Manrique‐Alba et al. (2026) From water scarcity to fruit quality: Continuous deficit irrigation in early-maturing peaches

Identification

• Journal: Agricultural Water Management
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-07-08
• Authors: Àngela Manrique‐Alba, Sara del Río Ayete, Azahara Díaz Simón, Jesús Val Falcón, Miquel Tomàs‐Burguera, Santiago Beguerı́a
• DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2026.110619

Research Groups

• Centro de Investigaciones sobre Desertificació (CIDE, CSIC-UV-GVA), Climate, Atmosphere and Ocean Laboratory (Climatoc-Lab)
• Estación Experimental Aula Dei (EEAD-CSIC)
• Natural Risks and Emergencies Observatory of the Balearic Islands—RiscBal
• Department of Geography and Institute of Agro-Environmental & Water Economy Research—INAGEA, University of the Balearic Islands

Short Summary

This study evaluates the productive and physiological response of drip-irrigated early-maturing peaches to Continuous Deficit Irrigation (CDI) in Spain. The results show that CDI can improve fruit quality traits and irrigation water productivity without significantly compromising total yield.

Objective

• To determine whether CDI offers a sustainable pathway for maintaining early-maturing peach production under projected water-scarce conditions in the Mediterranean basin.
• To evaluate the effects of CDI on vegetative growth, yield, and water productivity.
• To assess the impact of CDI on fruit quality traits, including firmness, soluble solids content, and acidity.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: A 12-year-old peach orchard in northeast Spain (41°43′ N, 0°48′ W, 225 m a.s.l.).
• Temporal Scale: Three consecutive growing seasons (2018–2020).

Methodology and Data

• Models used: FAO−56 methodology for calculating crop evapotranspiration.
• Data sources: Daily reference evapotranspiration (ETo) values obtained from the SIAR agrometeorological network, Spanish Ministry of Agriculture.

Main Results

• CDI reduced seasonal irrigation by 10–26% in T50, 17–32% in T25, and 20–36% in T10 relative to the Control.
• The deficit treatments exhibited a progressive decline in θ (m³ m⁻³) that tracked the irrigation gradient.
• Midday stem water potential (Ψ_stem) successfully tracked the tree water status according to the irrigation treatments.
• CDI improved fruit quality traits, including firmness and soluble solids content.
• Irrigation water productivity was maximized in the 10% ETc treatment.

Contributions

• This study provides new insights into the effects of Continuous Deficit Irrigation on early-maturing peach production under projected water-scarce conditions.
• The results suggest that CDI can be a viable strategy for maintaining production while improving fruit quality and water productivity.

Funding

• This research was funded by projects [insert project names or reference codes].

Citation

@article{ManriqueAlba2026From,
  author = {Manrique‐Alba, Àngela and Ayete, Sara del Río and Simón, Azahara Díaz and Falcón, Jesús Val and Tomàs‐Burguera, Miquel and Beguerı́a, Santiago},
  title = {From water scarcity to fruit quality: Continuous deficit irrigation in early-maturing peaches},
  journal = {Agricultural Water Management},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1016/j.agwat.2026.110619},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2026.110619}
}