EFFECT OF DIFFERENT QUANTITIES OF SUPPLEMENTAL IRRIGATION AND ITS SALINITY ON YIELD AND WATER USE OF WINTER WHEAT (TRITICUM AESTIVUM)

✍ Scribed by A. R. Kiani; S. M. Mirlatifi

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2011
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 398 KB
• Volume: 61
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1531-0353
• DOI: 10.1002/ird.629

✦ Synopsis

ABSTRACT

An experiment was conducted to evaluate evapotranspiration (ET~c~), water use efficiency (WUE) and yield of wheat as affected by quantity and salinity of irrigation water. Treatments consisted of 16 combinations of irrigation water levels, viz. 0.5, 0.75, 1.00 and 1.25 times the water requirement, and irrigation water salinity levels (EC~i~), viz. 1.5, 8.5, 11.5 and 14.2 dS m^‐1^. Mean overall relative yield when referred to yield with EC~i~ of 1.5 dS m^‐1^, obtained with irrigation water with salinity levels of 8.5, 11.2 and 14.2 dS m^‐1^, were 97, 93 and 90%, respectively. Similarly, the decline in yield when irrigation water was applied to only replenish 50 and 75% of the crop water requirement was 19 and 9%, respectively, as compared with yield obtained from full irrigation. Soil salinity increased as the depth of irrigation water and thereby salt input were increased. However, a major portion of salts in the soil profile was leached down with autumn rains and therefore had little adverse effect on establishment of the following crops. The highest WUE (12 kg ha^‐1^ mm^‐1^) of applied water was obtained at 310 mm (62% of full irrigation). With increasing irrigation water salinity the highest WUE is decreased by about 10% as compared to low saline water. Therefore, using saved fresh water for new land could increase total production. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.