Investigation of Alternate Irrigation Strategies Using Saline and Non-saline Water on Yield and Water Productivity of Grain Maize in Drip Irrigation

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Associate Professor, Department of Agricultural Engineering, Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Center of Golestan Province

2 Faculty Member of Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Center of Golestan Province, Gorgan

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted using a completely randomized block design, in three
replications with seven treatments in three replications for two successive growing
seasons of corn crop. Treatments were comprised of: T1 and T2 (50% of T1): full and
deficit irrigation with non-saline water, respectively; T3 and T4: variable and fixed full
irrigation with saline-non saline water in every other row, respectively; T5 and T6: fixed
and variable deficit irrigation with non-saline water in every other row, respectively and
T7: full irrigation with saline water. Irrigation water salinity for non-saline vs. saline
treatments were 8 and 1.5 dS/m, respectively. The results showed that instead of deficit
irrigation with non saline water using alternate furrow irrigation, if not irrigated furrows
are irrigated with saline water, are more effective when they are compared with deficit
irrigation. In deficit irrigation treatments 29 and 36 % and in T3 and T4 about 50 % of
fresh water was saved in 2012 and 2013, respectively. The quantitative comparison have
shown a significant reduction in maize yield by 22% with deficit irrigation scenarios (T2,
T5 & T6) when compared with salinity treatments (T3 & T4). In terms of water use
efficiency, the results indicate that if fresh and saline water are of the same worth, deficit
irrigation treatments have the highest water productivity and not significantly different
from T1 treatment. However, water use efficiency is assessed as on the basis of fresh
water, treatments T3 and T4 are of higher water use efficiency than the others and,
therefore the criteria above have been selected as the preferred option. However, water
use efficiency is evaluated as on the basis of fresh water, the efficiencies of water use in
treatments T3 and T4 are higher than those in the others and therefore, they will be
selected as the most acceptable options.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

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