Feed-forward and feed-back control irrigation scheduling to improve the supplemental irrigation efficiency in woody perennial crops.

The thesis intends to present new insights in the topic of water management in sparse crop systems by implementing approaches such as the so-called feed-forward and feedback control. The first refers to the use of agrohydrological models to estimate crop water requirements and thus, scheduling irrigation. Meanwhile, the feedback control is based on the use of sensors to monitor diverse soil-plant water status variables to set the irrigation timing and water amount, according to reference values (i.e. thresholds) accurately defined. In addition, the feedback approach could serve as a support tool for a feed forward irrigation control by implementing the monitored data into the soil water balance model. In this thesis, these two approaches were developed with experiments carried out in the field, in controlled environments (i.e. greenhouse), as well as in-silico research activities.