Vanella et al. (2026) Determining the water status of olive trees using microtensiometer sensors, on-ground and proximal sensing observations under Mediterranean climate conditions

Identification

• Journal: Agricultural Water Management
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-07-13
• Authors: Daniela Vanella, J.G. Pérez-Pérez, Diego Sebastiano Intrigliolo, Luís Bonet, María Tasa, E. Badal, M.A. Martínez-Gimeno, Juan Miguel Ramírez-Cuesta
• DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2026.110633

Research Groups

• Dipartimento di Agricoltura, Alimentazione e Ambiente (Di3A), University of Catania, Italy
• Unidad de Agricultura Sostenible, Centro de Agrotecnología Aplicada (UAS-CATA), Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Agrarias (IVIA), Spain
• Department of Ecology and Global Change, Desertification Research Centre (CIDE, CSIC-UV-GVA), Spain
• Servicio de Tecnología del Riego, IVIA, Spain

Short Summary

This study evaluated the performance of microtensiometer sensors in a commercial olive orchard under Mediterranean climate conditions. The results showed that trunk water potential measured by MTs followed similar temporal patterns with stem water potential, but with a positive correlation observed between the two variables.

Objective

• Evaluate the performance of microtensiometer sensors (MTs) in detecting relative changes in olive tree water status under contrasting irrigation regimes.
• Assess the agreement between trunk water potential (TWP) and conventional stem water potential (SWP) measurements over time under field conditions.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Commercial olive orchard with 6-year-old trees cv. ‘Serrana’ (Olea europea L.) in Viver, Castellón province, Spain.
• Temporal Scale: Three-year period from 2022 to 2024.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Microtensiometer sensors (MTs) for continuous trunk water potential measurements and traditional pressure chamber for stem water potential measurements.
• Data sources: Ground-based measurements of tree water status, agrometeorological variables, and soil water content; proximal sensing observations using visible/near-infrared and thermal data.

Main Results

• Trunk water potential (TWP) measured by MTs followed similar temporal patterns with stem water potential (SWP), but with a positive correlation observed between the two variables.
• TWP was able to detect significant differences between irrigation regimes, while thermal indicators and SWP measurements occasionally identified these differences.
• Moderate relationships were found between TWP and soil water content under both full irrigation and deficit irrigation conditions.

Contributions

• This study provides new insights into the performance of microtensiometer sensors in detecting relative changes in olive tree water status under contrasting irrigation regimes.
• The results highlight the potential of MTs as a tool for precision irrigation management, particularly in detecting treatment-induced variations in tree water status.

Funding

• This research was funded by projects and programs from IVIA (Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Agrarias) and CSIC (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas).

Citation

@article{Vanella2026Determining,
  author = {Vanella, Daniela and Pérez-Pérez, J.G. and Intrigliolo, Diego Sebastiano and Bonet, Luís and Tasa, María and Badal, E. and Martínez-Gimeno, M.A. and Ramírez-Cuesta, Juan Miguel},
  title = {Determining the water status of olive trees using microtensiometer sensors, on-ground and proximal sensing observations under Mediterranean climate conditions},
  journal = {Agricultural Water Management},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1016/j.agwat.2026.110633},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2026.110633}
}