Abstract
Introduction. The aim of this work was to study the effects of regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) on fruit yield, fruit weight and fruit quality parameters, as well as soil-plant water relations, in apple orchards under high-frequency subsurface drip irrigation in a region with a continental climate. Materials and methods. Four irrigation treatments were applied in 2010 and 2011 to apple trees cv. ‘Gala’: T1, no irrigation; T2, optimal irrigation except during summer; T3, optimal irrigation except during summer when RDI with a threshold for irrigation at –1.2 MPa midday stem water potential (Ψstem) was utilised; T4, optimal irrigation. The soil water status and plant water status were followed over two growing seasons. Results and discussion. The irrigation treatments had no significant impact on fruit yield. However, compared with optimal irrigation (T4) and RDI (T3), the absence of irrigation in summer (T1, T2) induced low Ψstem (< –1.2 MPa), decreased fruit size and slightly increased the soluble solid, vitamin C and polyphenol contents of the fruits. The RDI (T3) during summer allowed a water-use reduction of 47% without loss in fruit yield, fruit weight and fruit quality compared with the optimal irrigation (T4). Conclusion. The RDI treatment saved 47% water compared with optimal irrigation without negative impacts on yield and fruit quality. In the temperate conditions of Switzerland, Ψstem, as well as Ψsoil, are well adapted for scheduling RDI in apple orchards.
Abstract from the paper’s OpenAlex record, shown for indexing and research. Copyright remains with the authors or the publisher. Read at the source ↗
The text the model read, with the source record’s inline markup (italics, sub- and superscripts) rendered and its character entities decoded; quote offsets refer to the raw text.
Claims 6
Claim · model-written summary
Regulated deficit irrigation during summer allowed a 47% reduction in water use without loss of fruit yield, fruit weight or fruit quality compared with optimal irrigation.
- Taxon
- apple trees
Malus domesticat0 - Treatment
- RDI (T3) during summere3
- Outcome
- water-usee3
- Direction
- reductione3
- Value
- 47%e3
- Comparator
- optimal irrigation (T4)e3
- Setting
- temperate conditions of Switzerlande5
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“subsurface drip-irrigated apple trees”
e3“The RDI (T3) during summer allowed a water-use reduction of 47% without loss in fruit yield, fruit weight and fruit quality compared with the optimal irrigation (T4)”
e5“In the temperate conditions of Switzerland, Ψstem, as well as Ψsoil, are well adapted for scheduling RDI in apple orchards”
Claim · model-written summary
The irrigation treatments had no significant effect on fruit yield.
- Taxon
- apple treesMalus domesticat0
- Treatment
- irrigation treatmentse1
- Outcome
- fruit yielde1
- Direction
- no_changeinferrede1
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“subsurface drip-irrigated apple trees”
e1“The irrigation treatments had no significant impact on fruit yield”
Claim · model-written summary
Absence of summer irrigation induced low stem water potential (below -1.2 MPa).
- Taxon
- apple treesMalus domesticat0
- Treatment
- the absence of irrigation in summer (T1, T2)e2
- Outcome
- Ψsteme2
- Direction
- lowe2
- Value
- < –1.2 MPae2
- Comparator
- optimal irrigation (T4) and RDI (T3)e2
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“subsurface drip-irrigated apple trees”
e2“compared with optimal irrigation (T4) and RDI (T3), the absence of irrigation in summer (T1, T2) induced low Ψstem (< –1.2 MPa), decreased fruit size and slightly increased the soluble solid, vitamin C and polyphenol contents of the fruits”
Claim · model-written summary
Absence of summer irrigation decreased fruit size.
- Taxon
- apple treesMalus domesticat0
- Treatment
- the absence of irrigation in summer (T1, T2)e2
- Outcome
- fruit sizee2
- Direction
- decreasede2
- Comparator
- optimal irrigation (T4) and RDI (T3)e2
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“subsurface drip-irrigated apple trees”
e2“compared with optimal irrigation (T4) and RDI (T3), the absence of irrigation in summer (T1, T2) induced low Ψstem (< –1.2 MPa), decreased fruit size and slightly increased the soluble solid, vitamin C and polyphenol contents of the fruits”
Claim · model-written summary
Absence of summer irrigation slightly increased soluble solid, vitamin C and polyphenol contents of the fruit.
- Taxon
- apple treesMalus domesticat0
- Treatment
- the absence of irrigation in summer (T1, T2)e2
- Outcome
- soluble solid, vitamin C and polyphenol contentse2
- Direction
- slightly increasede2
- Comparator
- optimal irrigation (T4) and RDI (T3)e2
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“subsurface drip-irrigated apple trees”
e2“compared with optimal irrigation (T4) and RDI (T3), the absence of irrigation in summer (T1, T2) induced low Ψstem (< –1.2 MPa), decreased fruit size and slightly increased the soluble solid, vitamin C and polyphenol contents of the fruits”
Claim · model-written summary
Stem and soil water potentials are well adapted for scheduling RDI in apple orchards in the temperate conditions of Switzerland.
- Taxon
- apple treesMalus domesticat0
- Outcome
- scheduling RDI in apple orchardse5
- Setting
- temperate conditions of Switzerlande5
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“subsurface drip-irrigated apple trees”
e5“In the temperate conditions of Switzerland, Ψstem, as well as Ψsoil, are well adapted for scheduling RDI in apple orchards”
The same questions in other papers
irrigation · physiology: water · Malus domestica (apple)Positive and negative results
25 papers in the same direction as this paper · 11 in the opposite direction · 1 reporting no difference from an alternative
- no effect
- positive
- negative
34 papers more in this group
See all 38 papers →irrigation · yield · Malus domestica (apple)Positive and negative results
20 papers in the same direction as this paper · 63 in the opposite direction
- positive
- positive
- positive
80 papers more in this group
See all 84 papers →irrigation · quality: phytochemicals · Malus domestica (apple)Results agree
5 papers in the same direction as this paper
- positive
- positive
- positive
2 papers more in this group
See all 6 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.