A global meta-analysis of yield and water productivity responses of vegetables to deficit irrigation

Abstract

Abstract Strategies promoting efficient water use and conserving irrigation water are needed to attain water security to meet growing food demands. This meta-analysis study evaluated the effect of deficit irrigation (DI) strategy on eight vegetables to provide a quantitative estimate of yield and water productivity (WP) responses under variable soil textures, climates, and production systems (open-field and greenhouse). This study analyzed 425 yield and 388 WP comparisons of different DI levels to full irrigation (FI), extracted from 185 published studies representing 30 countries. Moving from the highest (> 80%FI) to the lowest ( 65%FI) accompanied by gains in WP may be justifiable in the light of anticipated water restriction.