Quantifying pomegranate tree responses to water and nutrients for a sustainable fertirrigation

Abstract

Pomegranate cultivation is gaining importance in many semi-arid areas of the world. This is the case of eastern Spain, where the rainfall regime is well below the crop water needs, and drip irrigation is typically used to control the water and nutrient supplies. This review is a summary of the current information in the literature on pomegranate water and nutrient requirements. Crop responses to variable irrigation regimes and mild to severe water stress are also analyzed. It is concluded that pomegranate water needs can be relatively high during summer, when the crop coefficient can reach values close around 0.6 to 0.9 depending on the tree crop level. In order to cope with water scarcity, regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) has been shown as a useful technique for reducing fruit drop in pomegranate trees. RDI strategies during fruit ripening can accelerate fruit color development. Finally some new research has been recently finalized in order to quantify the optimum nutrition plans under conditions of variable water supply.