Water Conservation, Growth, and Water Use Efficiency of Container-grown Woody Ornamentals Irrigated Based on Daily Water Use

Warsaw, Aaron L.; Fernandez, R. Thomas; Cregg, Bert M.; Andresen, Jeffrey A.

doi:10.21273/hortsci.44.5.1308

Cited by 46 publications

(83 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Tyler et al (1996) found a reduction of only 8% of maximum shoot dry weight for Cotoneaster dammeri 'Skogholm' with a leaching fraction of 0.0 to 0.2 instead of 0.4 to 0.6. Applying 6% to 75% less water than the control treatment of 19 mm · d -1 increased shoot dry weight or had no effect on 23 different woody ornamental species (Warsaw et al, 2009). Our results support these findings with shoot dry weight of plants produced at the 0.40-m 3 · m -3 threshold similar to those grown at the 0.50-m 3 · m -3 threshold while receiving 49% and 87% less water for 'August Beauty' and 'Radicans', respectively.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 89%

“…Best management practices such as cyclic irrigation, grouping plants based on water needs, and runoff collection basins are effective methods of improving irrigation (Chappell et al, 2013a) but do not control irrigation based on actual crop water requirements. Approaches to irrigation control based on substrate volumetric water content and/or daily water use (DWU) apply only the water needed by the crop to replace what is lost resulting from evapotranspiration and can provide greater efficiency (Bayer et al, 2013;van Iersel et al, 2010;Warsaw et al, 2009). Irrigating based on q and DWU requires knowledge of a diversity of ornamental plant water requirements, which is currently limited (Warsaw et al, 2009).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Approaches to irrigation control based on substrate volumetric water content and/or daily water use (DWU) apply only the water needed by the crop to replace what is lost resulting from evapotranspiration and can provide greater efficiency (Bayer et al, 2013;van Iersel et al, 2010;Warsaw et al, 2009). Irrigating based on q and DWU requires knowledge of a diversity of ornamental plant water requirements, which is currently limited (Warsaw et al, 2009). Understanding how plant growth is affected by maintenance of different q thresholds will allow for species-specific guidelines.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Automated Irrigation Control for Improved Growth and Quality of Gardenia jasminoides ‘Radicans’ and ‘August Beauty’

Bayer

Ruter

Iersel

2015

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Additional index words. volumetric water content, nursery production, woody ornamentals, soil moisture sensor, container plants Abstract. Sustainable use of water resources is of increasing importance in container plant production as a result of decreasing water availability and an increasing number of laws and regulations regarding nursery runoff. Soil moisture sensor-controlled, automated irrigation can be used to irrigate when substrate volumetric water content (u) drops below a threshold, improving irrigation efficiency by applying water only as needed. We compared growth of two Gardenia jasminoides cultivars, slow-growing and challenging 'Radicans' and easier, fast-growing 'August Beauty', at various u thresholds. Our objective was to determine how irrigation can be applied more efficiently without negatively affecting plant quality, allowing for cultivar-specific guidelines. Soil moisture sensor-controlled, automated irrigation was used to maintain u thresholds of 0.20, 0.30, 0.40, or 0.50 m 3 · m L3 . Growth of both cultivars was related to u threshold, and patterns of growth were similar in both Watkinsville and Tifton, GA. High mortality was observed at the 0.20-m 3 · m L3 threshold with poor root establishment resulting from the low irrigation volume. Height, width, shoot dry weight, root dry weight, and leaf size were greater for the 0.40 and 0.50 m 3 · m L3 than the 0.20 and 0.30-m 3 · m L3 u thresholds. Irrigation volume increased with increasing u thresholds for both cultivars. For 'August Beauty', cumulative irrigation volume ranged from 0.96 to 63.21 L/plant in Tifton and 1.89 to 87.9 L/plant in Watkinsville. For 'Radicans', cumulative irrigation volume ranged from 1.32 to 126 L/plant in Tifton and from 1.38 to 261 L/plant in Watkinsville. There was a large irrigation volume difference between the 0.40 and 0.50-m 3 · m L3 u thresholds with little additional growth, suggesting that the additional irrigation applied led to overirrigation and leaching. Bud and flower number of 'Radicans' were greatest for the 0.40-m 3 · m L3 u threshold, indicating that overirrigation can reduce flowering. The results of this study show that growth of the different G. jasminoides cultivars responded similarly to u threshold at both locations. Similarities in growth and differences in irrigation volume at the 0.40 and 0.50-m 3 · m L3 u thresholds show that more efficient irrigation can be used without negatively impacting growth.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 89%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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Automated Irrigation Control for Improved Growth and Quality of Gardenia jasminoides ‘Radicans’ and ‘August Beauty’

Bayer

Ruter

Iersel

2015

horts

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“…Others have reported little to no change in shoot dry weight with reduced irrigation volumes. Warsaw et al (2009) reported increased or no effect on plant growth index for 23 common container-grown woody ornamental species by irrigating based on replacement of 100% DWU or less (that reduced total irrigation applied by 6% to 75% depending on treatment and species) compared with the control of 19 mm per irrigation. Welsh et al threshold at which the plants were irrigated (left) or total irrigation volume (right).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Water Use and Growth of Hibiscus acetosella ‘Panama Red’ Grown with a Soil Moisture Sensor-controlled Irrigation System

Bayer¹,

Mahbub²,

Chappell³

et al. 2013

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Efficient water use is becoming increasingly important for horticultural operations to satisfy regulations regarding runoff along with adapting to the decreasing availability of water to agriculture. Generally, best management practices (BMPs) are used to conserve water. However, BMPs do not account for water requirements of plants. Soil moisture sensors can be used along with an automated irrigation system to irrigate when substrate volumetric water content (u) drops below a set threshold, allowing for precise irrigation control and improved water conservation compared with traditional irrigation practices. The objective of this research was to quantify growth of Hibiscus acetosella 'Panama Red' (PP#20,121) in response to various u thresholds. Experiments were performed in a greenhouse in Athens, GA, and on outdoor nursery pads in Watkinsville and Tifton, GA. Soil moisture sensors were used to maintain u above specific thresholds (0.10, 0.15, 0.20, 0.25, 0.30, 0.35, 0.40, and 0.45 m 3 · m L3 ). Shoot dry weight increased from 7.3 to 58.8 g, 8.0 to 50.6 g, and from 3.9 to 35.9 g with increasing u thresholds from 0.10 to 0.45 m 3 · m L3 in the greenhouse, Watkinsville, and Tifton studies, respectively. Plant height also increased with increasing u threshold in all studies. Total irrigation volume increased with increasing u threshold from 1.9 to 41.6 L/plant, 0.06 to 23.0 L/plant, and 0.24 to 33.6 L/plant for the greenhouse, Watkinsville, and Tifton studies, respectively. Daily light integral (DLI) was found to be the most important factor influencing daily water use (DWU) in the greenhouse study; DWU was also found to be low on days with low DLI in nursery studies. In all studies, increased irrigation volume led to increased growth; however, water use efficiency (grams of shoot dry weight produced per liters of water used) decreased for u thresholds above 0.35 m 3 · m L3 . Results from the greenhouse and nursery studies indicate that sensor-controlled irrigation is feasible and that u thresholds can be adjusted to control plant growth.

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“…), vinca (Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don), and wax begonia (Begonia × semperflorens-cultorum Hort. ); or remain unaffected by substrate VWC for cheddar pink (Dianthus gratianopolitanus L.), columbine (Aquilegia canadensis L.), geranium (Pelargonium × hortorum Bailey), petunia, and rosemary [8,[13][14][15][16][17].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Substrate Volumetric Water Content Controls Growth and Development of Containerized Culinary Herbs

et al. 2019

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There are no chemical plant growth retardants that may be used on containerized culinary herbs intended for consumption. Our objective was to quantify the effect of substrate moisture content on the growth of four commonly produced culinary annual herbs grown in containers in the greenhouse. Seedlings of basil (Ocimum basilicum L.), dill (Anethum graveolens L.), parsley (Petroselinum crispum (Mill.) Fuss), and sage (Salvia officinalis L.) were transplanted into 11.4 cm diameter containers filled with commercial soilless substrate comprising (by vol.) 75% sphagnum peat moss and 25% coarse perlite and amended with 3.0 kg·m −3 of controlled-release fertilizer. After the containers were thoroughly irrigated to container capacity, plants were placed into a sensor-controlled irrigation system, which maintained substrate volumetric water content (VWC) at 0.15, 0.28, 0.30, 0.38, or 0.45 m 3 ·m −3 . Chlorophyll fluorescence, photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, and transpiration were measured 27 d after initiating treatments, and the results showed that chlorophyll fluorescence of parsley and photosynthesis of basil increased as substrate VWC increased from 0.15 to 0.45 m 3 ·m −3 ; the remaining parameters for basil, parsley, and sage were unaffected. Additionally, height, width, leaf area, and shoot dry mass of basil, dill, parsley, and sage increased as substrate volumetric water content increased from 0.15 to 0.45 m 3 ·m −3 . Our results show that growth of basil, dill, parsley, and sage can be promoted or inhibited by providing or withholding water, respectively, with no signs of stress or visual damage resulting from reduced substrate volumetric water content. Therefore, restricting irrigation and substrate volumetric water content is an effective nonchemical growth control method for containerized culinary herbs grown in peat-based substrate.Agronomy 2019, 9, 667 2 of 12 basil supplied with 200 mg·L −1 N from a complete, balanced water-soluble fertilizer are 33% larger than plants supplied with 50 mg·L −1 N from the same fertilizer [4]. Additionally, restricting P to 5 mg·L −1 produced basil, dill, parsley, and sage shorter than plants provided with 40 mg·L −1 [5]. While cultivar selection and nutrient management are useful forms of nonchemical growth control, it may be necessary to use multiple nonchemical methods of controlling growth to achieve the degree of control required in the absence of PGRs.Reducing irrigation or substrate volumetric water content (VWC), commonly referred to as "deficit irrigation", is another effective method of controlling containerized plant growth [6][7][8]. The water available for plant uptake increases and growth is promoted as substrate VWC increases and, as such, restricting irrigation and reducing the substrate VWC can diminish turgor pressure and subsequent stem extension and growth [9]. For example, containerized angelonia (Angelonia angustifolia Benth.) and petunia (Petunia × hybrid Vilm.) bedding plant growth is promoted by substrate VWC and, by reducing VWC, compact plants o...

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Water Conservation, Growth, and Water Use Efficiency of Container-grown Woody Ornamentals Irrigated Based on Daily Water Use

Cited by 46 publications

References 16 publications

Automated Irrigation Control for Improved Growth and Quality of Gardenia jasminoides ‘Radicans’ and ‘August Beauty’

Automated Irrigation Control for Improved Growth and Quality of Gardenia jasminoides ‘Radicans’ and ‘August Beauty’

Water Use and Growth of Hibiscus acetosella ‘Panama Red’ Grown with a Soil Moisture Sensor-controlled Irrigation System

Substrate Volumetric Water Content Controls Growth and Development of Containerized Culinary Herbs

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