Abstract
Transpiration of well-watered and regulated deficit irrigated (RDI) citrus trees was determined by sap flow (SF) measurements using the compensation heat-pulse method. Its potential for detection of plant water stress was evaluated in comparison with measurements of midday stem water potential (ψstem). The study was carried out during 2 years in two commercial groves of Clementina de Nules (CN) and Navel Lane Late (NLL). SF measurements were taken in two trees per treatment instrumented with two identical gauges per tree in NLL and two different types of gauges (type 1 shorter than type 2) in CN. The absolute SF values underestimated the tree water use. Averaged over the entire period of water restrictions, a reduction of about 50 % in water application in the RDI trees of both species decreased tree transpiration compared to the control trees only by a 15 %. Both the nocturnal-to-diurnal SF ratio and the relative transpiration were in good agreement with differences in ψstem. Overall, results suggest that SF measurements should be preferentially used in relative terms. Sap flow sensors are useful for detecting plant water stress, but they also highlight some of the problems for accurately measuring transpiration.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Annandale JG, Stockle CO (1994) Fluctuation of crop evapotranspiration coefficients with weather: a sensitivity analysis. Irrig Sci 15:1–7
Ballester C, Castel J, Intrigliolo DS, Castel JR (2011a) Response of Clementina de Nules citrus trees to regulated deficit irrigation: yield components and fruit composition. Agric Water Manag 98:1027–1032
Ballester C, Castel J, Sanz F, Yeves A, Intrigliolo DS, Castel JR (2011b) Can sap flow probes be used for determining transpiration of Citrus trees under different irrigation regimes? Acta Hortic (ISHS) 922:221–228
Ballester C, Castel J, Intrigliolo DS, Castel JR (2012) Response of Navel Lane Late citrus trees to regulated deficit irrigation: yield components and fruit composition. Irrig Sci. doi:10.1007/s00271-011-0311-3
Barrett DJ, Hatton TJ, Ash JE, Ball MC (1995) Evaluation of the heat-pulse velocity technique for measurement of sap flow in rainforest and eucalypt forest species of south-eastern Australia. Plant, Cell Environ 18:463–469
Becker P, Edwards WRN (1999) Corrected heat capacity of wood for sapflow calculations. Tree Physiol 17:767–768
Castel JR (2000) Water use of developing citrus canopies in Valencia, Spain. In: Proceedings of international society of citriculture IX congress, pp 223–226
Chalmers DJ, Mitchell PD, Van Heek L (1981) Control of peach tree growth and productivity by regulated water supply, tree density and summer pruning. J Am Soc Hortic Sci 106:307–312
Dalley MJ, Phillips N (2006) Interspecific variation in nighttime transpiration and stomatal conductance in a mixed New England deciduous forest. Tree Physiol 26:411–419
Denmead O, Shaw R (1962) Availability of soil water to plants as affected by soil moisture content and meteorological conditions. Agric J 54:385–390
Dragoni D, Lakso AN, Piccioni RM (2005) Transpiration of Apple trees in a humid climate using heat pulse sap flow gauges calibrated with whole-canopy gas exchange chambers. Agric For Meteorol 130:85–94
Dragoni D, Lakso AN, Piccioni RM, Tarara J (2006) Transpiration of grapevines in the humid northeastern United States. Am J Enol Vitic 57:4
Fereres E, Gonzalez-Dugo V (2009) Improving productivity to face water scarcity in irrigated agriculture. In: Sadras VO, Calderini DF (eds) Crop physiology: applications for genetic improvement and agronomy. Academic Press, San Diego, pp 123–143
Fernández JE, Palomo MJ, Díaz-Espejo A, Clothier BE, Green SR, Girón IF, Moreno F (2001) Heat-pulse measurement of sap flow in olives for automating irrigation: tests, root flow and diagnostics of water stress. Agric Water Manag 51:99–123
Fernández JE, Durán PJ, Palomo MJ, Díaz-Espejo A, Chamorro V, Girón IF (2006) Calibration of sap flow estimated by the compensation heat pulse method in olive, plum and orange trees: relationships with xylem anatomy. Tree Physiol 26:719–728
Fernández JE, Green SR, Caspari HW, Díaz-Espejo A, Cuevas MV (2007) The use of sap flow measurements for scheduling irrigation in olive, apple and Asian pear trees and in grapevines. Plant Soil 305:91–104
Ferreira MI, Katerji N (1992) Is stomatal conductance in a tomato crop controlled by soil or atmosphere? Oecologia 92:104–107
García-Tejero IF, Durán-Zuazo VH, Muriel-Fernández JL, Jiménez-Bocanegra JA (2011) Linking canopy temperature and trunk diameter fluctuations with other physiological water status tools for water stress management in citrus orchards. Funct Plant Biol 38:106–117
Green SR, Clothier B (1988) Water use of kiwifruit vines and apple trees by the heat-pulse technique. J Exp Bot 39:115–123
Green SR, Clothier B, Jardine B (2003) Theory and practical application of heat pulse to measure sap flow. Agron J 95:1371–1379
Hatton TJ, Catchpole EA, Vertessy RA (1990) Integration of sap flow velocity to estimate plant water use. Tree Physiol 6:201–209
López-Bernal A, Alcántara E, Testi L, Villalobos FJ (2010) Spatial sap flow and xylem anatomical characteristics in olive trees under different irrigation regimes. Tree Physiol 30:1536–1544
Molden D (2007) Water for food, water for life: a comprehensive assessment of water management in agriculture. Earthscan, London
Moriana A, Villalobos MJ, Fereres E (2002) Stomatal and photosynthetic responses of olive (Olea Europea L.) leaves to water deficit. Plant, Cell Environ 25:395–405
Nadezhdina N, Nadezhdin V, Ferreira MI, Pitacco A (2007) Variability with xylem depth in sap flow in trunks and branches of mature olive trees. Tree Physiol 27:105–113
Naor A (2000) Midday stem water potential as a plant water stress indicator for irrigation scheduling in fruit trees. Acta Hortic (ISHS) 537:447–454
Naor A (2006) Irrigation scheduling and evaluation of tree water status in deciduous orchards. Hortic Rev 32:111–116
Oguntunde PG, Van de Giesen N, Savenige HHG (2007) Measurement and modelling of transpiration of a rain-fed citrus orchard under subhumid tropical conditions. Agric Water Manag 87:200–208
Ortuño MF, Alarcón JJ, Nicolás E, Torrecillas A (2007) Water status indicators of lemon trees in response to flooding and recovery. Biol Plant 51(2):292–296
Ruiz-Sánchez MC, Domingo R, Castel JR (2010) Deficit irrigation in fruit trees and vines in Spain: a review. Span J Agric Res 8(S2), S5–S20. ISSN 1695-971-X
Smith DM, Allen SJ (1996) Measurements of sap flow in plant stems. J Exp Bot 47:1833–1844
Swanson RH, Whitfield DWA (1981) A numerical-analysis of heat pulse velocity theory and practice. J Exp Bot 32:221–239
Syvertsen P, Lloyd J (1994) Citrus. In: Handbook of environmental physiology. CRC Press, Boca Ratón, pp 65–99
Testi L, Villalobos FJ (2009) New approach for measuring low sap velocities in trees. Agric For Meteorol 149:730–734
Turner NC (1981) Techniques and experimental approaches for the measurement of plant water status. Plant Soil 58:339–366
Valancogne C, Dayau S, Ferreira Gama MI, Ameglio T, Archer P, Daudet FA, Cohen M (1997) Relations between relative transpiration and predawn leaf water potential in different fruit tree species. Acta Hortic (ISHS) 449:423–430
Van Den Honert TM (1948) Water transport as a catenary process. Discuss Faraday Soc 33:146–153
Villalobos FJ, Testi L, Moreno-Perez MF (2009) Evaporation and canopy conductance of citrus orchards. Agric Water Manag 96:565–573
Acknowledgments
The authors thank D. Pérez, F. Sanz and A. Yeves for their help in field work. This research was supported by funds from project RIDECO-CONSOLIDER CSD2006-00067. D. S. Intrigliolo acknowledges the financial support received from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness program Ramón y Cajal.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Communicated by I. Dodd.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ballester, C., Castel, J., Testi, L. et al. Can heat-pulse sap flow measurements be used as continuous water stress indicators of citrus trees?. Irrig Sci 31, 1053–1063 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00271-012-0386-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00271-012-0386-5