What:

Join Dr. Louise Nelson and graduate students Kirsten Bevandick and Elizabeth Houghton from the University of British Columbia (Okanagan) for a field tour where they will discuss the methods and results of a three-year study researching the effects of reduced postharvest irrigation on sweet cherry plant function and fruit yield and quality.

About the Research:

Postharvest deficit irrigation (PDI) can reduce water demands in sweet cherry orchards and decreasing postharvest watering by up to 25 % in the Okanagan Valley has been found to not significantly affect plant function, growth, or fruit yield and quality. However, the effects of further postharvest water reductions were unknown. To extend current knowledge of the upper limits of PDI that can be applied, full irrigation of growers practice (100%) and water reductions of 27-33% full irrigation and 47-52% full irrigation were applied postharvest in five commercial sweet cherry orchards that ranged in elevation and latitude in the Okanagan Valley over a three-year period (2019-2021). Plant water status, photosynthesis, growth, flower bud spring phenology, cold hardiness, and fruit yield and quality were measured during this study to determine how these irrigations reductions influenced these aspects of plant functioning.

When & Where:

Tamaki Lane, Kelowna, BC V1P 1L9
Thursday, September 8^th
1:00 PM – 3:00 PM

The field site is located in a cherry orchard just behind Hillcrest Market, off Highway 33, on Tamaki Lane, Kelowna, BC V1P 1L9. Turn off Highway 33 onto Bal Place and turn right, following Bal Place, until you reach a large, paved turn around that connects to Tamaki Lane. Please park your vehicle in the paved turn around and head through the orchard gates and follow the signs to our study plot.