Development and evaluation of a SmartIrrigation Peach App in a young peach orchard

Abstract

A crop’s water requirement depends largely on the crop's developmental stages and the environment in which it grows. A site-specific irrigation scheduling system based on crop water requirements is important to ensure optimal plant growth. Georgia’s (USA) current irrigation scheduling has been based on studies from other regions, with different soils and environmental conditions. It is imperative to have a Georgia-specific irrigation scheduling tool for peach production. A smartphone app, known as SmartIrrigation Peach App, was developed by the University of Georgia for irrigation scheduling based on peach’s water requirements throughout the years of establishment and production. The main objective of this study was to compare the SmartIrrigation Peach App, sensor-based irrigation scheduling, and no irrigation in a young peach orchard. A commercial cultivar ‘Julyprince’ grafted on ‘Guardian’ and ‘MP-29’ rootstocks were planted in April 2020 in approx. 0.2 ha at pacing 6.1×4.6 m. Canopy volume, trunk cross-sectional area, stem water potential, and the amount of water used per scheduling method were assessed in 2020 and 2021. Results indicated that plants grafted on ‘Guardian’ rootstocks were significantly and consistently larger than ‘MP-29’ since establishment. There was no significant difference in plant size among the three irrigation methods, but non-irrigated trees were comparatively smaller. Water consumption was similar across treatments in the first year but in 2021, the SmartIrrigation App saved 374 gallons per tree compared to a sensor-based system. Plants grafted on ‘Guardian’ used 411 gallons more water per tree than MP-29 in 2021 (second-year-old trees). Overall, our results indicated that the SmartIrrigation Peach App can be used as an efficient irrigation scheduling tool for young peach orchards. © 2022 International Society for Horticultural Science. All rights reserved.