Enhancing the productivity of irrigated Vertisols: a comparative study between a traditional method and surge/intermittent management

Vertisols cover 12% of Ethiopia and produce on average only two million tonnes of maize grain of an estimated potential of 12 million tonnes per annum. Traditional irrigation practices are inefficient and in this paper we have examined the potential for improvement by adopting surge irrigation toget...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Soil use and management 2007-03, Vol.23 (1), p.36-39
Main Authors: Mintesinot, B, Verplancke, H, Van Ranst, E, Mitiku, H
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions
Biological and medical sciences
cohesion threshold
crop productivity
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
furrow irrigation
Soil science
Surge/intermittent irrigation
water use efficiency
Zea mays
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Summary:Vertisols cover 12% of Ethiopia and produce on average only two million tonnes of maize grain of an estimated potential of 12 million tonnes per annum. Traditional irrigation practices are inefficient and in this paper we have examined the potential for improvement by adopting surge irrigation together with scheduling to determine irrigation frequency. Traditional irrigation management (without scheduling) and surge/intermittent irrigation (with scheduling) using maize as an indicator crop were compared over two irrigation seasons. Yield, water productivity and economic productivity were determined. Surge irrigation with scheduling resulted in a yield of 2.3 times that of traditional irrigation. Water productivity and income using surge management were, respectively, 2.7 and 2.8 times that of traditional management.
ISSN:0266-0032
1475-2743
DOI:10.1111/j.1475-2743.2006.00062.x