Low Tunnels Reduce Irrigation Water Needs and Increase Growth, Yield

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Low Tunnels Reduce Irrigation Water Needs and Increase Growth, Yield HORTSCIENCE 54(3):470–475. 2019. https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI13568-18 mental conditions and plant stage (size). Increased ET results in increased crop water needs. Factors influencing ET are SR, crop Low Tunnels Reduce Irrigation Water growth stage, daylength, air temperature, rel- ative humidity (RH), and wind speed (Allen Needs and Increase Growth, Yield, and et al., 1998; Jensen and Allen, 2016; Zotarelli et al., 2010). Therefore, fully grown plants Water-use Efficiency in Brussels demand larger amounts of water, especially in warm, sunny, and windy days (Abdrabbo et al., 2010). Under LT, however, rowcover Sprouts Production reduces direct sunlight and blocks wind, which Tej P. Acharya1, Gregory E. Welbaum, and Ramon A. Arancibia2 reduces ET even at higher temperatures School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, 330 Smyth Hall, Virginia Tech, (Arancibia, 2009, 2012). Therefore, reducing ET in crops grown under LTs may reduce Blacksburg, VA 24061 irrigation requirements and improve WUE. Additional index words. rowcover, temperature, solar radiation, evapotranspiration The use of LT can be beneficial to extend the harvest season of brussels sprouts (Bras- Abstract. Farmers use low tunnels (LTs) covered with spunbonded fabric to protect sica oleracea L. Group Gemmifera). Brussels warm-season vegetable crops against cold temperatures and extend the growing season. sprout is a cool season, frost-tolerant vegeta- Cool season vegetable crops may also benefit from LTs by enhancing vegetative growth ble crop from the family Brassicaceae. It is an and development. This study investigated the effect of the microenvironmental condi- important source of dietary fiber, vitamins tions under LTs on brussels sprouts growth and production as well as water re- (A, C, and K), calcium (Ca), iron (Fe), quirements and use efficiency in comparison with those in open fields. Low tunnels manganese (Mn), and antioxidants (U.S. De- increased minimum soil temperature in all trials. By contrast, LTs reduced evapotrans- partment of Agriculture, 2018). In 2017, the piration (ET) 54% to 68% by reducing solar radiation (SR) and blocking wind in spite of United States imported fresh and frozen increased maximum air temperatures. Because of reduced ET, water needs and brussels sprouts valued at $56 million but irrigation decreased by 24% to 40%. Furthermore, LTs enhanced vegetative growth exported only $16 million of similar sprout (plant leaf area, plant height, and plant dry weight). Sprouts per plant and yield under products (U.S. Department of Agriculture, LTs increased by 29% and 46% in Spring 2017, by 22% and 46% in Fall 2017, and by 2017). Therefore, the United States is under- 29% and 22% in Spring 2018. Considering the increased growth and productivity and producing brussels sprouts. The main brus- reduced irrigation, LTs increased water-use efficiency (WUE) in relation to yield by 62% sels sprouts production season is fall, but to 107% in comparison with open fields. Increased total yield and improved WUE spring production is also possible, and illustrate that LTs may be a useful management tool in sustainable production systems in extending the harvest season by growing addition to their traditional role for season extension. under LTs may help increase local produc- tion for direct sale markets. The hypothesis for this study was that LTs Protected production systems are used to early vegetative growth, reducing ET and create a more favorable environment in both modify the crop’s microenvironment and ex- possibly irrigation. spring and late summer-fall that would reduce tend the growing period early in the spring or Low tunnels effectively extend the grow- ET and irrigation while increasing vegetative late in the fall (Arancibia, 2018; Lamont, ing season in vegetable production (Arancibia, growth and yield. Therefore, the objectives 2005). In addition, protected systems enhance 2018; Lamont, 2005). Among the different were a) to determine the differences in micro- vegetative growth and increase productivity, types of covers available to use with LTs, environmental conditions between LT and open which may improve the sustainability of spunbonded rowcovers of various thicknesses field, and their association with irrigation re- vegetable production operations. A wide va- are most popular. They are semitransparent quirement and b) to determine differences in riety of structures such as hotbeds, glass porous fabrics that allow airflow and ventila- vegetative growth, production, and WUE in cloches, coldframe, low and high tunnels, tion, hence helping avoid condensation that brussels sprouts grown under LT and open field. and various types of greenhouses have been may damage the foliage in contact with used as protected systems to extend the water (Arancibia, 2018). Low tunnels covered Materials and Methods growing season (Lamont, 2005). Although with spunbonded fabric increase vegetative farmers use protected cultivation systems for growth and yield by increasing soil and air Brussels sprouts, cultivar Dimitri, were warm season vegetables, LTs can also benefit temperature (Arancibia, 2018; Arancibia grown on a Bojac sandy loam soil in Spring cool season vegetable crops by increasing and Motsenbocker, 2008; Gerber et al., 2017, Fall 2017, and Spring 2018 at the 1988; Ibarra et al., 2001; Jolliffe and Gaye, Eastern Shore Agricultural Research and 1995; Nair and Ngouajio, 2010). In addition, Extension Center—Virginia Tech in Painter, LTs are movable, allowing for crop rotation Virginia (lat. 37.58466, long. –75.82114). All Received for publication 14 Sept. 2018. Accepted with cover crops in sustainable production trials were set up in a spilt-plot design with for publication 19 Dec. 2018. systems. four replications. The main effect (plots) This project is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agri- Many vegetable species are shallow consisted of two plastic mulches (white and culture, under award number 2015-38640-23780, rooted and are sensitive to mild water stress black) and the secondary effect (subplot) through the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Re- (Feigin et al., 1982; Sammis, 1980). There- consisted of treatments with LT and open search and Education program under subaward fore, irrigation is important in vegetable field. The field had five 60-m-long rows number LS16-268. crops to maintain adequate soil moisture for (1.8 m center to center): two guard rows Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommen- continuous growth and development. How- along the border and one additional guard dations expressed in this publication are those of the ever, more than 90% of the water used by row in the middle between the two record author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the plants is lost through transpiration (Morison rows. Four 15-m-long blocks (replication) U.S. Department of Agriculture or SARE. USDA is et al., 2008). In most agricultural systems, were separated along the field. Mulch color an equal opportunity employer and service provider. 1Graduate Research Assistant. poor WUE occurs when soil evaporation is was assigned randomly to each record row 2Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]. high as compared with plant transpiration in (plots), which was divided into two 6-m-long This is an open access article distributed under the the same field (Gallardo et al., 1996). Water subplots separated by a 1.5-m alley. Treat- CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons. lost through evaporation and transpiration is ments (LT and open field) were allocated org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). known as ET, which depends on environ- randomly to each subplot. 470 HORTSCIENCE VOL. 54(3) MARCH 2019 Brussels sprout seedlings were grown the open field, but because of the difficulties in 2017 and 27 June 2018 in the spring trials and under greenhouse conditions in March– maintaining the anemometer free for move- on 20 Oct. in the fall trial to promote the April (20 °C) and July (32 °C) for the spring ment, wind under LT was considered unde- development of auxiliary buds (sprouts). and fall planting, respectively. Seedlings (4– tectable based on previous work (Arancibia, Then at harvest, four plants were selected 5 weeks old, 9–11 cm tall) were hand-planted 2009, 2012). Daily maximum and minimum randomly from each subplot to determine into double-row beds on 12 Apr. 2017, 10 air temperatures, daily total SR, daily maxi- plant height (stem length), plant dry weight, Aug. 2017, and 25 Apr. 2018 (Table 1). mum and minimum RH, and daily average number of sprouts, and yield. Hence, 16 Planting was on raised beds (0.2 m tall and wind speed were used to determine ET using plants were collected from each treatment. 0.8 m wide) 1.8 m apart (center to center) the Penman–Monteith Daily equation (Synder Plant height was measured from the base of with the appropriate plastic mulch color and Eching, 2007). Because brussels sprout is the plant to the top of the stem. Number of (0.003 cm thick and 152.4 cm wide) (Hilex a medium-sized crop (>40 cm tall) at maturity, sprouts per plant and yield of brussels sprouts poly Co., North Vernon, IN). In-row planting the ET equation for tall canopies was used. were determined by harvesting all mature distance was 0.6 m and rows in the same bed The program also takes into consideration the axillary buds. Maturity and harvest time were were 0.45 m apart. Drip irrigation was laid date and location (latitude and altitude). En- determined visually when most of the sprouts between rows under plastic (Aqua Trax, EI vironmental parameters (soil temperature, air in the plants were wider than 2.5 cm in Cajon, CA). Emitters in the irrigation tape temperature, RH, SR, wind speed, and ET) diameter (U.S. Department of Agriculture, were 30 cm apart, and the flow rate was 1.89 were monitored from the day of LT installa- 2016), and in the spring trials, when the outer L·min–1 per 30 m tape length.
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