Does Soil Health Drive Increased Irrigation Water Productivity in Tomato Cropping Systems?.

The recent California drought dramatically decreased irrigation water allocations to tomato growers, driving demand for new and more integrated irrigation strategies that reduce water inputs without reductions in fruit yield and quality. Prior research showed that moderate deficit irrigation strategies do not decrease tomato yield or quality compared to standard irrigation and suggested that gains in water productivity (yield per unit irrigation input) were facilitated by crop ecophysiological mechanisms. However, could soil health play a role in helping growers increase water productivity? This project assesses the effect of earlier irrigation cutoff dates on yield, tomato quality, water productivity, and underlying soil- and plant-mediated mechanisms in an organic and a conventional field. We will consider whether the mechanisms driving water productivity vary with management and if the potential of soil health to influence irrigation water productivity has been previously overlooked. This project will contribute to efforts to improve water conservation in irrigated agriculture and exemplifies farmer-academic collaborations for investigating innovative management strategies to reduce production costs and conserve natural resources.