TY - JOUR AU - Snyder, Víctor A. AU - Vázquez, Miguel A. AU - Seldon, Jodelin AU - Beale, Alberto J. AU - Ramos, Rafael PY - 2018/04/01 Y2 - 2024/03/28 TI - Preliminary evaluation of dew condensers and their use for tree seedling irrigation in Puerto Rico JF - The Journal of Agriculture of the University of Puerto Rico JA - JAUPR VL - 102 IS - 1-2 SE - Articles DO - 10.46429/jaupr.v102i1-2.17528 UR - https://revistas.upr.edu/index.php/jaupr/article/view/17528 SP - 1-20 AB - <p>Dew condensers have been proposed as a means to reduce drought&nbsp;mortality of tree seedlings in early stages of reforestation projects. We&nbsp;investigated the amount of dew condensate produced by locally constructed&nbsp;dew condensers, constructed with three different infrared emitting&nbsp;surfaces: standard polyethylene/ TiO<sub>2</sub> / BaSO<sub>4</sub> foil, thermoplastic polyolefin&nbsp;(TPO), and plastic coated with locally available Lanco Urethanizer<sup>TM8&nbsp;</sup>roofing paint. All surfaces produced similar amounts of total dew condensate,&nbsp;typically ranging between 0.05 and 0.25 L/m<sup>2</sup>/night. However, the materials&nbsp;differed in the fraction of dew running off the surfaces, which represents the&nbsp;water available for tree seedlings. Highest runoff fractions were obtained&nbsp;with painted surfaces, followed by polyethylene and polyolefin surfaces,&nbsp;respectively. Considerably greater amounts of nightly dew condensate&nbsp;were observed during the winter than in summer, attributed to differences&nbsp;in night length and cloud cover. A commercially available dew condenser,&nbsp;the Groasis Waterboxx<sup>TM</sup>, did not generate more than 0.04 L per night of&nbsp;runoff dew, due primarily to a small condenser surface area of &lt; 0.2 m<sup>2</sup>. A&nbsp;field study showed that 1 m<sup>2</sup> dew condensers maintained the root zone of&nbsp;mahogany seedlings at matric potentials &gt; -60 kPa during dry spells. Overall,&nbsp;results indicated that passive dew condensers with condenser areas of 1 m<sup>2&nbsp;</sup>are capable of producing sufficient water for survival of small tree seedlings&nbsp;during drought periods.</p> ER -