Effects of deficit irrigation with saline water on soil water-salt distribution and water use efficiency of maize for seed production in arid Northwest China

A two-year study was conducted in arid region of Tunisia to evaluate the effects of deficit irrigation regimes with saline water on soil salinity, yield, and water use efficiency of onion grown in a commercial farm on a sandy soil and drip-irrigated with water having an of 3.6 dS/m. Irrigation treatments consisted in water replacements of accumulated at levels of 100% (SWB-100, full irrigation), 80% (DI-80), 60% (DI-60), when the readily available water in the control treatment (SWB-100) is depleted, deficit irrigation during ripening stage (SWB100-MDI60) and farmer method corresponding to irrigation practices implemented by the local farmers. Results on onion production and soil salinization are globally coherent between the two-year experiments and show significant difference between irrigation regimes. Higher soil salinity was maintained in the root zone with DI-60 and farmer treatments than full irrigation (SWB-100). SWB100-MDI60 and DI-80 treatments resulted also in low values. No significant differences were observed in bulbs fresh and dry yields, bulbs number·ha−1 and weight from the comparison between full irrigation (SWB-100) and deficit treatments (DI-80, SWB100-MDI60). DI-60 irrigation treatment caused significant reductions in the four parameters considered in comparison with SWB-100. The farmer method caused significant reductions in yield components and resulted in increase of water usage 45 and 33% in 2008 and 2009, respectively. Water use efficiency was found to vary significantly among treatments, where the highest and the lowest values were observed for DI-60 and farmer treatments, respectively. The full irrigation (SWB-100) and deficit irrigation (DI-80 and SWB100-MDI60) strategies were found to be a useful practice for scheduling onion irrigation with saline water under the arid Mediterranean conditions of southern Tunisia.

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Water use efficiency is improved by alternate partial root-zone irrigation of apple in arid northwest China

Agricultural Water Management ◽

10.1016/j.agwat.2016.05.011 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 179 ◽

pp. 184-192 ◽

Cited By ~ 31

Author(s):

Shaoqing Du ◽

Shaozhong Kang ◽

Fusheng Li ◽

Taisheng Du

Keyword(s):

Water Use Efficiency ◽

Water Use ◽

Root Zone ◽

Northwest China ◽

Use Efficiency ◽

Arid Northwest China

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Comparative evaluation of crop water use efficiency, economic analysis and net household profit simulation in arid Northwest China

Agricultural Water Management ◽

10.1016/j.agwat.2014.09.001 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 146 ◽

pp. 335-345 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

Yubing Fan ◽

Chenggang Wang ◽

Zhibiao Nan

Keyword(s):

Economic Analysis ◽

Water Use Efficiency ◽

Water Use ◽

Comparative Evaluation ◽

Northwest China ◽

Crop Water ◽

Crop Water Use ◽

Use Efficiency ◽

Arid Northwest China

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Effect of Deficit Irrigation on Root Growth, Soil Water Depletion, and Water Use Efficiency of Cucumber

HortScience ◽

10.21273/hortsci16052-21 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-9

Author(s):

Ved Parkash ◽

Sukhbir Singh ◽

Manpreet Singh ◽

Sanjit K. Deb ◽

Glen L. Ritchie ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Water Use Efficiency ◽

Soil Water ◽

Water Use ◽

Deficit Irrigation ◽

Crop Production ◽

The United States ◽

Soil Water Depletion ◽

Water Depletion ◽

Use Efficiency ◽

Irrigation Levels

Water scarcity is increasing in the world, which is limiting crop production, especially in water-limited areas such as Southern High Plains of the United States. There is a need to adopt the irrigation management practices that can help to conserve water and sustain crop production in such water-limited areas. A 2-year field study was conducted during the summers of 2019 and 2020 to evaluate the effect of deficit irrigation levels and cultivars on root distribution pattern, soil water depletion, and water use efficiency (WUE) of cucumber (Cucumis sativus). The experiment was conducted in a split-plot design with four irrigation levels [100%, 80%, 60%, and 40% crop evapotranspiration (ETc)] as main plot factor and two cultivars (Poinsett 76 and Marketmore 76) as subplot factor with three replications. Results showed that root length density (RLD) was unaffected by the irrigation levels in 2019. In 2020, the RLD was comparable between 100% and 80% ETc, and it was significantly higher in 100% ETc than both 60% Eand 40% ETc. Root surface area density (RSAD) was not significantly different between 100% and 80% ETc, and it was significantly lower in both 60% and 40% ETc than 100% ETc in both years. Soil water depletion was the highest in 40% ETc followed by 60% and 80% ETc, and it was least in 100% ETc in both years. Evapotranspiration (ET) was the highest in 100% ETc followed by 80%, 60%, and 40% ETc. The WUE was not statistically different among the irrigation treatments. However, numerically, WUE was observed in the following order: 80% ETc > 100% ETc > 60% ETc > 40% ETc. The RLD, RSAD, soil water depletion, and ET were not significantly different between ‘Poinsett 76’ and ‘Marketmore 76’. However, fruit yield was significantly higher in ‘Poinsett 76’ than ‘Marketmore 76’, which resulted in higher WUE in Poinsett 76. It can be concluded that 80% ETc and Poinsett 76 cultivar can be adopted for higher crop water productivity and successful cucumber production in SHP.

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Improving Water Use Efficiency of Spring Maize by Adopting Limited Supplemental Irrigation Following Sufficient Pre-Sowing Irrigation in Northwest China

Water ◽

10.3390/w11040802 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 802 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Zhou ◽

Hu ◽

Zhou ◽

Wang ◽

Ran

Keyword(s):

Water Use Efficiency ◽

Soil Water ◽

Water Use ◽

Root Length Density ◽

Northwest China ◽

High Rate ◽

High Yield ◽

Supplemental Irrigation ◽

Spring Maize ◽

Use Efficiency

In order to improve the water use efficiency (WUE) of spring maize in northwest China, the irrigation strategy of adopting limited supplemental irrigation following a high quota pre-sowing irrigation was evaluated under field conditions in 2016 and 2018. There were three treatments (W1, W2 and W3) differing in designed wetting depth (Dh) where soil water was replenished. Dh in W1, W2 and W3 were 0–40, 0–50 and 0–60 cm, respectively. The limited supplemental irrigation was adopted to improve soil water content (SWC) within Dh to field capacity (θFC) when SWC within 0–40 cm layer decreased to 60%θFC following a high rate of pre-sowing irrigation. Results showed that the smaller Dh was beneficial for improving root length density and enhance the utilization of water in subsoil. In both seasons, different Dh led to similar grain yields, which were comparable to the typical regional yield (14.3 t ha−1). The highest WUE (2.79 kg m−3) was achieved in W1 and was 13% more than the typical regional level of 2.46 kg m−3, implying it was adequate for achieving high yield and WUE to maintain SWC in 0–40 cm above 60% θFC with not replenishing soil water in 40–100 cm during the growth season after pre-sowing irrigation.

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