigation, the largest increase in root-length density occurred with roots in diameter classes between 1 and 4 mm diameter.”
t0“grapevine root distribution”
Claim · model-written summary
Converted vines had significantly larger root systems than vines maintained under sprinklers.
- Organ / stage
- root systemse0
- Treatment
- converted to drip irrigatione0
- Outcome
- root systemse0
- Direction
- largere0
- Qualifier
- within the volume of soil samplede0
- Comparator
- vines maintained under sprinklers throughoute0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Grapevines established under sprinklers, and subsequently converted to drip irrigation, had significantly larger root systems (within the volume of soil sampled) than did vines maintained under sprinklers throughout.”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors suggest converted vines may cope better with deficit irrigation during drought.
- Treatment
- converted to dripperse0
- Outcome
- better equipped to cope with deficit irrigation during droughte0
- Qualifier
- may bee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“vines established under sprinkler irrigation and then converted to drippers may be better equipped to cope with deficit irrigation during drought (via either RDI or PRD), by virtue of those additional roots”
t0“grapevine root distribution”
The same questions in other papers
irrigation · growth · VitisPositive and negative results
27 papers in the same direction as this paper · 13 in the opposite direction · 1 reporting no difference from an alternative
- no effect
- negative
- negative
38 papers more in this group
See all 42 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.