Optimization of the deficit irrigation management for strawberry production in the Loukkos region

Abstract

The Moroccan red fruit sector has undergone remarkable development over the last decade, driven by the increase in demand from international markets and promoted by the national agricultural strategy. However, this development calls for the sustainability of water resources, especially in the current context of climate change which makes the future availability of water uncertain. In this sense, deficit irrigation (DI) is one of the promising techniques to improve the efficiency of crop water use. Strawberry is one of the most sensitive red fruits to water deficit. Sufficient and correct irrigation is critical to successful production. Therefore, growers often bring in quantities that exceed the needs of the crop, especially in areas where the cost of water is relatively negligible. In this paper, we studied the response of the two strawberry varieties (Sabrina, Victory) to four water treatments ranging from 50% to 125% of crop evapotranspiration (ETc). The two varieties differed significantly in yield and water consumption, with significant reductions in yield under DI treatments (50%ETc) for Sabrina. However, the fully irrigated treatment (100% ETc), and the DI treatments (75% and 50% ETc) did not show significant differences in yield for Victory.