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Pedro Antonio Nortes Tortosa

Bio: Pedro Antonio Nortes Tortosa is an academic researcher from Spanish National Research Council. The author has contributed to research in topics: Irrigation & Deficit irrigation. The author has an hindex of 3, co-authored 6 publications receiving 33 citations.

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: C crop water stress index (CWSI) was the thermal indicator that showed the highest level of agreement with the stem water potential of the different treatments even though Tc and Tc-Ta were also significantly correlated.
Abstract: Water is not always accessible for agriculture due to its scarcity. In order to successfully develop irrigation strategies that optimize water productivity characterization of the plant, the water status is necessary. We assessed the suitability of thermal indicators by infrared thermometry (IRT) to determine the water status of grapefruit in a commercial orchard with long term irrigation using saline reclaimed water (RW) and regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) in Southeastern Spain. The results showed that Tc-Ta differences were positive in a wide range of vapor pressure deficits (VPD), and the major Tc-Ta were found at 10.00 GMT, before and after the highest daily values of VPD and solar radiation, respectively, were reached. In addition, we evaluated the relationships between Tc-Ta and VPD to establish the Non-Water Stressed Baselines (NWSBs), which are necessary to accurately calculate the crop water stress index (CWSI). Two important findings were found, which include i) the best significant correlations (p < 0.005) found at 10.00 GMT and their slopes were positive, and ii) NWSBs showed a marked hourly and seasonal variation. The hourly shift was mainly explained by the variation in solar radiation since both the NWSB-slope and the NWSB-intercept were significantly correlated with a zenith solar angle (θZ) (p < 0.005). The intercept was greater when θZ was close to 0 (at midday) and the slope displayed a marked hysteresis throughout the day, increasing in the morning and decreasing in the afternoon. The NWSBs determination, according to the season improved most of their correlation coefficients. In addition, the relationship significance of Tc-Ta versus VPD was higher in the period where the intercept and Tc-Ta were low. CWSI was the thermal indicator that showed the highest level of agreement with the stem water potential of the different treatments even though Tc and Tc-Ta were also significantly correlated. We highlight the suitability of thermal indicators measured by IRT to determine the water status of grapefruits under saline (RW) and water stress (RDI) conditions.

33 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The mid and long-term feasibility of using RW and RDI to irrigate citrus was demonstrated, however, they must be performed cautiously and with appropriate management to avoid damaging fruit quality caused by phytotoxic elements.
Abstract: BACKGROUND Non-conventional water sources and water-saving techniques can be valuable in semi-arid regions, although their long-term effects on citrus quality are little known. This study evaluated the effects of irrigation with two sources, transfer water (TW) and reclaimed water (RW), combined with two irrigation strategies, full irrigation (FI) and regulated deficit irrigation (RDI), on fruit quality of mandarins and grapefruits during eight growth seasons. RESULTS Reclaimed water irrigation in mandarin, without water restriction, influenced maturity index (MI) less than TW-FI, because titratable acidity (TA) increased to a greater degree than soluble solid contents (SSC). Nevertheless, juice quality standards were satisfied. Regardless of the irrigation treatment (FI or RDI), a trend towards increasing fruit weight was also detected with RW. In grapefruit, its rootstock (Citrus macrophylla) enhanced salinity resilience with respect to the rootstock of mandarin ('Carrizo' citrange) and, hence, MI was not affected by RW. The RDI strategy, without saline stress (TW-RDI), increased, to a similar degree, both SSC and TA in mandarin fruit, not affecting the MI. In grapefruit, the water stress of RDI did improve the MI due to the TA did not change and SSC increased significantly, the TA did not change. The combination of both strategies, RW-RDI, decreased the MI only in some years because TA increased proportionally more than SSC in mandarin. CONCLUSIONS The medium- and long-term feasibility of using RW and RDI to irrigate citrus was demonstrated. However, they must be performed cautiously and with appropriate management to avoid damaging fruit quality as a result of phytotoxic elements. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.

18 citations

Book ChapterDOI
01 Jan 2018
TL;DR: The use of reclaimed water (RW) for irrigation has gained importance during the last two decades due to the progressive implementation of the European Waste Water Directive (91/271/EEC) together with environmental concerns about the volume of treated sewage water in wastewater treatment plants as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: As a result of problems arising from water scarcity in many semiarid and arid regions, the use of reclaimed water (RW) for irrigation has gained importance during the last two decades due to the progressive implementation of the European Waste Water Directive (91/271/EEC) together with environmental concerns about the volume of treated sewage water in wastewater treatment plants. In this sense, RW has a great potential to become a valuable irrigation water source because it is free of charge and contains high amounts of organic matter and many nutrients essential for plant growth, which might reduce fertilizer application rates. However, the use of RW may have risks for agriculture since it often has a concentration of salts from domestic and industrial activities higher than that found in natural water resources. This salinity is especially a problem for citrus, as this species is sensitive to salt. High levels of chloride and boron can cause phytotoxic effects on citrus growth and reduce productivity, contributing to the yellowing and defoliation of trees. In the literature there are few studies addressing the effects of treated wastewater on citrus yield and quality, most of them either used RW with low electrical conductivity (EC) (below harmful thresholds for citrus trees) or reported the effect of reusing saline RW in the short term (experiments from several weeks up to about three seasons). This chapter will summarize the main results obtained by different authors on this topic. As a case study, we will show the effects of saline RW (EC ∼3 dS m−1) on plant physiology, yield, and water productivity in a commercial orchard of mandarin and grapefruit located in the region of Murcia, Spain.

7 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
06 Oct 2021
TL;DR: In this article, the effects of diurnal changes in the evaporative demands and soil water contents on the plant physiology of grapefruit and mandarin crops under saline reclaimed (RW) and transfer (TW) water conditions, combined with two irrigation strategies, were evaluated.
Abstract: Citrus species are frequently subjected to water and saline stresses worldwide. We evaluated the effects of diurnal changes in the evaporative demands and soil water contents on the plant physiology of grapefruit and mandarin crops under saline reclaimed (RW) and transfer (TW) water conditions, combined with two irrigation strategies, fully irrigated (fI) and non-irrigated (nI). The physiological responses were different depending on the species. Grapefruit showed an isohydric pattern, which restricted the use of the leaf water potential (Ψl) as a plant water status indicator. Its water status was affected by salinity (RW) and water stress (nI), mainly as the combination of both stresses (RW-nI); however, mandarin turned out to be relatively more tolerant to salinity and more sensitive to water stress, mainly because of its low hydraulic conductance (K) levels, showing a critical drop in Ψl that led to severe losses of root–stem (Kroot–stem) and canopy (Kcanopy) hydraulic conductance in TW-nI. This behavior was not observed in RW-nI because a reduction in canopy volume as an adaptive characteristic was observed; thus, mandarin exhibited more anisohydric behavior compared to grapefruit, but isohydrodynamic since its hydrodynamic water potential gradient from roots to shoots (ΔΨplant) was relatively constant across variations in stomatal conductance (gs) and soil water potential. The gs was considered a good plant water status indicator for irrigation scheduling purposes in both species, and its responses to diurnal VPD rise and soil drought were strongly correlated with Kroot–stem. ABA did not show any effect on stomatal regulation, highlighting the fundamental role of plant hydraulics in driving stomatal closure.

6 citations


Cited by
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is concluded that PVA/PAA/Tan crosslinking electrospun fibers prepared by emulsion-electrospinning serve as a promising technique in the fields of water-insoluble drug delivery and slow-release.

40 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Feb 2020-Agronomy
TL;DR: This review compiles knowledge on the use of phytoprotectants of microbial origin, mycorrhizal fungi, osmoprotectant, melatonin, phytohormones and antioxidant metabolism-related compounds as alleviators of salt stress in numerous plant species to guarantee future food supply to a growing population.
Abstract: Salinity is one of the main constraints for agriculture productivity worldwide. This important abiotic stress has worsened in the last 20 years due to the increase in water demands in arid and semi-arid areas. In this context, increasing tolerance of crop plants to salt stress is needed to guarantee future food supply to a growing population. This review compiles knowledge on the use of phytoprotectants of microbial origin (arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria), osmoprotectants, melatonin, phytohormones and antioxidant metabolism-related compounds as alleviators of salt stress in numerous plant species. Phytoprotectants are discussed in detail, including their nature, applicability, and role in the plant in terms of physiological and phenotype effects. As a result, increased crop yield and crop quality can be achieved, which in turn positively impact food security. Herein, efforts from academic and industrial sectors should focus on defining the treatment conditions and plant-phytoprotectant associations providing higher benefits.

37 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: With appropriate management, RW and RDI have great potential to manage oil olive production; nevertheless, studies subjected to long-term use of these techniques should be experienced to ensure the sustainability of oil yields and quality.
Abstract: The 70% worldwide surface of olive orchards is irrigated. The evaluation of non-conventional water resources and water-saving techniques has gained importance during the last decades in arid and semiarid environments. This study evaluated the effects of irrigation with two water sources: low-cost water DEsalination and SEnsoR Technology (DESERT) desalinated water (DW) ECw ∼1 dS m-1) and reclaimed water (RW) (ECw ∼ 3 dS m-1) combined with two irrigation strategies: full irrigation (FI) (100% of ETc) and regulated deficit irrigation (RDI, 50% of ETc) on fruit yield, ripening indices, and oil yield and quality of olive trees cv Arbosana planted in Mediterranean conditions. Our results showed that RW without water restrictions increased the fruit yield by 35% due to a slight increase in the fruit weight and, mainly, to a greater fruit set than the control trees; although this did not result in a higher oil yield (g tree-1) since the oil content per fruit dry weight was reduced. The RDI strategy did not decrease the fruit yield despite the fact that olive weight tended to decrease, and it increased the oil yield by ∼14.5%. The combination of both stresses (RW and RDI) neither decreased the fruit yield; however, it significantly reduced oil yield (25% less in 2018) since oil content per fruit dry weight was strongly reduced (40%) compared to control trees. Both RDI treatments, regardless water source, determined acidity levels in olive paste lower than in FI treatments; however, it reduced oil extractability and fatty yield. The finding about oil quality indicated that olive exposure to RW, regardless of the water amount, decreased oil quality mainly due to the reduction of oleic acid and the increase of C18:2/C18:3 ratio and peroxides; on the contrary, both RW and RDI improved the total polyphenols. In all cases, the parameters met the legislation. In short, with appropriate management, RW and RDI have great potential to manage oil olive production; nevertheless, studies subjected to long-term use of these techniques should be experienced to ensure the sustainability of oil yields and quality.

24 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: With the advent of optical sensors, thermal-based indicators can be retrieved at multiscale levels from handheld devices to satellite platforms, providing a low-cost method to mirror plant water as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: With the advent of optical sensors, thermal-based indicators can be retrieved at multiscale levels from handheld devices to satellite platforms, providing a low-cost method to mirror plant water st...

22 citations