REAL TIME SOIL MOISTURE BASED IRRIGATION SCHEDULING FOR YIELD IMPROVEMENT OF ANCIENT OLIVE ORCHARDS IN SOUTHERN MONTENEGRO

Real time soil moisture based irrigation scheduling for yield improvement of ancient olive orchards in southern Montenegro is one of the first researches that adopted approach of smart irrigation scheduling at olive orchards in Montenegro. Soil moisture spatial variation monitoring is highly important for sustainable land and water management, while for the territory of Montenegro, it helps regulating cropping pattern and acts as a useful tool to overcome the climatic resource paradox. Satisfactory results of Excel-IRR, tool for irrigation management at the field scale, showed a slight underestimation of 2.04% in predicting soil moisture in comparison with on-field soil moisture variation between irrigated and rainfed parcel. If expressed in terms of difference (%) in the olive yield between two case scenarios, Excel-IRR predicted 11.6% of yield increment after transition to irrigated olive growing, while the on-field measurements showed slightly smaller difference of 6.04%. However, excellent performance of the model in domain of yield predictions and soil moisture variations for both treatments implies suitability of its using for the olive orchard management at the coastal Montenegro. The quantification of soil moisture in Montenegro provided in this research opened a whole new spectrum of interpretation and analysis of data which will lead to more intensive management and deeper insights. Precise prediction of soil moisture, as one of the main factors in the agricultural production and hydrological cycle, acts as an important tool for the rational use and management of water resources.

REAL TIME SOIL MOISTURE BASED IRRIGATION SCHEDULING FOR YIELD IMPROVEMENT OF ANCIENT OLIVE ORCHARDS IN SOUTHERN MONTENEGRO Keywords:

soil moisture , available soil water content , irrigated olive growing