Effect of irrigation regimes on yield and water use efficiencies of potato

Poor irrigation water management is one of the major factors limiting crop production inEthiopia. This study was, therefore, conducted at three different locations in the southeasternEthiopia for 2 consecutive years to investigate the effects of different irrigation depths andintervals with furrow irrigation system on tuber yield, biomass yield and water use efficiency ofpotato. The treatments consisted of four irrigation regimes. Three of them were determinedusing FAO-Cropwat 4 Windows 4.3 computer model based on maximum irrigation efficiencyand minimum yield loss. The fourth treatment was farmers practices for each location.The irrigation treatments were laid out in randomized complete block design with 3 replications.Results showed that irrigation regimes determined using FAO-Cropwat 4 Windows 4.3computer model gave superior tuber and biomass yields and water use efficiencies of potatocompared to farmers’ practices at all locations. Higher values of crop and water productivitywere obtained when scheduled at application of 20 mm irrigation water every 6 days, 15 mmirrigation water every 7 days and 15 mm irrigation water every 9 days for Sheled, Golja andLemu areas, respectively. It could be conclude that farmers were over irrigating their farmswithout equivalent returns. The water saved through optimized irrigation can be used moreprofitably to irrigate supplemental lands, thus achieving a more efficient and rational use of landand water resources.

کلیدواژه ها:

Irrigation scheduling ، Evapotranspiration ، Crop water requirement ، Irrigation water requirement ، Water use efficiency ، Yield