TITLE:
Ecophysiological response to irrigation of two olive cultivars grown in a high-density orchard
AUTHORS:
G. A. Vivaldi, G. Strippoli, S. Camposeo
KEYWORDS:
Leaf Water Potential; Stomatal Conductance; Net Assimilation; Water Use Efficiency
JOURNAL NAME:
Agricultural Sciences,
Vol.4 No.8A,
August
19,
2013
ABSTRACT: High-density oliveculture
system needs irrigation and introduces new cultivars in new environments.
So the evaluation of varietal ecophysiological response to irrigation is a crucial
topic. For this reason it was planned a research on two cultivars, Coratina and
Arbequina, trained according to high-density system. In 2009 the irrigation
was conducted according to the conventional management by applying an
irrigation frequency of 4 days. The leaf water potentials reached values
similar to the limits reported for the recovery within 48 hours. However,
plants showed a leaf water status and gas exchange recovery just after 24
hours from watering. The results
highlighted some varietal differences: Arbequina showed a better response to irrigation, while Coratina performed
a higher water use efficiency by a lower leaf transpiration.