The Niab Plum Demonstration Centre (PDC) operated between 2015-2025. Here we summarise the key findings in Irrigation scheduling and management.
Niab has done extensive work on irrigation scheduling techniques to improve water and fertiliser use efficiencies in apple, pear and cherry, but little has been done on plum. To inform their irrigation strategies during fruit development and cropping, the consortium wanted to assess how far the soil could be dried before yield or fruit quality began to decline.
Initial work in the tunnelled area has been done by installing soil matric potential sensors at a depth of 15 cm, 30 cm, and 45 cm under representative trees. Soil matric potential values were averaged across the rooting zone, and irrigation (and fertigation) was initially triggered at a soil matric potential value of -60 kPa (a measure of how hard the tree roots work to remove water from the soil) across the rooting zone.
This irrigation threshold was then gradually lowered through the season to a value of -100 kPa, then further to -150 kPa. No negative impact on yield or fruit quality was recorded at this matric potential.
Further work to improve our understanding of precision irrigation and nutrition of plums is required and the consortium is also interested in learning how to improve production efficiency and lower emissions in plum growing. At the time of writing, Niab's Mark Else has been working with some consortium partners to submit proposals to scientific funding bodies to secure funds to begin this research at the PDC.
Key findings
Rootstock/Tree Architecture Pruning and Tree Management Variety Trial
The Plum Best Practice Guide
The Guide brings together information on plum production into one place and develop from that information recommendations for best practice in the UK.