2023 – Climate Change Adaptation Program

Postharvest deficit irrigation (PDI) is a strategy that can be used to reduce water demands in sweet cherry orchards and is a more sustainable irrigation strategy that will support agriculture resilience to climate change. Previous studies in this region have reported no change in plant physiology or tree growth with irrigation volume reductions of up to 25 %, postharvest. However, the effects of more severe postharvest reductions in irrigation volume were unknown.

This project compared the effects of three irrigation treatments over a three-year period (2019-2021) in five commercial sweet cherry orchards that ranged in elevation and latitude across the Okanagan Valley, BC, Canada. Two fact sheets, an online data tool, a project report, and research summary were developed.

Go to resource: Postharvest Deficit Irrigation for Improved Resilience of Cherry to Climate Change