Irrigation effects on the growth, yield, and water use efficiency of alfalfa

Saeed, Ibrahim; El-Nadi, A. H.

doi:10.1007/s002710050023

Cited by 63 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 1 publication

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“…A significant linear relationship was obtained between the ETc and yield in all fitting results (p < 0.05). Similar results were also found in some studies [32,[47][48][49][50], but the fitting results varied between growth periods and growing seasons [38,47,48,50]. Li et al [45] found that the relationship between ETc and yield varied under different planting and irrigation treatments.…”

Section: Yieldsupporting

confidence: 73%

Alfalfa Water Use and Yield under Different Sprinkler Irrigation Regimes in North Arid Regions of China

2017

Sustainability

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Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) is one of the major crops grown in Northern China in recent years, however, the current serious water shortage conditions present a challenge to the growth of this crop, especially if efficient use of water is considered in forage production for sustainability. This study aimed to evaluate alfalfa productivity and water use efficiency (WUE) under different sprinkler irrigation levels. This experiment was conducted at Shiyanghe Experimental Station for Water-Saving in Agriculture and Ecology of China Agricultural University in Wuwei, Gansu, China, over a period of two years. There were three irrigation treatments: A1: 100% measured evapotranspiration (ETc) of alfalfa; A2: irrigation amount was 66% of A1; A3: irrigation amount was 33% of A1; and a control of A4: no irrigation during the growing season. A randomized block design with three replications were applied. The results showed that the ETc and forage yield of alfalfa decreased, while WUE and crude protein (CP) increased with the decreasing irrigation amounts. The seasonal average ETc and yield ranged from 412 mm to 809 mm and from 11,577 to 18,636 kg/ha, respectively, under different irrigation levels. The highest yields were obtained from the first growth period in all treatments in both years, due to the winter irrigation and the longest growth period. Alfalfa grown under lesser irrigation treatment conditions had higher variability in ETc and yield, mainly due to the variability in the amount of rainfall during the growth period. The seasonal average WUE of treatments ranged from 22.78 to 26.84 kg/(mm·ha), and the highest WUE was obtained at the first growth period, regardless of treatments. Seasonal average CP content ranged from 18.99% to 22.99%. A significant linear relationship was found between yield and ETc or irrigation amount, and the fitting results varied between growth periods and years. The present results also implied that winter irrigation provided the space for saving water and should be applied at the end of each growing season to fill the soil profile, and to maintain a greater yield in the next growing season. During the growing season, more irrigation should be concentrated in the early growth period, especially in the second growth period.

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Section: Yieldsupporting

confidence: 73%

Alfalfa Water Use and Yield under Different Sprinkler Irrigation Regimes in North Arid Regions of China

2017

Sustainability

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“…The water distribution and maintenance of optimal levels of soil moisture throughout the full cycle of the crop reduce water losses by drainage and water stress period of the crop resulting in increases in WUE. This can be attained with water applications at a high frequency and small amounts (Lin et al, 1983;Srinivas et al, 1989;Mishra et al, 1995;Saeed & El-Nadi, 1997;Sousa et al, 2000). Gallardo et al (1996), working on lettuce yield response to irrigation, reported that WUE was highest for the least irrigated treatment due to more effective extraction of soil water than that of the highest irrigated treatment.…”

Section: Water Use Efficiencymentioning

confidence: 99%

Evapotranspiration and Water Management for Crop Production

Pereira¹,

Pires²

2011

Evapotranspiration - From Measurements to Agricultural and Environmental Applications

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“…Campbell et al (1960) observed an increase of 0.4 Mg ha −1 per year in an alfalfa trial with irrigation up to FC compared to non-irrigated treatments at Bozeman, Montana. Yield reduction due to over-irrigation (Stanberry 1955;Peterschmidt et al 1979) and deficit irrigation (Lucey and Tesar 1965;Stewart and Hagan 1969;Saeed and El-Nadi 1997;Al-Naeem 2008;Ismail and Almarshadi, 2013) have also been reported.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In northern Colorado, a total season yield of 18.3, 13.7, 13.3, and 8.8 Mg ha −1 were obtained respectively for full irrigation, no irrigation after 2nd cut, spring and fall irrigation and no irrigation after 1st cut treatments (Lindenmayer et al 2008). Saeed and El-Nadi (1997) reported maximum yields of 15.3, 12.9, and 11.2 Mg ha −1 for frequent, less frequent, and infrequent irrigation treatments in Sudan. In a study conducted by Ismail and Almarshadi (2013) in Saudi Arabia the highest fresh yield was obtained under field capacity (FC), followed by 85 and 70% FC, respectively.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Yield and net return from alfalfa cultivars under irrigation in Southern Alberta

et al. 2016

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Field studies with two types of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) cultivars were conducted at Lethbridge in 2012 and 2013 and at Picture Butte in 2012 to determine the effects of irrigation on the dry matter (DM) yield and on net returns. The irrigated cultivars (Longview and Blue J) and dryland cultivars (Rangelander and Rambler) were arranged on plots in a randomized complete block design with four irrigation treatments and replicated five times. For the optimal irrigation treatment (W 1 ), soil water content was maintained between 60 and 90% of available water in the designated root zone. Other irrigation treatments received 75% (W 2 ), 50% (W 3 ), and 25% (W 4 ) of the irrigation water applied to the optimal treatment. The mean DM yields of irrigated alfalfa cultivars were greater than one of the dryland cultivars in both locations. The mean total DM yields for W 2 and W 3 at Lethbridge for Blue J, Longview and Rambler were greater than those of W 1 , although the differences were not always significant. The net returns, calculated by using the same price for all alfalfa harvests were similar across the cultivars and irrigation treatments excepting Rangelander, where the returns were lower. The results obtained from this study indicated a trend towards comparable yields and net returns between the optimal and the 75% irrigation treatment with 40% depletion of available water at the root zone, for the irrigated alfalfa cultivars and a dryland type Rambler.

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Irrigation effects on the growth, yield, and water use efficiency of alfalfa

Cited by 63 publications

References 1 publication

Alfalfa Water Use and Yield under Different Sprinkler Irrigation Regimes in North Arid Regions of China

Alfalfa Water Use and Yield under Different Sprinkler Irrigation Regimes in North Arid Regions of China

Evapotranspiration and Water Management for Crop Production

Yield and net return from alfalfa cultivars under irrigation in Southern Alberta

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