Reducing winter water deficit in rain-fed avocado orchards for increasing fruit yield and quality

• Grant number: 14/16400-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: September 01, 2014
• End date: August 31, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy - Crop Science
• Principal Investigator: Tatiana Eugenia Cantuarias Avilés
• Grantee: Sérgio Figueiredo Angolini
• Host Institution: Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 12/13527-4 - Reducing winter water deficit in rain-fed avocado orchards for increasing fruit yield and quality, AP.JP

Abstract

Commercial production of rain-fed avocado (Persea americana Mill.) under subtropical conditions as those existing in Brazil is an exception, and commercial production under such conditions is currently restricted to some regions of Colombia, Venezuela, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. The negative effects of water deficit over avocado productivity have been well described under very different soil and climate conditions from those existing in the main avocado growing regions of Brazil. One of the reasons for low national avocado yields is the occurrence of drought during the winter season that imposes severe water stress to the trees during important phenological stages, such as the floral induction and differentiation, and the onset of flowering and fruit set. Therefore, the quantification of winter water stress effects over growth and yield of rain-fed avocados will allow taking opportune management decisions that should be more efficiently applied under the growing conditions predominating in São Paulo State. Several crop management strategies may be adopted for reducing winter water stress and improving fruit yield and quality in rain-fed avocado orchards, such as: the application of supplementary irrigation during critical phenological stages and the use of soil conditioners and foliar protectors to reduce evaporation from the orchard. In light of these antecedents, a research project was formulated aimed to validate the formerly described crop management strategies to reduce water stress and to quantify their effects over fruit yield and quality in commercial avocado orchards in São Paulo State.

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

TATIANA CANTUARIAS-AVILÉS; SIMONE RODRIGUES DA SILVA; SÉRGIO FIGUEIREDO ANGOLINI; BRUNA DO AMARAL BROGIO; EDYPOL GUILHERME BAPTISTA; LÍGIA BROGLIO MICHELETTI. Estado hídrico e produtividade de abacateiros 'Hass' em resposta à irrigação suplementar invernal. Pesquisa Agropecuária Brasileira, v. 54, 2019-10-07. (14/16400-0, 12/13527-4, 13/11593-2)

CANTUARIAS-AVILES, TATIANA; DA SILVA, SIMONE RODRIGUES; ANGOLINI, SERGIO FIGUEIREDO; BROGIO, BRUNA DO AMARAL; BAPTISTA, EDYPOL GUILHERME; MICHELETTI, LIGIA BROGLIO. Water status and productivity of `Hass' avocado trees in response to supplemental irrigation during winter. Pesquisa Agropecuária Brasileira, v. 54, 2019. (14/16400-0, 12/13527-4, 13/11593-2)