Effectiveness of Measures to Reduce the Influence of Global Climate Change on Tomato Cultivation in Solariums. Case Study: CrișUrilor Plain, Bihor, Romania

Abstract

Tomatoes, one of the most appreciated vegetables consumed, are crops well adapted for cultivation in arid and semi-arid conditions, the success of large yields is guaranteed by covering water consumption through irrigation. Solar Pumps - SP are driven by Photovoltaic Panels - PV (SPAPV), eliminating the dependence on electricity or diesel; they are environmentally friendly because they generate carbon-free electricity and the cost of operation and maintenance is lower. In order to preserve the water administered by drip to the tomato crop grown in solariums, mulching is used. In Husasău de Tinca, in the Crișurilor Plain, cultivation of tomato varieties without mulching (WM) and with mulching with black foil (MBF) were studied. To answer the question "How effective are water conservation measures in terms of energy independence?", two variants of SPAPVs, direct pumping (ADP) and storage tank (AST) were simulated. Considering the conditions in the solariums, tomato crops do not benefit from the contribution of precipitation, therefore it is proposed to determine the water consumption of tomatoes (ETRo), using the temperatures inside the solarium. In 2016, the average temperatures during the vegetation period were observed with an insurance of over 20 %, the irrigation norms were 6945.7 m3 ha-1, for the WM variant and 6594.0 m3 ha-1 for the MBF variant, respectively. Specific Investment (SI) is 214,795 Euro ha-1 in case of ADP and respectively 202,990 Euro ha-1 in case of ATS. The payback period (IPT) is between 2.68 years and 2.53 years for the ADP variant and between 1.63 years and 1.54 years for the ATS variant, respectively. The indications for water use and irrigation water use show that in the MBF variant the water administered by localized irrigation is better utilized than in the WM variant. In the conditions of Crișurilor Plain, the best solution for the distribution of water in solariums, with the help of SPAPVs is the mulching system of tomatoes grown in solariums (MBF) and the arrangement of the drip irrigation system with a water storage tank (ATS).

Effectiveness of Measures to Reduce the Influence of Global Climate Change on Tomato Cultivation in Solariums—Case Study: Crișurilor Plain, Bihor, Romania

“…If we take into account, the ETRo of tomatoes grown in solariums estimated in 2018, starting from the insurance of not exceeding the precipitation of 80% [74], they are higher than those determined from the insurance air temperature, with: 597.5 m 3 ha −1 for the WM variant and 668.4 m 3 ha −1 , respectively, for the MBF variant.…”

“…In order to obtain the monthly water requirement of tomatoes grown in solariums (ETRo), the calculated PET data must be converted using the correction coefficients specific to the crop considered [73]. The culture coefficients Kc, for the tomatoes grown in solariums at Husasău de Tinca, were determined experimentally, both for the WM variant and for the MBF variant [74].…”

“…The amount of water administered during one watering depends on the hydrophysical characteristics of the soil and the water storage capacity in the soil. The relationship used to determine the watering rate (m) with drip irrigation (9), takes into account that the moistened surface is reduced compared to sprinkler watering, due to the fact that only the root area of the plants is moistened [51,74].…”

“…The irrigation regime during the vegetation period of the tomatoes establishment starts from the watering norm m, and includes the number of waterings necessary each month to cover their optimal consumption [74,75]. To determine when to apply a new watering we started from the assumption that the initial water reserve in the soil at the beginning of the vegetation period (1 May) is halfway through the active humidity range, which is the difference between the field capacity (FC) and minimum ceiling (MC) [76].…”

“…Tomatoes grown in the field in Szarvas (Hungary) in pedoclimatic conditions were very close to ours in the period 2017-2019, and consumed an average of 3949.7 m 3 ha −1 , of which 2170.0 m 3 ha −1 were covered by precipitation and soil water supply [95]. For the conditions in the Cris , urilor Plain from Husasău de Tinca, the average consumption of tomatoes grown in solariums (1999)(2000)(2001) was 7090 m 3 ha 1 , of which 5180 m 3 ha −1 were covered by irrigation, and the remaining 269 m 3 ha −1 by soil water reserve [74].…”