Irrigation Water Volume and Water Efficiency of Walnut Orchards in As-Suwayda, Syria

Abstract

In recent years, the demand for walnuts has increased due to their recognition as a nutritious food and a versatile ingredient in cooking and baking. As a result, walnut production has become a significant industry in many countries, providing income and employment opportunities for growers and processors. Despite the fact that one of the most important products in the world and Syria is walnuts, there has been little research on irrigation and, in particular, water productivity. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the irrigation status and water productivity in several walnut orchards in As-Suwayda province, which is a significant production area for this product. In the course of this research, water productivity, irrigation water volume, and the crop performance of walnut orchards in three of the most important producing locations of this commodity in the province of As-Suwayda (Sweida) were evaluated and compared. Drip irrigation and surface irrigation methods were investigated. The t-test was used to compare irrigation water levels in orchards with gross water requirements. Drip irrigation systems in orchards save around 1700 m3 ha-1 of irrigation water, reduce yields by an average of 145 kg ha-1, and boost water productivity by roughly 0.02 kg m3, according to the findings, but none of these differences were statistically significant at the 5% level. In general, there was not a discernible difference found between drip and surface irrigation systems in terms of performance values, amount of water applied, or water productivity.

Keywords

• drip irrigation
• irrigation scheduling
• surface irrigation
• water requirement