Sustained Deficit Irrigation and Mulching on Growth of Sourani Olive Trees in Kuwait

A. Al-Shatti, Habibah S. Al-Menaie

Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, Safat, Kuwait.

DOI: 10.4236/wjet.2015.33B009                

Abstract

Olea europaea, a native plant of the Mediterranean region, is of great interest to agronomists worldwide, owing to its health beneficial properties and tolerance to harsh environmental conditions, along with its economic importance. The productivity and production efficiency of olive is linearly related to both the level of transpiration and the amount of water supplied. Under conditions of limited supply of good quality water for irrigation in Kuwait, deficit irrigation applied at selected phenological stages can maximize economic gains and minimize environmental damage. Moreover, mulching contributes to a significant reduction in water requirements via reducing soil water losses and increasing soil water retention. In this study, the effects of different irrigation levels, a restitution of 50%, 75% or 100% of the estimated evapotranspiration rate (ETc), and the application of mulching on plant growth under the Kuwait environmental conditions were determined to evaluate the possibilities of reducing the amounts of water supplied with irrigation. Various parameters determining the vegetative growth of the trees such as average height, stem girth and number of branches were recorded at three months intervals. Both the irrigation level and mulching were shown to possess a significant impact on growth of Sourani olive cultivar under the Kuwait environmental conditions. Statistical analysis revealed no significant difference in the height of the trees under all the three irrigation treatments with mulch and trees under 100% ETc devoid of mulch. In contrast, a significant difference was exhibited by trees under 100% ETc with mulch and 50% ETc without mulch. Within each irrigation treatment, trees with mulch presented higher values for plant height, stem girth and number of shoots. Thus deficit irrigation of 50% ETc along with organic mulch was shown to enhance vegetative growth close to its maximum potential by conserving the scarce water resources.

Keywords

Mulch, Olive, Deficit Irrigation

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	FAO (2013) Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. FAO Statistics Division. http://faostat.fao.org
[2]	Taha, F.K. and Bhat N.R. (2002) Selection of Ornamental and Landscape Plants for the Implementation of the National Greenery Plan of Kuwait. In: Al-Awadhi, N. and Taha, F.K., Eds., New Technologies for Soil Reclamation and Desert Greenery, Amherst Scientific Publishers, Amherst, 27-44.
[3]	Ramos, A.F. and Santos F.L. (2009) Water Use, Transpiration, and Crop Coefficients for Olives (cv. Cordovil), Grown in Orchards in Southern Portugal. Biosystems Engineering, 102, 321-333. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biosystemseng.2008.12.006
[4]	Razouk, R., Ibijbijen, J. and Kajji, A. (2013) Optimal Time of Supplemental Irrigation during Fruit Development of Rainfed Olive Tree (Olea europaea, cv. Picholine ma-rocaine) in Morocco. American Journal of Experimental Agriculture, 4, 685-697. http://dx.doi.org/10.9734/ajea/2013/3348
[5]	Goldhamer, D.A. (1999) Regulated Deficit Irrigation for California Canning Olives. Acta Horticulturae, 474, 369-372. http://dx.doi.org/10.17660/actahortic.1999.474.76
[6]	Martinellia, F., Basile, B., Morellid, G., d’Andria, R. and Tonuttia, P. (2012) Effects of Irrigation on Fruit Ripening Behavior and Metabolic Changes in Olive. Scientia Horti-culturae, 144, 201-207. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2012.07.012
[7]	Chehab, H., Mechri, B., Mariem, F.B., Hammami, M., Ben Elhadj, S. and Braham, M. (2009) Effect of Different Irrigation Regimes on Carbohydrate Partitioning in Leaves and Wood of Two Table Olive Cultivars (Olea europaea L. cv. Meski and Picholine). Agricultural Water Management, 96, 293-298. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2008.08.007
[8]	Ramos, A.F. and Santos, F.L. (2010) Yield and Olive Oil Characteristics of a Low-Density Orchard (cv. Cordovil) Subjected to Different Irrigation Regimes. Agricultural Water Management, 97, 363-373. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2009.10.008
[9]	Tognetti, R., d’Andria, R., Lavini, A. and Morelli, G. (2006) The Effect of Deficit Irrigation on Crop Yield and Vegetative Development of Olea europaea L. (cvs. Frantoio and Leccino). European Journal of Agronomy, 25, 356-364. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.eja.2006.07.003
[10]	Allen, R., Pereira, L.S., Raes, D. and Smith, M. (1998) Crop Evapo-transpiration, Guidelines for Computing Crop Water Requirements. FAO Irrigation and Drainage Paper No. 56, FAO, Rome.
[11]	Correa-Tedesco, G., Cecilia Rousseaux, M. and Searles, P.S. (2010) Plant Growth and Yield Responses in Olive (Olea europaea) to Different Irrigation Levels in an Arid Region of Argentina. Agricultural Water Management, 97, 1829- 1837. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2010.06.020
[12]	Pérez-López, D., Ribas, F., Moriana, A., Olme-dilla, N. and de Juan, A. (2007) The Effect of Irrigation Schedules on the Water Relations and Growth of a Young Olive (O. europaea L.) Orchard. Agricultural Water Management, 89, 297-304. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2007.01.015
[13]	Gómez-del-Campo, M. (2013) Summer Deficit Irrigation in a Hedgerow Olive Orchard cv. Arbequina: Relationship between Soil and Tree Water Status, and Growth and Yield Components. Spanish Journal of Agricultural Research, 11, 547. http://dx.doi.org/10.5424/sjar/2013112-3360
[14]	Grattan, S.R., Berenguer, M.J., Connell, J.H., Polito, V.S. and Vos-sen, P.M. (2006) Olive Oil Production as Influenced by Different Quantities of Applied Water. Agricultural Water Management, 85, 133-140. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2006.04.001