Showing 150 results for Irrigation
A. H. Nasrollahi, H. Ahmadi, Y. Sabzevari, S. Nouri,
Volume 24, Issue 2 (7-2020)
Abstract
The Plant Water Resistance Index (CWSI) is a tool that can be used for the rapid monitoring of plant water status, which is a key requirement for the accurate product irrigation management.The purpose of this study was to calculate the CWSI index for bean hares in the Khorramabad region for two methods of surface irrigation and drip tape irrigation. For this purpose, a design was implemented in the form of randomized complete block design and split plot experiment. The main factors included drip tape irrigation (T) and surface irrigation (F), and the cultivars of Chibi cultivars including COS16 (C), Sadri (S) and diluted (K) served as sub-plots. By using the field measurements, the position of the upper and lower base lines was estimated for each treatment in different months and used to calculate the CWSI index. The results showed that CWSI values calculated in the surface irrigation during plant growth period were always higher than those in the drip tape irrigation. The highest value of CWSI index was obtained for the Sadri variety, which was equal to 0.20 and 0.26, for the type and surface method, respectively. Statistical analysis showed that the effect of irrigation method on the amount of water stress index was significant at 5% level, but there was no significant difference between different cultivars. According to the results of this study, the threshold values for CWSI were considered to be 0.19 and 0.24 for surface and drip tape irrigation respectively, and relationships were presented based on the differences in vegetation and air temperature to determine the irrigation time.
M. Tavangar, H. R. Eshghizadeh, M. Gheysari,
Volume 24, Issue 2 (7-2020)
Abstract
The present study aimed to evaluate the growth and water use efficiencies of eight late-maturing corn hybrids in comparison to the common use of KSC704 and Maxima-FAO530 under different water-nitrogen management systems. Two irrigation regimes (based on 50% soil-water depletion as the normal irrigation and, on average. 16% less than normal as the deficit irrigation) and two nitrogen (N) application managements (3 and 16 split-application of 150 kg N from Urea, 45% N) were induced using the split-split plot experiment based on a completely randomized block design with four replications at Research Field of Isfahan University of Technology on 2017. The results showed that yield, forage and leaf area index were significantly (P<0.01) affected by the interaction of three studied factors (Irrigation × Nitrogen × Corn hybrid). For different corn hybrids, more water use efficiencies were achieved by deficit-irrigation regime and 16- split-applyication of N; in this regard, the SC719 hybrid had the highest value of 3.45 kg m-3. Generally, the performances of the studied late maturing corn hybrids were higher than those of the control hybrids of SC704 and SC530 at this planting date, which could be improved by using the deficit-irrigation regime and more split-application of the N fertilizer.
M. Amerian, S. E. Hashemi Garmdareh, A. Karami,
Volume 24, Issue 3 (11-2020)
Abstract
Today, one of the biggest challenges facing the world is the lack of water, especially in the agricultural sector. In this research, we investigated the effects of irrigation method and deficit irrigation with the urban refined effluent on biomass, grain yield, yield components and water use efficiency in single grain crosses 704 maize. This research was carried out in a randomized complete block design with two irrigation systems (furrow irrigation (F) and drip irrigation (T)) and three levels of deficit irrigation treatments of 100 (D1), 75 (D2) and 55 (D3) percent of water requirements in three replications, in 2017, at the collage of Abourihan Research field, University of Tehran, in Pakdasht County. The results showed that the highest yield of biomass was 2.426 Kg m-2 for full drip irrigation treatments; also, there was no significant difference between D1 and D2 treatments. The highest grain yield was 1.240 kg m-2 for the complete drip irrigation treatment. The highest biomass water use efficiency was obtained for the treatment of 75% drip irrigation, which was equal to 5.3 kg per cubic meter of water. Therefore, a drip irrigation system with 75% water requirement is optimal and could be recommended.
M. Askari, A. A. Kamgar-Haghighi, A. R. Sepaskhah, F. Razzaghi, M. Rakhshandehroo,
Volume 24, Issue 3 (11-2020)
Abstract
In the present study, the effects of different levels of irrigation, organic mulch and planting method on the mungbean yield in Badjgah were investigated. The experimental plan in the first year was full randomized block, while in the second year, it was full randomized split-split plot block design, in three repetitions. The results showed that in the FI treatments, the yield was increased up to 2% for the first year and 5% for the second year by changing the planting method from on over-ridge planting method to the in-furrow planting one. Also, the results of the first year showed that there was no significant difference between the yield in the fully-irrigated treatments without mulch and the treatment with mulch and 0.75 FI. The amount of the irrigation water could be decreased up to 25% by adding organic mulch in both planting methods, as compared to the fully-irrigated treatments without mulch. The maximum water productivity equal to 0.4 kg/m3 was observed in 0.5 FI, in-furrow planting method with mulch treatment. It can be, therefore, concluded that the water productivity may be maximized with the application of both deficit irrigation and mulching strategies.
A. Kaghazchi, S. M. Hashemy Shahdany, A. Roozbahany, M. E. Banihabib,
Volume 24, Issue 3 (11-2020)
Abstract
The main purpose of the study is the operational simulation of main irrigation canal and evaluation of water delivery and distribution locally, regionally and overall using adequacy, efficiency, and equity indicators and “Desirability of water delivery and distribution” indicator. To achieve this goal, the hydrodynamic model of Roodasht irrigation network’s main canal was developed. The results of the calibration and validation of the hydrodynamic model showed that the two processes were satisfactory. All available scenarios including normal, water shortages and fluctuations were considered for water delivery and distribution in different conditions. In the local assessment, the adequacy varied from 7 to 85%, and the efficiency in all scenarios was 100%. The adequacy, efficiency, and equity indicators in the regional evaluation varied from 6 to 89, 91 to 100, and 13 to 46%, respectively. The overall evaluation of the canal showed that the most desirable situation is related to a harsh fluctuation increasing with the adequacy, equity and efficiency indicators equal to 82, 23 and 91%, respectively. Calculation of the “Desirability of water delivery and distribution” indicator showed poor performance in all operational scenarios except harsh fluctuation scenario with 82% of which, the canal performance was estimated in fair level.
M. Akbari,
Volume 24, Issue 4 (2-2021)
Abstract
The objective of this research was the development of a hydraulic-economic simulation-optimization model for the design of basin irrigation. This model performed hydraulic simulation (design of basin irrigation), using Volume Balance model, economic simulation through calculating sum of four seasonal costs and optimization using NSGAII multi-objective meta-heuristic algorithm. For programming, MATLAB programming software was applied. The optimizations of functional, multi-dimensional, static, constraint, continuous, multi-objective and meta-heuristic were applied for the optimization of the objective functions. Decision variables selected from simulation inputs were calculated in such a way that the hydraulic objective function (minimizing linear combination of seven performance indicators) and economic objective function (total seasonal cost based on sum of water cost, labor cost, basin preparing cost and channel drilling cost) were minimized. Data of one the experimental field was used for the purpose of simulation. After initial simulation, optimization of the experimental field was done using NSGAII multi-objective meta-heuristic algorithm with tuned parameters. Optimization using the suggested model shoed the decrease (improvement) of objective functions rather than initial simulation performance. As a result, the suggested model could be regarded as is a specialized tool for basin irrigation, showing a good performance, despite its simplicity.
O. Asadi Asadabad, S. H. Matinkhah, Z. Jafari, H. Karim Mojeni,
Volume 25, Issue 1 (5-2021)
Abstract
In order to investigate the effect of the type drip of irrigation methods, subsurface irrigation and furrow irrigation on the domestication of Hedysarum criniferum Boiss., an experiment with a randomized complete block design with three replications was implemented at Isfahan University of Technology for two years (2016 to 2018) . For this purpose, clay pipes were made and the plant was cultivated on the sides of clay pipes and types. Also, furrow irrigation treatment was applied as the control. During the experiment, all treatments received the same water and finally, some growth parameters were measured. The results of the study showed improvement in height (0.43 and 0.34), canopy cover (0.66 and 0.52), stem number (0.44 and 0.85), chlorophyll index (0.45 and 0.45), seed emergence (0.75 and 0.30), plant survival (0.78 and 0.55), yield (0.23 and 0.35), and water use efficiency (0.25 and 0.25) under type drip irrigation treatment, as compared to subsurface and furrow irrigation, respectively (P<0.05). In general, the type drip treatment is recommended in the early years of planting; however, since the maximum production potential of this plant is in the third year onwards, it is necessary to examine the results in the following years to recommend the proper irrigation method, especially the use of subsurface irrigation.
F. Alizadeh, A. H. Nasrolahi, M. Saeedinia, M. Sharifipour,
Volume 25, Issue 1 (5-2021)
Abstract
In areas with high rainfall distribution, proper irrigation management, including complementary irrigation, is one of the effective strategies to increase crop production. In order to investigate the effect of supplementary irrigation in different growth stages on the yield and water productivity of Autumn rapeseed, an experiment in the form of a complete randomized block design with five irrigation management treatments including rainfed (I1), single irrigation at flowering stage (I2), single Irrigation at pod filling stage (I3), two irrigation at pod filling stage and flowering (I4), three irrigation at flowering, and pod filling and grain Filling stages (I5) was carried out at Lorestan University Research Field. Results showed that there was a significant difference between the effects of different irrigation treatments at 1% level. The lowest grain yield, biological yield and oil yield were obtained in I1 treatment with 44.62%, 50.95% and 53.58% decrease, as compared to I5 treatment. The results also showed that by applying irrigation at pod filling stage, grain yield and oil yield were increased by 13.22% and 20.23%, as compared to I1 treatment. The highest total productivity for the grain yield and oil yield was obtained in I5 treatment with 0.252 and 0.073 kg / m3. In general, due to the fact that drought stress in rapeseed calving stages reduces yield, the higher the number of irrigations in rapeseed calving stages, the more the yield.
F. Haghnazari, M. Ghanbarian Alavijeh, A. Sheini Dashtegol, S. Boroomand Nnasab,
Volume 25, Issue 1 (5-2021)
Abstract
Changes in soil infiltration cause changes in irrigation efficiencies; therefore, estimating it in calculating irrigation efficiencies provides a more accurate estimate of irrigation performance indicators. In a study conducted on ARC2-7 farm in Amirkabir agro-industry in the 2010-2011 crop year, during four irrigations; two furrows were selected in terms of uniform infiltration and variable infiltration with a length of 140 and a width of 1.83 m. In the furrow assuming uniform infiltration two flume type II, at the beginning and end of it, were installed and the cumulative infiltration was determined by the volume balance method. The furrow with variable conditions was divided into four sections by installing five flumes. By examining the spatial variations of the mean cumulative infiltration, its value decreased from the first to the fourth section for the first irrigation by 15% and for the subsequent irrigations by 13%. Temporal changes of cumulative infiltration decreased by 27 and 30% for the first and second sections and by 26% for the third and fourth sections. An 11% increase in the average weight of the aggregate diameter and a 7% decrease in bulk density indicate physical changes in the soil. Surface runoff losses increased from 8 to 18.77% in the furrow assuming uniform infiltration and from 10.91 to 19.77% in the furrow with variable infiltration, and application efficiency decreased by 6%.
A. Sarkohaki, A. Egdernezhad, S. Minaei,
Volume 25, Issue 1 (5-2021)
Abstract
Crop models evaluationin agriculture has been done by researchers. It helps them to determine the most appropriate crop model for the planning and simulation of crop response in different areas. Using can lead time and cost saving, helping to evaluate the effects of different situations on the crops yield, biomass and water use efficiency (WUE). Given the importance of the subject, this study was conducted for the accuracy and efficiency evaluation of AqauCrop and SWAP under three irrigation types (D: sprinkler irrigation with saline water, F: sprinkler irrigation with saline and fresh water, and S: surface irrigation) and five water qualities (S1: 2.5, S2: 3.2, S3: 3.9, S4: 4.6 and S5: 5.1 dS.m-1). NRMSE results showed that the accuracy of AquaCrop for the simulation of yield, biomass and WUE was 0.07, 0.09 and 0.07, respectively. For SWAP, these were 0.12, 0.04 and 0.13, respectively. According to EF, AquaCrop results for above-mentioned parameters were 0.60, 0.90 and -4.4, and SWAP results were 0.74, 0.73 and -2.0, respectively. So, AquaCrop accuracy and efficiency were better than those of SWAP for the simulation of corn yield and biomass.
S. Janatrostami, A. Salahi,
Volume 25, Issue 2 (9-2021)
Abstract
Water allocation needs to adhere to the principles of efficiency, equity, and sustainability, but, equity usually is less considered. Foumanat irrigation area with five command areas is one of the three areas of Sefidroud irrigation and drainage network that more than 90% of it is covered by paddy fields. Since water plays a key role in paddy fields, the lack of uniform distribution of water resources throughout the irrigation area during the rice cultivation period causes irrigation water scarcity and severe damage to some irrigation areas. In this study, the equity of groundwater withdrawal and the received surface water from Sefidroud irrigation and drainage canals according to the shared water resources among Foumanat’s command areas were evaluated using the Gini coefficient. Therefore, a water allocation optimization model was developed to maximize the equity in the allocation of groundwater and surface water of canals according to the minimum current economic benefit in the command areas. The results showed that in optimum conditions, the equity of groundwater and surface water resources allocation was increased by 46.3% and 43.7%, respectively. The evaluation of the optimal allocation of available water resources also showed that the amounts of groundwater withdrawal and the received surface water from canals are distributed equally among command areas.
M. Abedinzadeh, A. Bakhshandeh, Mr B. Andarziyan, Mr S. Jafari, M Moradi Telavat,
Volume 25, Issue 3 (12-2021)
Abstract
Iran is located in the dry belt of the earth and is predicted to face water stress in the next half-century. Currently, the area of sugarcane cultivation in Khuzestan is over 85,000 hectares and due to the high water needs of sugarcane and drought conditions, optimization of water consumption and irrigation management is necessary to continue production. Therefore, in this study, the values of soil moisture, canopy cover, biomass yield in five treatments and irrigation levels (start of irrigation at 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, and 80% soil moisture discharge) during 2 planting dates in the crop year 2015-2016 on sugarcane cultivar CP69-1062 in Amirkabir sugarcane cultivation and industry located in the south of Khuzestan was simulated by AquaCrop model. The measured data on the first culture date (D1) and the second culture date (D2) were used to calibrate and validate the model. The results of NRMSE statistics in canopy cover simulation in calibration and validation sets with values of 2.1 to 15.6% and 3.8 to 18.3%, respectively, and in biomass simulation with values of 6.2 to 15.2%, and 9.5 to 12.6%, respectively and coefficient of determination (R2), range 0.98 to 0.99 indicated that the high ability of the AquaCrop model in simulation canopy cover and biomass yield. whereas, the values of NRMSE of soil depth moisture in the calibration and validation sets ranged from 11.6 to 23.8, and 12.2 to 22.7, respectively, with a coefficient of determination (R2), 0.73 to 0.96 (calibration) 0.8 to 0.93 (validation) showed less accuracy of the model in the simulation. The best scenario is related to the third proposal that water consumption, water use efficiency, and yield are 1710 mm, 1.53, and 42.27 tons per hectare, respectively, which shows a reduction in water consumption of 360 mm.
M.m. Matinzadeh, J. Abedi Koupai, M. Shayannejad, A. Sadeghi-Lari , H. Nozari,
Volume 25, Issue 4 (3-2022)
Abstract
Using water and fertilizer management at the farm level can be increased water use efficiency and reduce the volume of drainage water, fertilizer losses, and other pollutants in farmland with deep underground drains such as Khuzestan agro-industrial Companies. In the present study, a comprehensive simulation model for the water cycle and the nitrogen dynamics modeling was used for water and fertilizer management modeling on farmland of sugarcane in Imam Agro-Industrial Company using a system dynamics approach. To reduce irrigation water consumption and nitrogen fertilizer losses, five different scenarios were considered including four scenarios of water management consist of 5, 10, 15, and 20 percent reduction in the amount of irrigation water (I1, I2, I3, and I4) compared to the current situation of irrigation in Imam agro-industrial Company (I0), and one scenario of integrated water and fertilizer management (20% reduction in the amount of irrigation water and urea fertilizer 210 Kg/ha, I4F). The results of modeling showed that the scenario of I4F caused to reduce 31, 70, 71, 70, and 85 percent of the cumulative volume of drainage water, cumulative nitrate and ammonium losses, total losses of cumulative nitrate, and ammonium by tile-drain and cumulative losses of denitrification process, respectively. Thus, the implementation of this scenario, not only saves water and fertilizer consumption but also reduces environmental pollution effectively. So the scenario of I4F (amount of irrigation water for six months 2656 mm and urea fertilizer 210 Kg/ha) is recommended for sugarcane in the Imam agro-industrial Company.
A. Mehrabi, M. Heidar Pour, H. R. Safavi,
Volume 25, Issue 4 (3-2022)
Abstract
Designing an optimal crop pattern and on-time water allocation of water resources along with deficit irrigation are among the optimal solutions to maximize the water economic efficiency index. In this paper, the simultaneous optimization of crop pattern and water allocation are discussed using the deficit irrigation method. The study area is located west of the Qazvin plain irrigation network. The six different levels of percentage reduction of irrigation rate (0, 0 to 10, 0 to 20, 0 to 30, 0 to 40, and 0 to 50%) in three climatic conditions consist of dry, normal, and wet years were compared. The best irrigation scenario was selected for each year, and the results were compared with the existing crop pattern of the same year. The new crop pattern included the main crops of the region and the addition of rapeseed. The objective was to reach the maximum net benefit per unit volume of water by considering the maximum extraction of monthly and annual surface and groundwater. The results showed that the best scenario in the dry year was maximum deficit irrigation up to 20%, in a normal year full irrigation, and a wet year maximum deficit irrigation up to 10%. The improvement of economic water productivity in a dry year was 52.2%, in a normal year 41.5%, and in a wet year is 19.6% compared to the existing crop pattern. The average percentage of annual irrigation supply increases from 64.3 to 91.7% in a dry year, from 70 to 100% in a normal year, and from 77.5 to 97.1% in a wet year. Also, the relative yield of all crops, especially wheat, alfalfa, and sugar beet significantly increases. Therefore, the gravitational search algorithm as an optimization model can be considered in selecting the suitable crop pattern and allocation of surface and groundwater resources concerning economic benefits in irrigation networks management.
S. Jamali, H. Banejad, A. Safarizadehsani, B. Hadi,
Volume 26, Issue 1 (5-2022)
Abstract
This research was conducted to study the effect of deficit irrigation and saline water on yield and yield components of Peppermint in the experimental research greenhouse of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad from 2018 to 2019. This research was performed as a factorial experiment based on the randomized complete design with three replications. In this research, irrigation levels consist of 4 levels (100 (I1), 80 (I2), 70 (I3), and 55 (I4) percent of FC) and saline water factors consist of 4 levels (0.9 (EC1), 1.9 (EC2), 2.5 (EC3), and 3.4 dSm-1 (EC4)). The result showed that a decrease of the water to 15, 30, and 45 percent have resulted in the reduction of shoot fresh weights (to 15.8, 28.4, and 30.1 percent), shoot dry weights (to 7.1, 11.5, and 11.5 percent), and root dry weights (to 4.6, 9.2, and 9.2 percent), respectively. Also, results showed that irrigation with EC2, EC3, and EC4 has resulted in a decrease in shoot fresh weights (to 12.7, 28.5, and 34.0 percent), shoot dry weights (to 3.6, 11.6, and 11.6 percent), and root dry weights (to 6.7, 12.4, and 14.6 percent), respectively. The result indicated that interaction effects of salinity and water stress decreased peppermint water productivity, as the highest and lowest peppermint water productivity with 3.54 and 2.06 Kgm-3 were in the EC1I4 and EC3I1 treatments, respectively. Results revoluted that maximum dry yield and peppermint water productivity were in the EC1I4, so this treatment was recommended for irrigation of peppermint.
B. Moravejalahkami, M.h. Rahimian,
Volume 26, Issue 1 (5-2022)
Abstract
The current research was performed to present a quick and proper method for basin irrigation infiltration equation estimation by optimization of the Manning roughness coefficient. A two-level optimization of the Manning roughness coefficient method was presented by developing a zimod simulation model and initial intake families method, USDA-NRCS, (infiltration equation based on soil characteristics), and modified intake families (infiltration equation based on soil characteristics and inflow discharge). The investigation of the results of the model based on observed advance, recession, and surface storage showed the relative error of surface storage volume estimation was decreased by 38 to 50 % by adjusting the initial intake families method. The normalized root mean square error (NRMSE) of the advance estimation was between 0.22 to 0.85 for initial intake families and this parameter was between 0.09 to 0.5 for modified intake families. NRMSE of the recession estimation was between 0.13 to 0.75 for initial intake families and this parameter was between 0.09 to 0.19 for modified intake families. The presented method based on modified intake families increases the accuracy of infiltration estimation as compared to the initial intake families method and can evaluate basin irrigation acceptably. In addition, this method needs less time for basin irrigation evaluation as compared to the complete methods of optimization of infiltration parameters and roughness coefficient.
M. Abdi, H. Sharifan, H. Jafari, Kh. Ghorbani,
Volume 26, Issue 2 (9-2022)
Abstract
The irrigation schedule of crops is the most effective way to increase agricultural water use efficiency. In irrigation planning, determining the irrigation time is more important and difficult than determining the depth of irrigation water. Among all methods of determining the irrigation time of crops, the methods which used plants are more accurate than other methods. In this study, the wheat water stress index has been used which is based on the air vapor pressure deficit and the difference between vegetation and air temperature (Tc-Ta). First of all, the diagram and the relationship between the top and bottom baselines were extracted, then the water stress index of wheat was drawn in the Karaj region. Secondly, to determine the optimal water stress index of wheat, four treatments including I1: 30% of maximum allowable depletion of moisture, I2: 45% of maximum allowable depletion of moisture, I3: 60% of maximum allowable depletion of moisture, I4: 75% of maximum allowable depletion of moisture were performed in four replications. The amount of water stress index of each treatment was calculated during the season separately, and the CWSI of the treatment with the highest water use efficiency was used to determine the irrigation time of wheat. The results showed that the relationship between the upper and lower baseline for wheat in the Karaj region is Tc-Ta = 3.6 0c and
Tc-Ta = -0.27VPD - 2.64, respectively. The treatment of 45% of maximum allowable depletion of moisture had the highest water use efficiency and the optimal water stress index for wheat was obtained at 0.36 in the Karaj region.
M.r. Bahadori, F. Razzaghi, A.r. Sepaskhah,
Volume 26, Issue 3 (12-2022)
Abstract
Inefficient use of limited water resources, along with increasing population and increasing water demand for food production has severely threatened agricultural water resources. One way to overcome this problem is to improve water productivity by introducing new crops that tolerate water stresses such as quinoa. In this study, the effect of water stress at different stages of plant growth (vegetative, flowering, and grain filling) was studied on plant parameters, yield, and water productivity of quinoa (cv. Titicaca). This study was conducted under field conditions and the treatments were performed as a block experiment in a completely randomized design with four replications. Experimental factors were: treatment without water stress or full irrigation (F) and water stress treatment (D) at 50% of the need for full irrigation at different stages of quinoa growth. The application of deficit irrigation during different stages of plant growth decreased stomatal conductance, leaf area index, leaf water potential, seed yield, and water productivity, while deficit irrigation increased the green canopy temperature. According to the results of the present study, the flowering stage of quinoa was very sensitive to water stress leading to produce lower yield compared with the amount of yield obtained when vegetative and or grain filling stages are under water stress conditions.
A. Yousefi, M. Maleki-Zadeh, A.r. Nikooie, M.s. Ebrahimi,
Volume 26, Issue 4 (3-2023)
Abstract
This study determines the amount of irrigation water saved as a result of the subsidy policy to adapt from flood to drip irrigation. We developed a positive mathematical programming model (PMP) to evaluate the effect of economic incentives on farmers’ decisions to choose the type of irrigation technology, cropping pattern, and "water use" and "water consumption" in rural Garkan Shomali district, which is part of the Najafabad aquifer. We collected data through farm surveys, desk research, and expert interviews. The results showed that a reduction in the financial costs of converting flood irrigation into drip irrigation can lead to farmers investing in this technology. In the current water allocation scenario, the subsidy policy increases the water consumption of drip-irrigated crops by 28%, of which 19% is non-consumed water before subsidy payment and the rest is related to the reduction of furrow-irrigated lands. Also, under non-volumetric water delivery conditions, the operating costs reduce and the net income of the farms increases because of the increase in efficiency and the development of the area under cultivation, which increases water consumption while the water use is constant. In the volumetric water delivery scenario, with the increase in subsidies, the net income of the farms will increase without developing the area under cultivation and only because of the increased yield. Therefore, subsidy policy increases irrigation efficiency at both the farm and regional levels and is an effective tool for dealing with drought conditions.
M. Farzamnia, M. Miran Zadeh,
Volume 26, Issue 4 (3-2023)
Abstract
The present study was carried out in the Mahyar region of Esfahan Province to determine optimum drip tape spacing for the wheat crops on a silty clay loam soil respecting grain yield as well as yield components, water use efficiency, and variations in the salinity within the soil profile. The experiment was performed for three years from 2017 to 2019 with a randomized complete block design with three replicates and four treatments. The treatments consisted of three tape spacings (A) at 45, (B) at 60, (C) at 75 cm, and the Control (D) was irrigated with the basin method. The same volume of irrigated water was applied to the drip treatments, A, B, and C in every irrigation interval, whereas for treatment D, the local farmers’ practice was followed. Based on the results from compound variance analysis, the treatment effect on both grain yield and biological yield, and on water use efficiency and harvest index was significant at 1% and 5% level of confidence, respectively. The mean water use efficiency in treatments A, B, C, and D was measured as 0.79, 0.79, 0.73, and 0.78 kg m-3; thus, treatments A, B, and D outperformed treatment C. A comparison between the salinity of the soil profile at the beginning and the end of the growing season revealed that the basin irrigation method was more effective on salt leaching than the drip tape system. The results of this study indicated that concerning water use efficiency and crop yield, drip tapes spaced at 45 or 60 cm outperformed those which were 75 cm apart. On the other hand, the work required for irrigation system installation as well as the amount of drip tape residues left on the field at the end of the growing season is larger for tapes spaced at 45 cm compared to those which are 60 cm apart. This will have a significant impact on farmers’ budgets and environmental issues. Therefore, it is recommended to lay the tapes 60 cm apart for the irrigation of wheat crops on silty clay loam soils.
