Agricultural Practices in the Mediterranean

Vegetable Crops Grown under High Soil Water Availability in Mediterranean Greenhouses

“…This finding can be relevant for implementing new precise automatic irrigation scheduling technologies [28], which appears to be the best way of optimising water and nutrient use in soil-grown Mediterranean greenhouse crops. These results are still of great agronomical interest since there is an urgent need of improving the irrigation water use in many Mediterranean greenhouse areas due to increasing problems of water scarcity, and water and soil pollution and salinization [3,4]. Moreover, in the same area and greenhouse system, [14] recently found a higher yield and aerial biomass in a zucchini crop irrigated when the SMP reached −10 kPa, compared to that irrigated when the SMP reached −25 kPa or −40 kPa.…”

“…However, this hypothesis can not be contrasted since measurements of soil water osmotic potential or soil solution EC are not available in this study. Therefore, further and more detailed research is required to optimise the irrigation water use (irrigation frequency and rate) in soil-grown greenhouse crops irrigated with moderate saline waters since the water quality of many greenhouse Mediterranean areas is deteriorating [3,4].…”

“…In soil-grown greenhouse crops, regulating the soil water availability without affecting plant photosynthesis by varying the irrigation frequency throughout the crop cycle can be useful for: (i) producing fruit vegetable plants with a better equilibrium between vegetative (source strength) and generative (sink strength) parts [16], or enhancing fruit quality [27]; (ii) modifying the soil root distribution in order to increase the potential root access to water and nutrients and to improve the use of these scarce resources; and (iii) controlling or minimising salt accumulation in the root zone. The latter might become of great interest since the irrigation water quality of many greenhouse Mediterranean areas is deteriorating [3,4]. Farmers, by varying the irrigation frequency, can maintain relatively low soil water availability when the plant vegetative growth is too vigorous or increase the soil volume explored by the roots, or can maintain relatively high soil water availability over periods under stressful climate conditions, such as periods of hot and dry winds.…”

“…One of the largest greenhouse areas in the world is located on the SE Spanish Mediterranean coast, where fruit-vegetable crops are usually grown in low-cost structures covered with plastic film, without active climate control systems and with enarenado (sand-mulched) soils [1]. In this and other Mediterranean greenhouse areas, crops are intensive and heavily fertigated, the irrigation water is usually scarce and the quality of surface and groundwater sources is deteriorating [2][3][4]. Consequently, there is increasing pressure to optimise irrigation management.…”

Unveiling Contrasting Preferred Trajectories of Local Development in Southeast Portugal

“…Intensification in the case study was mainly associated with the advancement of wide-scale irrigation structures in territory that was traditionally rainfed. Agriculture within the irrigation perimeter has been developed to obtain higher yields and meet the increasing national and international demand for Mediterranean products [38,39]. There was a fast-growth of olive yards to meet the high demand for olive oil [40].…”