Interactive effect of irrigation strategies and mulching on yield, water use efficiency and crop response factor of maize (Zea mays L.) in a semiarid climate

Abstract

With growing water scarcity and increasing competition for water, there will be more need for development of sustainable and efficient irrigation strategies, especially in areas that are arid and semi-arid. The adoption of other practices In conjunction with deficit irrigation techniques, further enhance both crop yield and the effectiveness of its irrigation. Accordingly, a study was initiated following a factorial experiment in randomized complete block design with three replications to evaluate the interactive effect of deficit irrigation (DI) and type of mulching (M) on yield, irrigation water use efficiency and crop response factor for corn during the growing season of 2021. The deficit irrigation encompassed three strategies: 1.0 of full irrigation supply (100%FI), 0.75 of full irrigation supply (75 %FI) and 0.5 of full irrigation supply (50% FI) and mulching included: no mulch (M1), wheat straw mulching (M2) and plastic mulching (M3). The results indicated that irrespective of mulch type the yield increased linearly as there is an increase in total Amount of water required. It was also noticed that there was a steady increase irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE) with a decrease in the amount of applied water. Overall, there was an improvement in IWUE upon mulching. The treatment combination M3I3 offered the highest water use efficiency. Under all mulching types, the ky –values were less than 1.0, indicating that DI combined with M is an effective and practical management strategy to combat water shortage in the study location. Furthermore, crop sensitivity to drought tended to decrease with mulching.

Keywords

• Deficit irrigation, mulching, Maize water use efficiency, crop response factor