Determination of Water-Use Efficiency of Pecan Orchards in Southeast U.S.

Poster Presentation at the AMERICAN METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY

35th Conference on Agricultural and Forest Meteorology|01-04 May| Minneapolis, Minnesota

Determination of water-use efficiency of pecan orchards in Southeast U.S.

Kriti Poudel¹, Monique Leclerc^1*,Gengsheng Zhang¹, Lenny Wells²

1. Biometeorology Group, Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, The University of Georgia, 1109 Experiment St., Griffin, Georgia, 30223

2. Department of Horticulture, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, The University of Georgia, 4604 Research Way, Tifton, GA 31794

Abstract:

Despite the fact that Georgia accounts as one of the top states in pecan industry in the U.S, the information on wise management practices is virtually inexistent in the Southeast. Much of the information available on pecan production arise from earlier studies done in the Southwest along with minimal information focusing on the Southeastern conditions. The objective of this research is to determine the water-use efficiency at different physiological stages of the pecan orchard in Georgia and compare it with the current irrigation schedule. The eddy-covariance system is used to collect the fluxes to calculate the water-use efficiency and net ecosystem exchange in the pecan orchard. Results from contrasting growing seasons are presented and discussed.

* Corresponding author: Monique Y. Leclerc, Univ. of Georgia, Dept. of Biometeorology, Griffin, GA; e-mail: mleclerc@uga.edu