DRIP IRRIGATION MANAGEMENT FOR WHEAT UNDER CLAY SOIL CONDITIONS

Egypt has been suffering from severe water scarcity in recent years. Uneven water distribution, misuse of water resources and inefficient irrigation techniques are some of the major factors playing havoc with water security in the country, so maximizing water productivity is one of the most important strategies in developing countries like Egypt. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the management of drip irrigation of or wheat grown under clay soil conditions to persuade farmers to use drip irrigation systems in their clay soil fields, at best management, as a tool for maximizing crop yield, increasing water productivity (Water Use Efficiency, WUE) and saving water to irrigate new areas. A field experiment was conducted to study the effect of drip irrigation lateral arrangements (double irrigation lateral lines and single lateral line per bed) and irrigation intervals (4, 8, and 12 days) on yield and water productivity of wheat crop. Results revealed that the grain yield was slightly affected by irrigation intervals under double and single line per bed. However, the highest grain yield was 3.438 ton/fed at 8 days irrigation interval with double irrigation lateral lines. Also, the grain yield obtained at 8 and 12 days intervals with single lateral line (2.914 and 2.802 ton/fed, respectively), were higher compared with 4 days under single line treatment. The highest value of water productivity (Water Use Efficiency, WUE) for grain yield was (1.835 kg/m3) achieved for treatment of 4 days intervals with double lateral lines, meanwhile the lowest value was 1.25 kg/m3 at 12 days intervals under single lateral line.Data also revealed that water saving for 8 days under double lines was 13.44% comparing with 12 days under single line per bed. It can be concluded that the drip irrigation treatment of 8 days irrigation interval with double lateral lines showed an effective and recommended way for drip irrigated intensive field crops (wheat), under clay soil conditions in old land of Egypt. As well as, applying drip irrigation resulted in 49.2 % of water saving, and WUE increased by 243 % compared with traditional surface irrigation method.