Can Sustained Deficit Irrigation Save Water and Meet the Quality Characteristics of Mango?

• Published in: Agriculture (Basel) Vol. 11; no. 5; p. 448
• Main Authors: Lipan, Leontina, Carbonell-Pedro, Aarón A., Cárceles Rodríguez, Belén, Durán-Zuazo, Víctor Hugo, Franco Tarifa, Dionisio, García-Tejero, Iván Francisco, Gálvez Ruiz, Baltasar, Cuadros Tavira, Simón, Muelas, Raquel, Sendra, Esther, Carbonell-Barrachina, Ángel A., Hernández, Francisca
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01-05-2021
• Subjects: Acidity; Agricultural production; Agriculture; Antioxidants; Citric acid; Color; color change; Crop yield; Drought resistance; drought stress; Farmers; Food; Food quality; Fruit cultivation; fruit quality; Fruits; Humidity; Irrigation; Irrigation water; Mangifera indica L; Mangoes; Minerals; Morphology; Organic acids; Phenolic compounds; Quality assessment; Ripening; SDI; Sugar; yield; Italy; United States > US; Japan; Spain
• ISSN: 2077-0472; 2077-0472
• DOI: 10.3390/agriculture11050448

Mango is one of the most cultivated tropical fruits worldwide and one of few drought-tolerant plants. Thus, in this study the effect of a sustained deficit irrigation (SDI) strategy on mango yield and quality was assessed with the aim of reducing irrigation water in mango crop. A randomized block design with four treatments was developed: (i) full irrigation (FI), assuring the crop’s water needs, and three levels of SDI receiving 75%, 50%, and 33% of irrigation water (SDI75, SDI50, and SDI33). Yield, morphology, color, titratable acidity (TA), total soluble solids (TSS), organic acids (OA), sugars, minerals, fiber, antioxidant activity (AA), and total phenolic content (TPC) were analyzed. The yield was reduced in SDI conditions (8%, 11%, and 20% for SDI75, SDI50, and SDI33, respectively), but the irrigation water productivity was higher in all SDI regimes. SDI significantly reduced the mango size, with SDI33 generating the smallest mangoes. Peel color significantly changed after 13 days of ripening, with SDI75 being the least ripe. The TA, AA, and citric acid were higher in SDI75, while the TPC and fiber increased in all SDI levels. Consequently, SDI reduced the mango size but increased the functionality of samples, without a severe detrimental effect on the yield.