EFFECT OF INTELLIGENT IRRIGATION ON WATER USE EFFICIENCY OF WHEAT CROP IN ARID REGION

The intelligent irrigation technique is a valuable tool for monitoring and quantifying irrigation water added for plants as well as for irrigation scheduling. So, an intelligent irrigation system (IIS) was implemented and tested under sprinkler irrigation system to irrigate wheat crop ( Yecora Rojo) at experimental farm of College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, the King Saud University, Riyadh. The, results obtained with this system were consequently compar ed with the irrigation control system (ICS), which was based on automatic weather station. The results indicated that the applied water saving was significantly affected by IIS irrigation. The water use efficiency under IIS was generally higher (1.37 kg m -3 ) compared to that under ICS (1.21 kg m -3 ), resulting maximal irrigation water use efficiency for both growing seasons (average 1.25 kg m -3 ). It was found that IIS technology provided significant advantages on WUE. In addition; IIS was conserved 26% of irrigation water compared to ICS and an economic yield was obtained. In general; results showed that implementing this technique proved to be an easy flexible practical tool to schedule irrigation. Overall; this technology is recommended for efficient automated irrigation systems and the IIS technique may provide a valuable tool for conserving water planning and irrigation scheduling for wheat and which is extendable to other similar agricultural crops.