Precision agriculture in growing three apple varieties in the Republic of Bulgaria
Antoaneta Gigova, Vesela Petrova-Branicheva
Abstract: In the conditions of the changing climate, with tendencies towards warming and drying, it is necessary to make new innovative solutions for the cultivation of fruit trees.
In 2020 - 2021, on the territory of the experimental field “Chelopechene” of ISSAPP “N. Poushkarov” an experimental trial was conducted with three varieties of apple, Florina, Golden Delicious and Granny Smith, created in 2017. The soil in the research area is leached Cinnamon forest. Three different varieties of apples were studied - T1 - Florina, T2 - Golden Delicious and - T3 - Granny Smith under irrigation conditions with maintenance of pre-irrigation soil moisture 70% of the FC. In terms of precipitation, both years are very dry with a probability of exceedance of 95.67% (2020) and 94.07% (2021). For 2020 on average, during the vegetation period of the apple orchard , to maintain the soil moisture in the range of 70% of FC to 100% of FC, it was necessary to apply 10 irrigations with an irrigation norm of 380 mm, and for 2021, 12 irrigations with an irrigation norm of 510 mm. During the years under review, different yields from the apple plantations were established. The highest yield was found in Florina variety, which was 431% higher compared to Granny Smith variety in third variant T3.
In 2020 - 2021, on the territory of the experimental field “Chelopechene” of ISSAPP “N. Poushkarov” an experimental trial was conducted with three varieties of apple, Florina, Golden Delicious and Granny Smith, created in 2017. The soil in the research area is leached Cinnamon forest. Three different varieties of apples were studied - T1 - Florina, T2 - Golden Delicious and - T3 - Granny Smith under irrigation conditions with maintenance of pre-irrigation soil moisture 70% of the FC. In terms of precipitation, both years are very dry with a probability of exceedance of 95.67% (2020) and 94.07% (2021). For 2020 on average, during the vegetation period of the apple orchard , to maintain the soil moisture in the range of 70% of FC to 100% of FC, it was necessary to apply 10 irrigations with an irrigation norm of 380 mm, and for 2021, 12 irrigations with an irrigation norm of 510 mm. During the years under review, different yields from the apple plantations were established. The highest yield was found in Florina variety, which was 431% higher compared to Granny Smith variety in third variant T3.
Keywords: drip irrigation; mulch; orchards; precision agriculture
Citation: Gigova, A., & Petrova-Branicheva, V. (2025). Precision agriculture in growing three apple varieties in the Republic of Bulgaria. Bulgarian Journal of Soil Science Agrochemisty and Ecology, 59(2), 32-38.
| References: (click to open/close) |
Date published: 2025-06-25
Download full text