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Determination of Optimal Irrigation Scheduling for Durum Wheat in the Central Highland Vertosol of Ethiopia

Received: 17 January 2024     Accepted: 14 February 2024     Published: 23 July 2024
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Abstract

The field trial was conducted for three years from 2014/15 to 2016/17 to determine optimal irrigation scheduling. There were five levels of irrigation water application; 60%, 80%, 100%, 120%, and 140% of the allowable soil moisture depletion levels (ASMDL) for each of the treatments laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications. In the study, the combined year analysis result showed that there is a significant yield difference among the irrigation water applications at a P < 0.05 level of significance. The highest yield (5.269 tone ha-1) was obtained by applying irrigation water of 80% ASMDL followed by 120% ASMDL (4.734 tone ha-1) however the least yield (4.165 tone ha-1) was observed at irrigation water application of 60% ASMDL of the recommended level which means the application of 40% less water than the FAO recommended level. There is no significant difference in water use efficiency between the treatments, but the highest water use efficiency has been observed at 80% ASMDL. The overall result of this experiment suggests that the application of irrigation water using 20% less than the FAO recommendation (100% ASMDL) can sufficiently be used for irrigation scheduling of irrigated durum wheat under central highland vertosol conditions. Therefore, to have a higher yield of irrigated durum wheat it was recommended to flush frequently before critical depletion occurred.

Published in Science Development (Volume 5, Issue 2)
DOI 10.11648/j.scidev.20240502.12
Page(s) 39-45
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This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Crop Water Requirement, Irrigation Scheduling, Water Use Efficiency, Irrigated Wheat, Soil Moisture

1. Introduction
Water could be a strategic resource for the social, economic, and environmental property of various countries, notably for water-scarce countries where over 40% of the world population lives. It’s used for food production to satisfy the requirements of the increasing population . Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia is blessed with ample water resources with twelve major stream basins with an annual runoff volume of 122 billion cubic meter of water and a calculable 2.6 to 2.65 billion cubic meter of groundwater potential . Irrigation programing is vital for developing best management practices for irrigated agriculture . Wheat is one of the foremost necessary staple food crops within the world. Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia produces 70% of total wheat production in eastern Africa . Macaroni wheat is one of the two major species of wheat fully grown in of Ethiopia (tetraploid macaroni wheat & hexaploid bread wheat) . Generally, in Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia irrigated wheat is cultivated on areas of 23.16 thousand hectares of land.
2. Material and Methods
2.1. Description of the Study Area
The trial was conducted at Debre Zeit Agricultural Center irrigation farm. Its geographical location ranges from 08° 43’ 48” to 08° 46’ 45” Northern and from 38° 59’ 45” to 39° 01’ 48” eastern. The center is found on nearly level of an awfully gently sloping topography with a gradient of 0 to 2% slope. It's embossment variations with altitude starting from 1610 to 1908 meters above sea level. According to long term record of meteorologic data, the annual rain fall of the study area is 810.3 mm (Table 1) about 70% rain fall of the area occurs from June to September with its peak in July and August. The maximum and minimum temperatures are 28.3°C and 8.9°C respectively.
Figure 1. Location of the study area.
The mean maximum temperature varies from 23.7 to 27.7°C while the mean minimum temperature varies from 7.4 to 12.1°C (Table 1 & Figure 2). However, maximum, and minimum reference Evapotranspiration (ETo) was recorded as 4.7 and 3.3 mm/day in May and July respectively (Table 1 & Figure 2).
According to the study of Y. Seleshi et al. and Z. Tessema et al. , the kiremt (June- August) is the main rainy seasons and Tseday (September-November) is that the spring season generally called the harvest season. Bega (December- February) is attributed to the dry season. Belg (March–May) is the time of year season with occasional showers however it's short-lasting rainfall. Belg within the study space receives quite little rain to support crop production whereas kiremt is understood by long time of rain for the year. Regarding 76% you look after the entire rainfall of the area falls in kiremt or wet season, regarding 15% in belg and therefore the rest is in bega or dry season that wants full irrigation within the space. The mean maximum temperature varies from 23.7 to 27.7°C whereas the mean minimum temperature varies from 7.4°C to 12.1°C (table 1 and Figure 1). However, maximum, and minimum reference Evapotranspiration (ETo) was recorded as 4.7 and 3.3 mm/day in May and July respectively (Table 1 & Figure 2).
Figure 2. Long-term climate data of study area.
Table 1. Long-term climate data of the study area.

Month

Tmax (C)

Tmin (C)

ETo (mm/day)

RF (mm)

Pe (mm)

January

25.2

8.9

4.0

9.4

0.0

February

26.3

10.2

4.4

24.8

4.9

March

27.0

11.3

4.7

31.5

8.9

April

27.1

11.9

4.6

44.2

16.5

May

27.7

11.6

4.9

41.3

14.8

June

26.4

11.4

3.9

88.9

47.1

July

23.7

12.1

3.3

235.1

164.1

August

23.9

12.1

3.5

208.2

142.6

September

24.1

11.5

3.7

83.6

42.9

October

25.0

9.5

4.3

25.9

5.5

November

24.6

8.0

4.1

7.4

0.0

December

24.8

7.4

4.0

1.0

0.0

Average

25.5

10.5

4.1

Tmax = maximum temperature
Tmin = minimum temperature
RF = Rainfall
Pe = Effective rainfall
ETo = reference evapotranspiration
2.2. Experimental Design and Treatment Combinations
The experiment was designed as one factor experiment in a complete block design (RCBD) arrangement with three replications. The experiment enclosed five levels of soil water depletion levels (ASMDL) as a treatment and the five level of ASMDL are (60%, 80%, 100%, 120% and 140%) FAO focused ASMDL. For wheat crop suggested allowable soil wetness depletion level is 55% and also the different treatments allowable soil wetness depletion levels were calculated supported on this value .
Table 2. Treatment setup.

Treatment

Description

ASMDL1

60% ASMDL

ASMDL 2

80% ASMDL

ASMDL 3*

100%ASMDL (control)

ASMDL 4

120%ASMDL 4

ASMDL 5

140% ASMDL 5

*ASMDL = Available Soil Moisture Depletion Level
2.3. Reference Evapotranspiration
The reference evapotranspiration (ETo) of the site was calculated using FAO Penman-Monteith through CROPWAT8.0 software, supported FAO Irrigation and drainage Paper 56 . FAO56 adopted the Penman-Montieth technique as world standard to estimate ETo from meteoric knowledge. The Penman-Monteith equation integrated within the CROPWAT program is expressed by the subsequent equation (1).
ETo=0.408ΔRn-G+γ900T+273u2es-eaΔ+γ1+0.34u2(1)
Where:
ETo: reference evapotranspiration (mm day-1),
Rn: net radiation at the crop surface (MJ m-2 day-1),
G: soil heat flux density (MJ m-2 day-1),
T: mean daily air temperature at 2 m height (°C),
u2: wind speed at 2 m height (m s-1),
es: saturation vapor pressure (kPa),
ea: actual vapor pressure (kPa),
es-ea: saturation vapor pressure deficit (kPa),
∆: slope of vapor pressure curve (kPa °C-1),
γ: psychrometric constant (kPa °C-1).
Table 3. Kc values, critical depletion, and yield response factors of durum wheat.

Kc & Yield factor

Description

Initial

Devel

Mid

Late

total

Growing period (days)

28

28

37

28

121

Kc values (fraction)

0.30

-

1.15

0.30

Critical depletion (fraction)

0.55

-

0.55

0.80

Yield response (fraction)

0.40

0.60

0.80

0.40

Maximum crop height (m)

0.30

0.77

1.2

1.2

Kc = crop coefficient
2.4. Crop Water Requirements (CWR) and Irrigation Scheduling
2.4.1. Crop Water Requirements
Crop water demand is outlined as the depth of water under to fulfill water loss through evapotranspiration (ET) of a disease-free crop growing in massive fields beneath non-restricting soil conditions (standard conditions) as well as soil water and fertility to attain full potential production under a given growing area . It's the overall amount of water needed by the crop from the time it's seeded to the time it's harvested. The quantity of water needed to compensate the evapotranspiration (ET) loss from the cropped field is outlined as crop water demand (CWR). Though the values for crop evapotranspiration (ETc) and crop water demand area identical, crop water demand refers to the quantity of water that must be supplied, whereas crop evapotranspiration refers to the amount of water that's lost through evapotranspiration.
ETc = ETo*Kc(2)
Where:
ETc = Crop evapotranspiration (mm/day)
ETo = Reference evapotranspiration (mm/day)
Kc = Crop coefficient (fraction)
2.4.2. Irrigation Requirement and Irrigation Scheduling Determination
Irrigation water demand is that the quantity of water that has must be provided through the irrigation system to make sure the crop’s full water demand. If irrigation is the sole supply of water for the plant, then the irrigation water demand will be at least equal to or larger than crop water demand to permit for inefficiencies within the irrigation system or to compensate different loses. The net irrigation demand (IRn) doesn't consider losses that are occurring within the method of applying irrigation water. IRn and losses represent the gross irrigation demand (IRg). It's necessary to understand that the estimation of crop water necessities is that the initial stage within the estimation of irrigation demand of a given cropping program. Hence the calculation of crop water necessities and irrigation necessities should not be viewed as two unrelated procedures . The irrigation water demand primarily represents the distinction between the crop water demand and effective precipitation .
IWR=ETc-Pe (3)
Where:
IWR is the net irrigation depth in mm,
ETc is the crop water requirement in mm,
3. Results and Discussion
The cumulative crop evapotranspiration (ETc) for the time from planting (3rd week of November) to harvest for the irrigation experiment was 18.6mm, 74.4mm, 213.6mm and 123mm for initial, development, middle and late stages respectively of net crop water demand throughout the cropping season of durum wheat. As indicated the best crop water demand was discovered throughout the mid-stage as indicated in Table 4 as presented by .
Table 4. Crop water demand of durum wheat under.

Month

Decade

Stage

Kc (frac)

ETc (mm/day)

ETc (mm/dec)

pe (mm/dec)

Irr. Req. (mm/dec)

CWR (mm)

Nov

3

Init

0.3

1.29

11.6

7.7

3.9

18.6

Dec

1

Init

0.3

1.48

14.8

0.1

14.7

Dec

2

Dev

0.3

1.43

14.3

0

14.3

74.4

Dec

3

Dev

0.52

2.45

26.9

0.1

26.8

Jan

1

Dev

0.86

4.16

41.6

8.3

33.3

Jan

2

Mid

1.14

5.12

51.2

12.4

38.8

213.6

Jan

3

Mid

1.19

5.91

65.1

10

55.1

Feb

1

Mid

1.19

6.43

64.3

6.6

57.7

Feb

2

Mid

1.19

6.69

66.9

4.9

62

Feb

3

Late

1.11

6.36

50.8

3.9

46.9

123

Mar

1

Late

0.82

4.44

44.4

0.8

43.6

Mar

2

Late

0.51

2.98

29.8

0

29.8

Mar

3

Late

0.32

1.83

3.7

1

2.7

Total

485.4

55.8

429.6

429.6

Frac = fraction
Dec = decade
Irr.Req = irrigation requirement
CWR = crop water requirement
Table 5. Combined ANOVA for determination of optimal irrigation scheduling for durum wheat.

Irrigation level

Over year combined analysis result

BM (ton/ha)

GY (ton/ha)

WUE (kg/m3)

ASMDL1

8350.70c

4164.93d

15.99a

ASMDL2

10746.50a

5269.10a

20.02a

ASMDL3

8993.10cb

4524.31c

16.90a

ASMDL4

9618.10b

4734.38b

16.82a

ASMDL5

8715.30cb

4475.69c

18.68a

R-square

0.95

0.99

0.31

CV (%)

8.02

1.21

22.46

LSD (0.05)

1051.80

79.20

NS

BM = biomass
GY = grain yield
WUE = water use efficiency
4. Conclusions
The combined year analysis result of the study showed that there was yield variations among the irrigation water applications at a P < 0.05 level of significance. The very best yield (5.269 tone ha-1) was obtained by applying irrigation water of 80% ASMDL followed by 120% ASMDL (4.734 tone ha-1) but the least yield (4.165 tone ha-1) was ascertained at irrigation water application of 60% ASMDL which suggests application of 40% less water than the management treatment (FAO suggested, available soil wetness depletion level, ASMDL). There's no vital distinction of water use efficiency between treatment; however, the very best water use efficiency has been ascertained at 80% ASMDL. The application of irrigation water 20% less than the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations recommendation (100% ASMDL) can be used for irrigation programing of irrigated durum wheat under central highland vertosol condition. Therefore, to own higher yield of irrigated durum wheat it had been suggested to irrigate frequently before critical depletion occurred.
Abbreviations

Tmax

Maximum Temperature

Tmin

Minimum Temperature

RF

Rainfall

Pe

Effective Rainfall (mm)

ETo

Reference Evapotranspiration (mm day-1)

ASMDL

Available Soil Moisture Depletion Level

Rn

Net Radiation at the Crop Surface (MJ m-2 day-1)

G

Soil Heat Flux Density (MJ m-2 day-1)

T

Mean Daily Air Temperature at 2m Height (°C)

u2

Wind Speed at 2m Height (m s-1)

es

Saturation Vapor Pressure (kPa)

ea

Actual Vapor Pressure (kPa)

es-ea

Saturation Vapor Pressure Deficit (kPa)

Slope of Vapor Pressure Curve (kPa °C-1)

γ

Psychrometric Constant (kPa °C-1)

Kc

Crop Coefficient

ETc

Crop Evapotranspiration (mm/day)

IWR

Irrigation Depth Requirement (mm)

ETc

Crop Water Requirement (mm)

Frac

Fraction

Dec

Decade

Irr.Req

Irrigation Requirement

CWR

Crop Water Requirement

BM

Biomass

GY

Grain Yield

WUE

Water Use Efficiency

Conflicts of Interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
References
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[3] M. Ali, H. Paul, and M. Haque, “Estimation of evapotranspiration using a simulation model,” J. Bangladesh Agric. Univ., vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 257–266, 2011,
[4] H. Gebremariam, “Wheat research in Ethiopia: a historical perspective,” in Wheat Research in Ethiopia, 2nd ed., M. H. H. Gebremariam, G, D. G. Tanner, Ed. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 1991, pp. 1–15.
[5] T. Tessema and M. Jemal, “Review of Wheat Breeding in Ethiopia.,” Ethiop. J. Agric. Sci., 1982, Accessed: Feb. 16, 2024. [Online]. Available:
[6] Y. Seleshi and U. Zanke, “Recent changes in rainfall and rainy days in Ethiopia,” Int. J. Climatol., vol. 24, pp. 973–983, 2004,
[7] Z. Tessema and P. J. Lamb, “CLIVAR-Africa, Interannual variability of growing season over drought-prone areas of Ethiopia,” Clim. Var. Predict. Program., vol. 8, no. 2/3, pp. 36–39, 2003.
[8] A. P. SAVVA and K. FRENKEN, “Crop Water Requirements and Irrigation Scheduling,” in Irrigation Manual. Planning, Development Monitoring and Evaluation of Irrigated Agriculture with Farmer Participation, 2002.
[9] R. G. ALLEN, L. S. PEREIRA, D. RAES, and M. Smith, “Crop evapotranspiration: Guidelines for computing crop water requirements-FAO Irrigation and drainage paper 56.,” no. 56, 1998, [Online]. Available:
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  • APA Style

    Kebede, S. G., Tefera, A. H., Molla, G. T. (2024). Determination of Optimal Irrigation Scheduling for Durum Wheat in the Central Highland Vertosol of Ethiopia. Science Development, 5(2), 39-45. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.scidev.20240502.12

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    Kebede, S. G.; Tefera, A. H.; Molla, G. T. Determination of Optimal Irrigation Scheduling for Durum Wheat in the Central Highland Vertosol of Ethiopia. Sci. Dev. 2024, 5(2), 39-45. doi: 10.11648/j.scidev.20240502.12

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    AMA Style

    Kebede SG, Tefera AH, Molla GT. Determination of Optimal Irrigation Scheduling for Durum Wheat in the Central Highland Vertosol of Ethiopia. Sci Dev. 2024;5(2):39-45. doi: 10.11648/j.scidev.20240502.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.scidev.20240502.12,
      author = {Solomon Gezie Kebede and Ashebir Haile Tefera and Gebeyehu Tegenu Molla},
      title = {Determination of Optimal Irrigation Scheduling for Durum Wheat in the Central Highland Vertosol of Ethiopia
    },
      journal = {Science Development},
      volume = {5},
      number = {2},
      pages = {39-45},
      doi = {10.11648/j.scidev.20240502.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.scidev.20240502.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.scidev.20240502.12},
      abstract = {The field trial was conducted for three years from 2014/15 to 2016/17 to determine optimal irrigation scheduling. There were five levels of irrigation water application; 60%, 80%, 100%, 120%, and 140% of the allowable soil moisture depletion levels (ASMDL) for each of the treatments laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications. In the study, the combined year analysis result showed that there is a significant yield difference among the irrigation water applications at a P -1) was obtained by applying irrigation water of 80% ASMDL followed by 120% ASMDL (4.734 tone ha-1) however the least yield (4.165 tone ha-1) was observed at irrigation water application of 60% ASMDL of the recommended level which means the application of 40% less water than the FAO recommended level. There is no significant difference in water use efficiency between the treatments, but the highest water use efficiency has been observed at 80% ASMDL. The overall result of this experiment suggests that the application of irrigation water using 20% less than the FAO recommendation (100% ASMDL) can sufficiently be used for irrigation scheduling of irrigated durum wheat under central highland vertosol conditions. Therefore, to have a higher yield of irrigated durum wheat it was recommended to flush frequently before critical depletion occurred.
    },
     year = {2024}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Determination of Optimal Irrigation Scheduling for Durum Wheat in the Central Highland Vertosol of Ethiopia
    
    AU  - Solomon Gezie Kebede
    AU  - Ashebir Haile Tefera
    AU  - Gebeyehu Tegenu Molla
    Y1  - 2024/07/23
    PY  - 2024
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.scidev.20240502.12
    DO  - 10.11648/j.scidev.20240502.12
    T2  - Science Development
    JF  - Science Development
    JO  - Science Development
    SP  - 39
    EP  - 45
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2994-7154
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.scidev.20240502.12
    AB  - The field trial was conducted for three years from 2014/15 to 2016/17 to determine optimal irrigation scheduling. There were five levels of irrigation water application; 60%, 80%, 100%, 120%, and 140% of the allowable soil moisture depletion levels (ASMDL) for each of the treatments laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications. In the study, the combined year analysis result showed that there is a significant yield difference among the irrigation water applications at a P -1) was obtained by applying irrigation water of 80% ASMDL followed by 120% ASMDL (4.734 tone ha-1) however the least yield (4.165 tone ha-1) was observed at irrigation water application of 60% ASMDL of the recommended level which means the application of 40% less water than the FAO recommended level. There is no significant difference in water use efficiency between the treatments, but the highest water use efficiency has been observed at 80% ASMDL. The overall result of this experiment suggests that the application of irrigation water using 20% less than the FAO recommendation (100% ASMDL) can sufficiently be used for irrigation scheduling of irrigated durum wheat under central highland vertosol conditions. Therefore, to have a higher yield of irrigated durum wheat it was recommended to flush frequently before critical depletion occurred.
    
    VL  - 5
    IS  - 2
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Soil and Water Research Department, Debre Zeit Agricultural Research Center, Debre Zeit, Ethiopia

  • Soil and Water Research Department, Debre Zeit Agricultural Research Center, Debre Zeit, Ethiopia

  • Soil and Water Research Department, Debre Zeit Agricultural Research Center, Debre Zeit, Ethiopia