Principles of pistachio irrigation + irrigation stages in spring and summer
Pistachio is a drought-resistant tree that needs a lot of water during the hot months of the year. How to irrigate pistachios to increase pistachio productivity depends on different conditions. But the drip irrigation system is the recommendation of experts for pistachio cultivation. In the rest of this article, read a comprehensive guide to pistachio irrigation from the Vispar blog.
In this article you will read:
Everything you need to know about watering pistachios
How is pistachio irrigation?
Water requirement of pistachio tree
Pistachio watering time
Timing of pistachio irrigation in spring and summer
Pistachio orchard irrigation system
Traditional or flooded irrigation
Pistachio rain irrigation
Pistachio drip irrigation
Buy drip fittings
Everything you need to know about watering pistachios
Pistachio is a native product of West Asia, which is especially obtained in the semi-arid regions of the Middle East and Mediterranean regions. The pistachio tree shows high drought tolerance and survives in extreme water stress conditions. However, the pistachio tree needs water for optimal performance and fertility. The results of the studies show the importance of increasing pistachio crop productivity with proper irrigation, especially in the summer season.
Irrigation of pistachios
How is pistachio irrigation?
Irrigation planning is a decision-making process to determine the time and amount of water use, which is defined based on weather, soil, crop, etc. information. Due to the limitations of water resources, irrigation management and planning is of great importance, especially in arid and semi-arid regions. Irrigation planning of pistachio trees and orchards is mainly based on the location of the soil and the growth period of the trees. Even in humid areas, water is a limited resource and the productivity of pistachio orchards is highly dependent on the irrigation system and irrigation planning.
Like any other crop, pistachio irrigation planning should be based on several determining factors such as: pistachio tree water needs, soil characteristics, climate, plant characteristics and installed irrigation system. In a situation where the lack of fresh irrigation water prevails in dry areas in summer, producers are forced to reduce irrigation water consumption. Meanwhile, the way to water the pistachio tree will be as follows: the young pistachio tree must be watered completely, but for older trees, less water can be used. Although reducing the frequency of watering the pistachio tree leads to a decrease in the yield of this product, excessive watering of this product can also be problematic. Root rot, salinity, leaching of nutrients and other things can be a reason for over watering. Therefore, efficient irrigation planning provides the right amount of water to the pistachio trees at the right time.
Water requirement of pistachio tree
Crop water requirements can be calculated based on evapotranspiration (ET) rate data. Evaporation and transpiration are water loss processes from the soil surface (evaporation) and from the crop surface (transpiration). Therefore, ET losses of pistachio trees are mainly influenced by the weather and the canopy of pistachio trees. This is while the type of soil refers to the water holding capacity. Therefore, the condition and capacity of cultivated soil should always be checked so that the water requirement of pistachio trees can be calculated correctly. Therefore, soil moisture sensors can be used to plan irrigation more precisely. Pay attention that when using the sensors, you must use at least two places and at different depths to calculate the humidity. After calculating the moisture content in the soil, it is necessary to irrigate the pistachio orchard trees.
Pistachio watering time
In general, the fertility cycle of pistachio orchard trees can be summarized in the fourth stage:
First step: expansion of the shell
Second stage: hardening of the shell
The third stage: brain development
The fourth stage: the stage after harvesting
In the second stage (hardening of the shell) and the fourth stage (after harvesting), pistachio trees are more tolerant to water stress. Therefore, during the period when the shell is lost and the brain grows faster, producers can use up to 50% less water.
On the other hand, the water stress of pistachio trees should be avoided during the leaf growth stage and close to harvest. Therefore, in the third stage, i.e. brain development, trees show the most sensitive stage to water stress. Lack of water at this stage will have a great impact on the performance of pistachio trees.
It is interesting to know that:
The largest producer of pistachios in the world is Iran with 450 thousand tons. America with 270 thousand tons and Türkiye with 65 thousand tons are next. However, pistachio irrigation method in Iran is often traditional and less used than modern methods such as drip and underground.
Timing of pistachio irrigation in spring and summer
For pistachio irrigation in spring and summer, there are sensitive periods in which irrigation should not be done less than required. These courses include:
From the filling of the brain to the separation of the shell (from July 10 to September 24)
From the time of flowering to the end of the shell growth (from April 12 to May 25)
Also, it is possible to do less irrigation during periods, which are also called periods of reduced irrigation:
50% reduction in irrigation during the hardening of the shell (from May 26 to July 9)
70-75% reduction in irrigation after harvest (from October 9 to November 23)
Pistachio orchard irrigation system
Pistachio orchard irrigation methods include traditional irrigation systems (furrow, furrow, and flooded) and modern irrigation systems including rain irrigation (sprinklers and micro sprinklers), surface drip irrigation systems, or subsurface drip irrigation. Delivering the exact amount of water, nutrients and chemicals to the root zone is one of the most important advantages of modern irrigation systems.
Traditional irrigation or flooding
One of the methods of irrigating pistachio orchards is the use of traditional irrigation, which includes methods such as: furrow, furrow, etc. Although the use of this method has a handful of advantages, in fact, the existence of some flaws and disadvantages has practically made its use impossible. Things like:
Not to be used on sloping land
Very high water consumption and losses
Increase of weeds in pistachio orchards
Increase the workforce
Very low irrigation efficiency
Lack of accurate irrigation management
Failure to pay attention to the water requirement of the product
The possibility of nutrients being washed away from the root zone
Pistachio rain irrigation
Unlike traditional irrigation and flood irrigation, irrigation with pressurized irrigation systems with high water distribution uniformity can lead to an increase in the yield of pistachio orchards as well as a reduction in irrigation water consumption. The use of modern irrigation systems makes it possible to increase the productivity of gardens by optimizing the use of irrigation water. The use of micro-sprinklers in pistachio rain irrigation system is very suitable for distributing water with high uniformity, cooling trees, preventing freezing, etc.
Introducing rain irrigation systems and their types
Pistachio drip irrigation
Drip irrigation system is one of the best ways to irrigate pistachio orchards to reduce water consumption and increase yield. The components of the drip irrigation system, which include the main water transmission lines, secondary water transmission lines, filtration station, pumping and droppers, deliver the water to the feet of the pistachio trees through a network of lines and then deliver the water to the tree in the form of drops through the droppers. Using this method reduces irrigation water consumption by about 50% and even with its correct implementation, the tonnage and productivity of pistachio orchards can be increased.
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