Location: Water Management Research
Project Number: 2034-13000-012-005-T
Project Type: Trust Fund Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: May 1, 2015
End Date: Apr 30, 2020
Objective:
Determine the crop water requirement using surface renewal (SR) and compare it to grower practice. Evaluate the effects of irrigating with less water on vine health, physiology, productivity, and fruit pre- and postharvest quality.
Approach:
The research will be conducted on growers fields in Delano, California, and Coachella California using a replicated block design on plots that were established for research on deficit irrigation of table grapes. This is an extension of a project funded by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture that developed strategies for sustainable vineyard water management with limited water. The study will include the use of surface renewal, a new technology, to provide a direst estimate of crop water use. That estimate will be the basis for developing 3 irrigation treatments to compare to the grower practice.
