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Horticulturae
Special Issues
Irrigation and Fertilization Strategies in Orchards
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Irrigation and Fertilization Strategies in Orchards

A special issue of Horticulturae (ISSN 2311-7524). This special issue belongs to the section "Fruit Production Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2024) | Viewed by 2928

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Anabela A. Fernandes-Silva

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Guest Editor
Agronomy Department, Scholl of Agrarian and Veterinary Sciences, University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro CITAB-Centre for the Research and Technology of Agro-Environmental and Biological Sciences, Quinta de Prados, 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal
Interests: Irrigation and water management; water use efficiency; evapotranspiration; plant water relations; drought; precision irrigation
Prof. Dr. Teresa Afonso do Paço

E-Mail Website
Co-Guest Editor
LEAF—Linking Landscape, Environment, Agriculture and Food—Research Center, Associated Laboratory TERRA, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa, 1649-004 Lisbon, Portugal
Interests: plant water requirements; irrigation; plant water stress; evapotranspiration; woody crops
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Gonçalo C. Rodrigues

E-Mail Website
Co-Guest Editor
LEAF, Linking Landscape, Environment, Agriculture And Food, Instituto Superior de Agronomia (ISA), School of Agriculture, University of Lisbon, Tapada da Ajuda, 1349-017 Lisbon, Portugal
Interests: precision irrigation; farming sustainability; agroeconomics; water resource management; irrigation efficiecy; precision agriculture
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Orchard irrigation and fertilization practices require special attention to optimize all system components in order to achieve efficient water and fertilizer management with minimal environmental impacts, preventing soil salinization, leaching, and contamination of both ground and surface water. In many parts of the world, irrigation water has been over-exploited and over-used and freshwater shortage is becoming critical, mainly in the arid and semiarid areas, which is exacerbated in the actual context of climate change. Thus, deficit irrigation strategies and the use of non-conventional water sources, such as wastewater, and more specifically reclaimed water (RW), are the most sustainable alternatives to cope with water shortages.

Fertilization management of orchards is highly complex, requiring precise knowledge of nutrient requirements in each phenological stage. Traditionally, in rainfed orchards, fertilizers are sprayed to ground; however, in irrigated ones, they can be applied by drip irrigation. Both systems are usually complemented with foliar application. However, nutrient inputs have been so far applied without considering spatial variability of field characteristics, resulting in an inefficient management due to under-application or over-application, with negative impacts on crop yields and the environment.

The purpose of this Special Issue, “Irrigation and Fertilization Strategies in Orchards”, is to present innovative studies, tools, strategies, and techniques recently developed by researchers worldwide, successful in addressing some of these concerns. Articles reviewing the state of the art are also welcome to this Special Issue.

Prof. Dr. Anabela A. Fernandes-Silva
Prof. Dr. Teresa Afonso do Paço
Dr. Gonçalo C. Rodrigues
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Horticulturae is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • precision farming
  • crop performance and fruit quality
  • organic fertilization
  • resource saving
  • fertigation scheduling
  • soil and water quality
  • plant water requirements
  • high precision measurement

Published Papers (2 papers)

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20 pages, 3022 KiB  
Article
Effects of Deficit Irrigation and Anti-Stressors on Water Productivity, and Fruit Quality at Harvest and Stored ‘Murcott’ Mandarin
by Hayam M. Elmenofy, Harlene M. Hatterman-Valenti, Islam F. Hassan and Mahmoud Mohamed Abdalla Mahmoud
Horticulturae 2023, 9(7), 787; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae9070787 - 11 Jul 2023
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Abstract
A two-year experiment using ‘Murcott’ mandarin (Citrus reticulata) was conducted under deficit irrigation (DI) strategies with an anti-stressor application and then stored. The three DI regimes were 70% crop evapotranspiration (70% ETC), 85% ETc, and full irrigation (100% ETc). [...] Read more.
A two-year experiment using ‘Murcott’ mandarin (Citrus reticulata) was conducted under deficit irrigation (DI) strategies with an anti-stressor application and then stored. The three DI regimes were 70% crop evapotranspiration (70% ETC), 85% ETc, and full irrigation (100% ETc). Anti-stressor treatments consisted of a foliar application of either sodium nitroprusside (SNP), selenium nanoparticles (NanoSe), microalgae (Spirulina platensis), or a non-treated control. Mean water productivity values were highest for trees at 70% ETc and 85% ETc when they were sprayed with microalgae, which was 42% and 51% greater, respectively, compared to control trees at 100% ETc, but only 6.5% and 13% greater, respectively, compared to trees sprayed with microalgae at 100% ETc. Trees sprayed with microalgae at 100% ETc or 85% ETc had the highest and second-highest fruit yields. The percentage of fruit water loss after 15 d storage at either 1.5 °C + 90% RH or 16 ± 2 °C + 60–65% RH was reduced at all DI regimes when trees were sprayed with an anti-stressor compared to control trees at the same DI regime. Trees sprayed with 150 μmol L−1 SNP had the only fruit peel that maintained the carotenoid content after cold storage. In general, trees sprayed with SNP were most successful at each DI regime for reduced Malondialdehyde (MDA), but after 15 d of cold storage, only trees sprayed with 150 μmol L−1 SNP at 85% ETc or 100% ETc and/or trees sprayed with NanoSe at 70% ETc had fruit that maintained low MDA content. Catalase and peroxidase enzyme activities and proline content were enhanced when trees were sprayed with 150 μmol L−1 SNP during DI strategies. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of deficit irrigation combined with anti-stressor applications to improve water productivity, fruit yields, and post-storage quality of ‘Murcott’ mandarin trees. These findings offer valuable insights into sustainable citrus production under limited water resources. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Irrigation and Fertilization Strategies in Orchards)
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Review

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19 pages, 1825 KiB  
Review
Apple Growing in Norway—Ecologic Factors, Current Fertilization Practices and Fruit Quality: A Case Study
by Vlado Ličina, Tore Krogstad, Milica Fotirić Akšić and Mekjell Meland
Horticulturae 2024, 10(3), 233; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae10030233 - 28 Feb 2024
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Abstract
This paper presents some features of apple production in Norway, the northernmost apple-growing country in the world. Acceptable growing conditions prevail along the fjords in western Norway and around the lakes in eastern Norway at 60° north. These specific mesic climate conditions are [...] Read more.
This paper presents some features of apple production in Norway, the northernmost apple-growing country in the world. Acceptable growing conditions prevail along the fjords in western Norway and around the lakes in eastern Norway at 60° north. These specific mesic climate conditions are associated with very long summer days (18 h daylight mid-summer) and short winter days (6 h daylight), with frost rarely occurring in the spring along the fjord areas. The present apple-growing technique in Norway is similar to that of other developed apple-growing countries, taking into account that all local growing phases involve a considerable delay in progress (1.5–2 months). Therefore, high-density planting systems based on the use of dwarf rootstocks (mainly M.9) with imported early maturing international apple cultivars are used in most orchards. The most common soil type has high organic matter content (2–18%), which persists due to the cool climate and low mineralization, and a clay content of <15%, which results from the formation of the soil from bedrock. The increase in average temperatures caused by current climatic changes leads to a complex combination of different physiological effects on apples, which can have positive or negative effects on the phenology of the trees. The main advantage of Norwegian apple production is that the quality and aroma of the fruit meet the current demands of the local market. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Irrigation and Fertilization Strategies in Orchards)
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