The Water Needs of Grapevines in Central Poland

Abstract

Climate warming increases the water needs of plants. The aim of this study was to estimate the water needs of grapevines in central Poland. Water needs were calculated using the crop coefficients method. Reference evapotranspiration was assessed by the Blaney–Criddle’s equation, modified for climate conditions in Poland. Crop coefficients were assumed according to the Doorenbos and Pruitt method. Water needs were calculated using the data from four meteorological stations. Rainfall deficit with the probability occurrence of normal years, medium dry years, and very dry years was determined by the Ostromęcki’s method. Water needs of grapevines during the average growing season were estimated at 438 mm. Upward time trend in the water needs both in the period of May–October and June–August was estimated. Temporal variability in the water needs was significant for all of the provinces. These changes were mainly impacted by a significant increasing tendency in mean air temperature and less by precipitation totals that did not show a clear changing tendency. Due to climate change, vineyards will require irrigation in the near future. The use of resource-efficient irrigation requires a precise estimate of the grapevines’ water needs. The study identified the water requirements for grapevines in central Poland.

Effect of Forecast Climate Changes on Water Needs of Giant Miscanthus Cultivated in the Kuyavia Region in Poland

“…The increase in the giant miscanthus water needs, found in the present study, confirms the results obtained for other plant species such as grapevine [65,66] or potato [55]. According to Kowalik and Scalenghe [67], the water needs of the crops focused on biomass production are 2-3 times lower in Poland compared to southern Europe.…”

Effect of the Forecast Air Temperature Change on the Water Needs of Vines in the Region of Bydgoszcz, Northern Poland

“…It was found that the values of these indicators in the reference years (1981-2010) were lower than in the forecast years. Finally, it was also found that the values of the studied indicators for grapevines in northern Poland in the years 1981-2010 were lower compared to the corresponding indicators for grapevines in western (1981-2010) and central Poland (1981-2020) [28,29], which proves a higher water deficit in the region of Bydgoszcz.…”

“…Although the grapevine is a drought-resistant plant [25], the forecasted climate changes related to warming and falling rainfall will gradually increase the water needs of this species [26][27][28][29], indicating the necessity of expansion of irrigation systems. Therefore, in recent years, various irrigation techniques have been implemented in production vineyards all over the world, and especially in Europe, which significantly improve the quality of the fruits and increase the yield [30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38].…”

Assessment of the Current and Projected Conditions of Water Availability in the Sevastopol Region for Grape Growing

“…Decreases in precipitation, higher air and soil temperatures, and more frequent and prolonged extreme climatic events (e.g., heatwaves or extreme drought) [30] are predicted to negatively affect some of the viticulture areas in Mediterranean-like climate regions of southern Europe [64,65]. Climatic changes will lead to increased heat stress and water scarcity [13,66], which will require changes in the tillage system [67], the selection of more drought-tolerant rootstocks [68,69], an increase in the water demand of plants and the need for irrigation [68,70,71], as well as the use of different species of wine grapes [9,72], leaf removal and cluster thinning [73][74][75]. The results obtained are important for selecting adaptation measures to the current and future climate changes in the study region.…”