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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Parlier, California » San Joaquin Valley Agricultural Sciences Center » Water Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #360776
Research Project: Develop Water Management Strategies to Sustain Water Productivity and Protect Water Quality in Irrigated Agriculture

Location: Water Management Research

Title: Pomegranate water requirements and responses to irrigation restrictions

Author
item INTRIGLIOLO, DIEGO - Spanish National Research Council
item Wang, Dong
item PÉREZ, MARIA - Instituto Valenciano De Investigaciones Agrarias
item PALOU, LLUÍS - Instituto Valenciano De Investigaciones Agrarias
item AYARS, JAMES - Retired ARS Employee
item PUERTO, HERMINIA - Universidad De Alicante
item BARTUAL, JULIÁN - National Center For Agriculture And Forestry Technologies (CENTA)

Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/6/2020
Publication Date: 1/20/2021
Citation: Intrigliolo, D., Wang, D., Pérez, M.B., Palou, L., Ayars, J.E., Puerto, H., Bartual, J. 2021. Pomegranate water requirements and responses to irrigation restrictions. In: Sarkhosh, A., Alimohammad M.Y, Zabihollah, Z., editors. The Pomegranate: Botany, Production and Uses. Oxfordshire, UK: CABI. p. 320-343.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Pomegranate is a unique specialty crop commonly grown in arid and semi-arid climate because of its tolerance to drought and heat stresses. Large scale commercial production requires irrigation to maximize yield and fruit quality to ensure its economic viability. Water is a valuable commodity in arid or semi-arid regions and understanding the water requirements and responses to water stress in pomegranate is important for judicious allocation of limited water resources. Based on a number of field studies conducted in California and Spain, it has been determined that pomegranate water requirement can reach up to 100% potential evapotranspiration demand. For the central valley of California, this means approximately 1000 mm of water is needed for irrigation without inducing water stress in the pomegranate trees. Other studies investigated the effect of deficit irrigation on yield and fruit quality of pomegranate. Sustained deficit irrigation of 20% water savings did not affect fruit yield while increased fruit ripening, rind color, and sugar accumulation. Fertigation can be used in pomegranate to increase nutrient use efficiency, fruit yield, and quality. Future research is needed to elucidate the physiological mechanisms involved in fruit formation and maturation, as well as to explore how different water stress levels might affect fruit yield and quality in different cultivars of pomegranate.