Developing Integrated Irrigation Management Strategies to Improve Water and Nutrient Use Efficiency of Organic Processing Tomato Production
Dr. Amelié CM Gaudin, University of California Davis
This project aims at developing integrated irrigation practices that capitalize on soil health to improve the efficiency of irrigation water and decrease pest pressure and potential N losses of California organic processing tomato production. Dr. Gaudin will compare the impact of three different water management scenarios that delay onset of irrigation and/or advance irrigation cutoff on tomato water-use efficiency, yield and fruit quality and monitor shifts in water acquisition dynamics, N leaching and pest pressure.
Impact: Trial results could help convert 259,000 acres of processing tomatoes to organic production and provide techniques to mitigate and adapt to shifts in resource availability.