The Effect of Different Traits on Yield and Water Productivity in Surface and Subsurface Drip Irrigation of Kabkab Variety

Increasing crop production per unit volume of water consumption requires recognizing the most dependent variable in drip irrigation to the volume of water consumption and also identifying the most important variables independent of water productivity in surface and subsurface drip irrigation for optimal use of available water resources. The present research was carried out in Behbahan Agricultural Research Station during four cropping seasons (2013-2017) on a Kabkab date variety. Experimental treatments include the amount of water in the subsurface drip irrigation method based on two levels of 75% and 100% water requirement and in surface drip irrigation based on 100% water demand. Data were analyzed using a randomized complete block design with three replications. The results of the analysis of variance of the mean of different irrigation treatments in quantitative traits showed that the effect of irrigation was significant at the level of 1% in terms of cluster weight index, fruit weight, and fruit flesh to kernel weight ratio. The results of regression analysis of variance showed that in the dependent variable of cluster weight, the consumption water volume explained 19.1% (R2 = 0.191) of the fluctuations of the dependent variable (cluster weight). Among all the studied variables, the volume of water consumption explained the most significant changes in date cluster drying. Fruit moisture with t (2.096) and equivalent beta coefficient (0.046) had a significant positive effect on water productivity at the level of 5%. The results of the Pearson correlation coefficient showed that the effect of yield on changes in water productivity was much greater than the volume of water consumed so the yield caused significant changes in water productivity. While the effect of water consumption on water productivity was not significant

Agricultural water use and management in arid and semiarid areas: Current situation and measures for improvement

Water is rapidly becoming scarcer especially in arid and semiarid areas such as Central West Asia and North Africa Region (CWANA), while irrigated agriculture is critical for national and world food security in these regions. Due to huge gaps between crop demands and rainfall, most countries of these regions cannot have productive form of agriculture without assured irrigation supplies. Continues decrease in the surface water resources has put enormous pressure on groundwater resources and as a results; throughout the regions groundwater tables are declining. Since water is the most limited factor in these regions, improving the productivity of existing water resources is an attractive alternative to sustain irrigated agriculture. There is a strong need to educate farmers to shift their thinking from "maximizing crop yields? to " optimizing crop yields? . The results show that substantial and sustainable improvements in water productivity can be achieved through integrated farm-resources management. On-farm irrigation water management techniques such as deficit irrigation if coupled with better cropping patterns together with appropriate cultural practices, and improved genetic make-up will help to achieve this objective. Conventional water-management and cropping pattern guidelines, designed to maximize yield per unit area, need to be revised for achieving maximum water productivity. The wide ranges in recorded crop water productivities suggest that agricultural production can be maintained to its current level by using 20 to 40% less water if new water management practices are adopted. This paper reviews the current situation of water scarcity, agricultural water productivity, and suggests options for sustainable management of land and water resources in these regions