Co-Authors:
Rud, R., Agricultural Research Organization, Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Bet Dagan, Israel
Cohen, Y., Agricultural Research Organization, Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Bet Dagan, Israel
Alchanatis, V., Agricultural Research Organization, Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Bet Dagan, Israel
Beiersdorf, I., Gilat Research Center, M.P. Negev, Israel, Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of Negev, Sede-Boqer campus, Israel
Klose, R., Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering, Potsdam, Germany
Presnov, E., Gilat Research Center, M.P. Negev, Israel
Levi, A., Agricultural Research Organization, Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Bet Dagan, Israel
Brikman, R., Agricultural Research Organization, Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Bet Dagan, Israel
Agam, N., Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of Negev, Sede-Boqer campus, Israel
Dag, A., Gilat Research Center, M.P. Negev, Israel
Ben-Gal, A., Gilat Research Center, M.P. Negev, Israel
Abstract:
Olive, considered to be moderately salt tolerant, is commonly irrigated with marginal or low quality water. Exposure to relatively high salinity is detrimental to tree health and production. It was hypothesized that physiological response of olive trees to salinity leads to increased relative canopy temperature and thus is identifiable by means of thermal imagery. A controlled experiment was conducted in an arid climate zone with trees grown in lysimeters irrigated with water having 5 levels of salinity. Thermal images were acquired and tree-scale evapotranspiration, mid-day stem water potential (Ψ) and leaf stomatal conductance (g) were measured. Maximum canopy temperature differences between salinity treatments were more pronounced after the mid-day solar radiation peak. Canopy temperature increased as a function of salinity, similar to the response of Ψ and g, with significant differences found between the lower and higher salinity levels.