Principles and Practices of Plant-based Irrigation Management

Abstract

Many consider tools for plant-based irrigation management methods to be the most precise way to manage irrigation in either a research or a commercial settings. Although many types of tools are available, they all measure some aspect of water movement along the soil–plant–atmosphere continuum. This article presents some of the more commonly used tools and the methods involved to properly employ them. In addition, recent literature is reviewed to provide context to the methods themselves and also to highlight each one’s specific advantages and disadvantages. Ultimately, there is no clear winner or “best” tool as all have disadvantages, either due to prohibitive cost, the amount of data output, the difficulty of data interpretation, lack of signal resolution, or lack of dynamic ability to provide decision support. Therefore, we conclude that the user should carefully weigh these varied advantages and disadvantages in the context of their production goals before deciding on a given tool for irrigation management.

Sensitivity and Regulation of Diel Photosynthesis in Red-Fleshed Pitaya (Hylocereus polyrhizus) Micropropagules under Mannitol-Induced Water Stress/Rehydration Cycle In Vitro

“…An increasing Pn trend was displayed in 1 Treatments: control, water potentials (WP) of exchanged culture solutions were −0.5 MPa every week; moderate water stress, the WP of the culture solution on week 2 was −1.0 MPa induced by mannitol but −0.5 MPa for the rest of the weeks; intensified water stress, WP of culture solutions on weeks 2 and 3 were −0.5 and −1.0 MPa, and that of the other weeks were −0.5 MPa. 2 Means followed by the same letters within the same column were not significantly different at α = 0.05 via Fisher's protected LSD test. In addition, * represents a significant difference between the treating week and week 1 in the same row at α = 0.05 via the Student's paired t-test.…”

“…1 Treatments: control, water potentials (WP) of exchanged culture solutions were −0.5 MPa every week; moderate water stress, the WP of the culture solution on week 2 was −1.0 MPa induced by mannitol but −0.5 MPa for the rest of the weeks; intensified water stress, WP of culture solutions on weeks 2 and 3 were −0.5 and −1.0 MPa, and that for the other weeks were −0.5 MPa. 2 Treatments were adapted in −0.5 MPa MS solution for 1 week before the experiment.…”

“…Water content (WC) of plants depends on the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum [1,2], where soil-water absorbed by roots via cohesion [3] transpires through stomata under moderate vapor pressure deficit (VPD). Soil-water availability and water potential (WP) regulate WC, leaf area, and photosynthesis, affecting crop production and food security [4][5][6].…”

Predicting the canopy conductance to water vapor of grapevines using a biophysical model in a hot and arid climate

“…Grapevine water status is significantly affected by soil moisture content, which governs plant water supply, and by leaf transpiration, which controls plant water loss (Dry and Loveys, 1999;Buckley, 2017;Levin et al, 2019). Both these factors influence the regulation of g sw (Chaves et al, 2010;Costa et al, 2012;Buckley and Mott, 2013;Buckley, 2017;Levin and Nackley, 2021). Several studies aiming to identify water stress thresholds in grapevines have focused on using g sw as a key indicator, especially for deficit irrigation strategies (Jones, 2004).…”

A leaf-mounted capacitance sensor for continuous monitoring of foliar transpiration and solar irradiance as an indicator of plant water status

“…This leads to a reduction of the tissues' relative water content and to a concomitant decrease of the respective water potentials. Most of the commonly used indicators of plant water status, such as leaf relative water content, leaf and stem water potentials, leaf thickness, stem or fruit diameter and others are direct or indirect consequences of the intertwined dynamics of plant transpiration and water uptake (Jones and Higgs, 1979;McBurney, 1992;Levin and Nackley, 2021).…”