Comparison Of Furrow And Drip Irrigation Systems Under Deficit Irrigation Levels On Growth, Yield And Water Use Efficiency Of Green Beans (Phaseolus Vulgaris L.)

Abstract

Efficient use of water for irrigated agriculture is fundamental for agricultural production. In arid and semi-arid areas of Ethiopia, water is the most limiting factor for crop production. A field experiment was conducted at Melkassa Agricultural Research Center to compare furrow and drip irrigation systems under deficit irrigation to evaluate the growth, yield and water use efficiency of green bean. The experiment was carried out in split plot design with three replications. The treatments were set as three systems of irrigation, viz., conventional furrow irrigation, alternate furrow irrigation and drip irrigation as main plot and three deficit irrigation levels, viz., 80%ETc, 60%ETc and 40%ETc and a control irrigation level of 100%ETc as sub plot. Daily crop water requirement was estimated using CROPWAT 8.0 model. The deficit irrigation levels applied in this study affected green bean yield and yield parameters. The treatment under Drip irrigation gave the highest yield (16.18 ton/ha) and Alternate Furrow irrigation gave lower yield (13.75ton/ha). The quality parameters such as pod length show significant difference but pod diameter does not show any significant difference to deficit irrigation. The highest Crop Water Use Efficiency was obtained from treatment that received 40% ETc application under drip Irrigation (9.61kg/ha). With Drip irrigation 55.58% of water saved and 37.08 of water saved by alternate furrow irrigation compare to conventional furrow irrigation. Drip irrigation increases green bean yield and save water, so it is recommended to use drip irrigation under deficit for sustainable production of green bean.