Page 156 - FRUTAS DEL TRÓPICO

156 Frutas del trópico

observed between soil water deficit (SWD) and Ψ, when the soil water was depleted more
than was more than 40% (Fig. 8). This type of information can be used to help refine irrigation

scheduling for tropical fruit crops.

Figura. 8. Soil water depletion (SWD) and stem water potential (Ψs) of carambola trees in containers in
a A) greenhouse B) and an orchard (from Al-Yahyai et al., 2005).

SWD (%)
0 20 40 60 80 100
0
A
ψ S (MPa) -2
-1

-3

-4
0
B
-1
ψ s (MPa) -2

-3

-4

Conclusion

This paper only provides a brief overview of some of the concepts and terminology used for

studying environmental physiology of fruit crops at the whole plant level. Examples used were

taken from studies of subtropical and tropical fruit crops. Although the each example given ge-

nerally illustrated the effect of one specific factor (i.e., temperature, root restriction) on leaf gas

Universidad Autónoma de Chiapas