The Effect of Deficit Irrigation and Mulching on Cotton yield and Water Use Efficiency

Galia Abdel Majeed^*(1) Abdel Naser Aldarir⁽¹⁾ Mohamed.Ameen Alo⁽²⁾ and

 Awedes Arslan⁽³⁾

Received: 28/04/2016                           Accepted: 16/05/2016

Abstract

Drip irrigation is the best method for increasing cotton yield. A field experiment was implemented during 2011 season, at the Research Station of AL- Hasaka Agricultural Research Centre, General Commission for Scientific Agricultural Research Center (GCSAR)/Syria, using randomized complete block design arranged in split plots. Three levels of irrigation were used: The first treatment (A) is to add 100% of water requirement, when the soil moisture is 80% of field capacity, the treatment (B) is to be irrigated with 75% of the water requirement, and the treatment (C) is to be irrigated with half amount of (A). Also three methods of soil coverage were adopted, without mulching, cover with black plastic, and white film cover as mulch, with three replicates. The goal of study was to evaluate the response of cotton variety Aleppo ₉₀, to different levels of drip irrigation, and different soil mulching, and to determine water requirement. The results showed a high significant superiority (P<0.005) of treatment (A) compared to (B) and (C) treatments, while according to mulching levels; the white plastic mulch surpassed the other treatments. The saving percentage of water in drip irrigation with white, and black plastic films were (25, and 18)%  respectively, compared with drip irrigation without cover.

Keywords: Cotton, Drip irrigation, Mulch, Water use efficiency.

Full paper in Arabic: The Effect of Deficit Irrigation and Mulching on Cotton yield and Water Use Efficiency