Determinants of Sustainable Management of Water Consumption among Citrus Growers in Gachsaran City

Abstract

The agricultural sector is the most key sector that has a strong historical and social connection with water. Water is one of the greatest challenges of the present century. The inherent limitation of water resources is one of the most important challenges in the water sector. The current research was also conducted to investigate the sustainability of water consumption in Gachsaran citrus orchards. The research tool is a researcher-made questionnaire that includes sustainability, social, institutional, physical, knowledge, and attitudinal management. Data analysis was done with SPSS software. The statistical population of the present study is 300 citrus growers of Gachsaran. 169 people were selected as a sample using simple random sampling. The results of the correlation test showed that there is a significant and moderate relationship between the sustainable management of water consumption and the knowledge factor. But the relationship between sustainable management of water consumption and physical, social, attitude and institutional factors is significant and weak. Also, the variables included in the regression analysis explained a total of 29% of the influencing factors on the sustainability variable of water consumption management. Most of the gardeners used animal manure, which leads to water storage and increased moisture retention. But the long-term use of chemical fertilizers can lead to soil destruction and groundwater pollution.

Keywords

• sustainability
• water consumption
• citrus gardens
• gachsaran