Yield and Quality of Walnuts Subjected to Deficit Irrigation in Mountainous Water-Starved Environments
Walnut (<i>Juglans regia</i> L.) exhibits a high sensitivity to water deficit, making it crucial to comprehend this characteristic in order to optimize irrigation strategies to improve its productivity. Deficit irrigation is widely used under drought conditions to achieve water savings g...
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2025-06-01
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| author | Víctor Hugo Durán Zuazo Belén Cárceles Rodríguez Esther Sendra Ángel Antonio Carbonell-Barrachina Leontina Lipan Francisca Hernández Baltasar Gálvez Ruiz Iván Francisco García-Tejero |
| author_facet | Víctor Hugo Durán Zuazo Belén Cárceles Rodríguez Esther Sendra Ángel Antonio Carbonell-Barrachina Leontina Lipan Francisca Hernández Baltasar Gálvez Ruiz Iván Francisco García-Tejero |
| author_sort | Víctor Hugo Durán Zuazo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Walnut (<i>Juglans regia</i> L.) exhibits a high sensitivity to water deficit, making it crucial to comprehend this characteristic in order to optimize irrigation strategies to improve its productivity. Deficit irrigation is widely used under drought conditions to achieve water savings goals. This study examines the impact of sustained deficit irrigation (SDI) strategies—applying 33%, 50%, or 75% of the crop water demand—on yield and quality parameters of two walnut cultivars (Chandler and Cisco) over a three-year monitoring period. These treatments were compared against control trees receiving full irrigation at 100% of crop water requirements (C<sub>100</sub>). The nut yield was significantly and proportionally reduced under the SDI treatments. In the experiment, the average yield for cv. Chandler amounted to 6.7, 6.4, and 12.2 kg tree<sup>−1</sup> under SDI<sub>33</sub>, SDI<sub>50</sub>, and SDI<sub>75,</sub> respectively, which were less than 13.9 kg tree<sup>−1</sup> in the C<sub>100</sub> plot. Similarly, cv. Cisco yielded 8.0, 11.6, 11, and 15.6 kg tree<sup>−1</sup> under SDI<sub>33</sub>, SDI<sub>50</sub>, SDI<sub>75</sub>, and C<sub>100</sub>, respectively. These findings indicate that the cultivar Cisco exhibits greater tolerance to moderate and intermediate levels of water deficit. Furthermore, the SDI treatments notably influenced several morphological and physicochemical kernel parameters. The key affected attributes include the weight, size, color, profiles of specific sugars, and mineral content (notably potassium, iron, and zinc), as well as the composition of unsaturated fatty acids (palmitoleic and cis-vaccenic) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (linoleic and α-linolenic), with pronounced effects observed particularly under the SDI<sub>75</sub> treatment. Thus, deficit irrigation did not drastically affect the kernel quality parameters, and it is also possible to augment them by selecting the appropriate water stress level. Therefore, for both walnut cultivars, approximately 25% of the irrigation water (SDI<sub>75</sub>), equivalent to an average of 1681 m<sup>3</sup> ha<sup>−1</sup>, can be conserved relative to the total crop water requirement without negatively impacting walnut tree performance in the short to medium term. Here, we show the key role of adjusting irrigation practices by stressing the benefits of SDI that can save water, foster water productivity, and boost walnut health-promoting phytochemicals. |
| format | Article |
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| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
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| spelling | doaj-art-93151de4b2d0402893ffa22af55d5ffe2025-08-20T03:16:36ZengMDPI AGPlants2223-77472025-06-011412177710.3390/plants14121777Yield and Quality of Walnuts Subjected to Deficit Irrigation in Mountainous Water-Starved EnvironmentsVíctor Hugo Durán Zuazo0Belén Cárceles Rodríguez1Esther Sendra2Ángel Antonio Carbonell-Barrachina3Leontina Lipan4Francisca Hernández5Baltasar Gálvez Ruiz6Iván Francisco García-Tejero7IFAPA Centro “Camino de Purchil”, Camino de Purchil s/n, 18004 Granada, Granada, SpainIFAPA Centro “Camino de Purchil”, Camino de Purchil s/n, 18004 Granada, Granada, SpainResearch Group “Food Quality and Safety”, Centro de Investigación e Innovación Agroalimentaria y Agroambiental (CIAGRO-UMH), Universidad Miguel Hernández, Carretera de Beniel, km 3.2, 03312 Orihuela, Alicante, SpainResearch Group “Food Quality and Safety”, Centro de Investigación e Innovación Agroalimentaria y Agroambiental (CIAGRO-UMH), Universidad Miguel Hernández, Carretera de Beniel, km 3.2, 03312 Orihuela, Alicante, SpainResearch Group “Food Quality and Safety”, Centro de Investigación e Innovación Agroalimentaria y Agroambiental (CIAGRO-UMH), Universidad Miguel Hernández, Carretera de Beniel, km 3.2, 03312 Orihuela, Alicante, SpainResearch Group “Food Quality and Safety”, Centro de Investigación e Innovación Agroalimentaria y Agroambiental (CIAGRO-UMH), Universidad Miguel Hernández, Carretera de Beniel, km 3.2, 03312 Orihuela, Alicante, SpainIFAPA Centro “Camino de Purchil”, Camino de Purchil s/n, 18004 Granada, Granada, SpainIFAPA Centro “Las Torres”, Carretera Sevilla-Alcalá del Río km 12,2, 41200 Alcalá del Río, Sevilla, SpainWalnut (<i>Juglans regia</i> L.) exhibits a high sensitivity to water deficit, making it crucial to comprehend this characteristic in order to optimize irrigation strategies to improve its productivity. Deficit irrigation is widely used under drought conditions to achieve water savings goals. This study examines the impact of sustained deficit irrigation (SDI) strategies—applying 33%, 50%, or 75% of the crop water demand—on yield and quality parameters of two walnut cultivars (Chandler and Cisco) over a three-year monitoring period. These treatments were compared against control trees receiving full irrigation at 100% of crop water requirements (C<sub>100</sub>). The nut yield was significantly and proportionally reduced under the SDI treatments. In the experiment, the average yield for cv. Chandler amounted to 6.7, 6.4, and 12.2 kg tree<sup>−1</sup> under SDI<sub>33</sub>, SDI<sub>50</sub>, and SDI<sub>75,</sub> respectively, which were less than 13.9 kg tree<sup>−1</sup> in the C<sub>100</sub> plot. Similarly, cv. Cisco yielded 8.0, 11.6, 11, and 15.6 kg tree<sup>−1</sup> under SDI<sub>33</sub>, SDI<sub>50</sub>, SDI<sub>75</sub>, and C<sub>100</sub>, respectively. These findings indicate that the cultivar Cisco exhibits greater tolerance to moderate and intermediate levels of water deficit. Furthermore, the SDI treatments notably influenced several morphological and physicochemical kernel parameters. The key affected attributes include the weight, size, color, profiles of specific sugars, and mineral content (notably potassium, iron, and zinc), as well as the composition of unsaturated fatty acids (palmitoleic and cis-vaccenic) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (linoleic and α-linolenic), with pronounced effects observed particularly under the SDI<sub>75</sub> treatment. Thus, deficit irrigation did not drastically affect the kernel quality parameters, and it is also possible to augment them by selecting the appropriate water stress level. Therefore, for both walnut cultivars, approximately 25% of the irrigation water (SDI<sub>75</sub>), equivalent to an average of 1681 m<sup>3</sup> ha<sup>−1</sup>, can be conserved relative to the total crop water requirement without negatively impacting walnut tree performance in the short to medium term. Here, we show the key role of adjusting irrigation practices by stressing the benefits of SDI that can save water, foster water productivity, and boost walnut health-promoting phytochemicals.https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/14/12/1777deficit irrigationwalnut qualityfatty acid profileMediterranean semiarid areasmountainous farming |
| spellingShingle | Víctor Hugo Durán Zuazo Belén Cárceles Rodríguez Esther Sendra Ángel Antonio Carbonell-Barrachina Leontina Lipan Francisca Hernández Baltasar Gálvez Ruiz Iván Francisco García-Tejero Yield and Quality of Walnuts Subjected to Deficit Irrigation in Mountainous Water-Starved Environments Plants deficit irrigation walnut quality fatty acid profile Mediterranean semiarid areas mountainous farming |
| title | Yield and Quality of Walnuts Subjected to Deficit Irrigation in Mountainous Water-Starved Environments |
| title_full | Yield and Quality of Walnuts Subjected to Deficit Irrigation in Mountainous Water-Starved Environments |
| title_fullStr | Yield and Quality of Walnuts Subjected to Deficit Irrigation in Mountainous Water-Starved Environments |
| title_full_unstemmed | Yield and Quality of Walnuts Subjected to Deficit Irrigation in Mountainous Water-Starved Environments |
| title_short | Yield and Quality of Walnuts Subjected to Deficit Irrigation in Mountainous Water-Starved Environments |
| title_sort | yield and quality of walnuts subjected to deficit irrigation in mountainous water starved environments |
| topic | deficit irrigation walnut quality fatty acid profile Mediterranean semiarid areas mountainous farming |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/14/12/1777 |
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