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Project Methodology
Outline
The
project has four logical components (the development of each of the above
listed tools). Each component is a “work package, that is further divided
into “tasks”.
The first work package
(WP1) is a review of present situation, both resources and expected
requirements, in the most important horticultural areas in the
Mediterranean basin. The estimate of the expected requirements will be
coupled to the development of realistic fertigation recipes for the major
horticultural crops.
The second work package
(WP2) will consider greenhouse management (climate and irrigation)
strategies that make it possible to mitigate the negative effect of
low-quality irrigation water, once this effect (yield response to
salinity) is quantified for the most important crops.
Work package three (WP3)
will give structure to existing information on water saving techniques and
installations (such as rain-harvesting, use and upgrade of waste water;
new irrigation techniques; new crops and crop combinations) and link their
efficiency to climate and other regional factors. We will determine a
strategy for the management at farm level of multiple-quality
water-resources.
Work package four (WP4)
will provide a tool for irrigation and fertigation management. An analysis
of expected effects on yield quantity and quality will be translated into
a decision support system (DSS) for growers. The Decision Support System
will contain simulation modules of the relevant processes at farm level
(WP2 and WP3). It will be able to perform a multi-objective optimisation,
suggesting a ranking of strategies for the best allocation of restrictions
to different farming structures with the aim of maximising rewards. The
work of the previous work-packages will be assembled into models or
blue-print rules to be used by the DSS of WP4.
Links between Workpackages
WP1
develops the classical approach to deal with fresh water shortage by
studying means to improve water use efficiency by adjusting application to
need. The first step establishes water and nutrient demand as a function
of production targets. The method of investigation to achieve this result
is through chemical analysis of plants producing high yields under optimum
nutrient supply. The next step involves development of management
procedures to match water and nutrient delivery with the desired level of
plant uptake. The purpose of this task stems from the long warm and sunny
season in the Mediterranean region. As optimum growing conditions under
intensive cropping imply a leaching fraction to evacuate residual solutes
from the growing medium, a task dealing with environmental issues is an
essential part of the project.
WP2 develops ways to handle the negative effects
of saline water. As toxic and osmotic processes cause the stress due to
saline irrigation, it considers the solute balance in the plant and in the
root growth medium to find the causality leading to response functions.
This approach provides a scientific platform for the investigation of the
climate management procedures and for the applications.
WP3
engages with practical agronomic-engineering on-farm operations, which
affect the exposure of plants to solutes, in contrast with the
physiological, chemical and physical investigation in WP1 and WP2. It
provides the means to implement rapidly current knowledge and to adjust
growing methods to new findings.
WP4
prepares the framework for integrating partial knowledge into
applications, while WP1 and WP2 develop bits and pieces of new information
about ways to deal with low quality water. It will also maintain and
improve the communication channel between newly acquired information and
the growers. All partners are aware of the stated objective of the INCO-MED
programme to contribute to the sustainable development of the
Mediterranean countries. It is in view of this that the dissemination of
the results is an explicit item of the project plan.
Read
the detailed methodology about the workpackages:
WP1 ,
WP2 ,
WP3 ,
WP4
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