Sustainability and environmental assessment of fertigation in an intensive olive grove under Mediterranean conditions

Compared with the current practice, the FIFC decreased drainage and N leaching by 47% and 90% respectively, while maintaining the actual evapotranspiration (ETa). The RDI75 seems to be the most adequate for the studied agro-system since, in relation to the FIFC, it saved 13% of irrigation water with only 5% decrease in ETa. Furthermore, the 15% reduction in leaching, together with the 19% increase in soil OM mineralization optimized the trees N uptake. The study of three different N application rates for each irrigation scenario indicated that, to minimize residual storage, N should be applied according to plant needs, by using a real-time indicator based upon foliar analysis or the chlorophyll meter measurements.