project - EIP-AGRI Operational Group
Irrigation management and mycorrhization in horticultural crops
Gestión del riego y micorrización en cultivos hortícolas
Objectives
The main objective of the pilot project was to rationalise water use with vegetable crops. Two further specific objectives were set:
1. Combine innovative irrigation reduction strategies with the application of mycorrhizal-forming fungi.
2. Adjust water supply regimes and the system for applying beneficial organisms to maintain high productivity and quality.
Objectives
El objetivo principal del proyecto piloto ha sido racionalizar el uso del agua en los cultivos hortícolas. En este objetivo se han marcado los dos objetivos específicos siguientes:
1. Combinar estrategias innovadoras de reducción de riego con la aplicación de hongos formadores de micorrizas.
2. Ajustar los regímenes de aporte de agua y el sistema de aplicación de organismos benéficos para mantener una productividad y una calidad elevadas.
Activities
The most important actions carried out in the course of the pilot project were the following:
- Evaluation of systems for inoculating plants with mycorrhizal-forming fungi in the seedling and field phases using seeds encapsulated with mycorrhizal fungus spores.
- Application of deficit irrigation in combination with mycorrhisation of plants on tomato plantations in both experimental soil plots and sack farming with substrate.
- Irrigation optimisation by monitoring soil water content, controlled by humidity sensors, and the application of mycorrhizal-forming fungi.
- Introduction and monitoring of certain natural enemies of pests present in the crop.
Activities
Las actuaciones han sido las siguientes:
- Evaluación del sistema de inoculación de las plantas con hongos formadores de micorrizas en las fases de semillero y campo con la utilización de semillas encapsuladas con esporas de hongos micorrícicos.
- Aplicación de régimen deficitario en combinación con la micorrización de las plantas en plantaciones de tomate tanto en parcelas experimentales en suelo, como en cultivo en sacos con sustrato.
- Optimización del riego mediante el seguimiento del contenido de agua en el suelo, controlado por sensores de humedad, y la aplicación de hongos formadores de micorrizas.
- Introducción y monitoreo de ciertos enemigos naturales de las plagas presentes en el cultivo.
Contexte
This project was developed as a response to a very serious challenge in agriculture and intensive horticulture in particular: the need to reduce the water supply to crops while maintaining competitive productivity. The tomato was chosen as a model crop and the strategies for action used to achieve the goal of reducing irrigation regimes were: rationalising the supply of water using soil moisture sensor technology; and applying arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, microorganisms that are part of the
soil microbiome in natural ecosystems and which play a key role in supplying water and mineral nutrients to plants. The project assessed systems for the application of mycorrhizae in seedlings and farms, such as use of seeds encapsulated with mycorrhizal inocula, combined with deficit irrigation regimes. To round off the sustainability of the production systems, the abundance and establishment of certain natural enemies of pests affecting the cultivation of tomatoes in mycorrhizal plants were monitored and irrigation adjusted to the needs and deficiencies of the plants.
Detail of a mycorrhizal root
Project details
- Main funding source
- Rural development 2014-2020 for Operational Groups
- Rural Development Programme
- 2014ES06RDRP009 Spain - Rural Development Programme (Regional) - Cataluña
Emplacement
- Main geographical location
- Barcelona
- Other geographical location
- Tarragona
€ 206700
Total budget
Total contributions from EAFRD, national co-financing, additional national financing and other financing.
Project keyword
- Aquaculture
- Arable crops
- Organic farming
- Agro-ecology
- Crop rotation/crop diversification/dual-purpose or mixed cropping
- Fodder and feed
- Outdoor horticulture and woody crops (incl. viticulture, olives, fruit, ornamentals)
- Greenhouse crops
- Pest/disease control in plants
- Pest/disease control in animals
- Soil
- Water
- Climate change (incl. GHG reduction, adaptation and mitigation, and other air related issues)
- Biodiversity and nature
Contacts
Project coordinator
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IRTA
Project coordinator