Anabela A. Fernandes Silva

By Anabela Fernandes-Silva, Manuel Oliveira, Teresa A. Paço and Isabel Ferreira

In regions with Mediterranean climate, water is the major environmental resource that limits growth and production of plants, experiencing a long period of water scarcity during summer. Despite the fact that most plants developed morphological, anatomical, physiological, and biochemical mechanisms that allow to cope with such environments, these harsh summer conditions reduce growth, yield, and fruit quality. Irrigation is implemented to overcome such effects. Conditions of mild water deficit imposed by deficit irrigation strategies, with minimal effects on yield, are particularly suitable for such regions. Efficient irrigation strategies and scheduling techniques require the quantification of crop water requirements but also the identification of pertinent water stress indicators and their threshold. This chapter reviews the scientific information about deficit irrigation recommendations and thresholds concerning water stress indicators on peach trees, olive trees, and grapevines, as case studies.

Part of the book: Irrigation in Agroecosystems

By Manuel Oliveira and Anabela Fernandes-Silva

Yield and quality of fruits are multifaceted traits involving various plant and fruit processes that, for a given genetic makeup, depend on environmental factors and agronomic practices. Crop yield has to meet the demand of a growing population, but crop quality is a challenging issue affected by consumer’s behavior and increasingly associated with food security. The projected climate scenario for South Mediterranean Europe predicts lower precipitation and higher temperatures that will negatively affect agricultural activity. A warmer and drier climate is expected to cause changes in crop yield and its quality. Higher temperatures affect photosynthesis, causing alterations in sugars, organic acids, flavonoid contents, firmness, and antioxidant activity. Reduced soil water availability will impact on the capacity of plants to accumulate biomass and when conjugated with warmer weather, it can trigger disorders like fruit sunburn further depressing crop yields. New cultivation techniques are necessary to produce sufficient food supplies to meet the basic nutrient requirements of the growing human population and support the agriculture economy. We focus on the production of olives and wine grapes, two of the most cultivated fruit crops of Southern Europe, which is certainly strongly affected by changing weather conditions. We review the recent developments on agronomic practices to counter or minimize the projected environmental changes, and we will report on our own experiences.

Part of the book: Modern Fruit Industry