IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/agiwat/v98y2011i8p1239-1248.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Evapotranspiration and water use of full and deficit irrigated cotton in the Mediterranean environment in northern Syria

Author

Listed:
  • Oweis, T.Y.
  • Farahani, H.J.
  • Hachum, A.Y.

Abstract

Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) is the most important industrial and summer cash crop in Syria and many other countries in the arid areas but there are concerns about future production levels, given the high water requirements and the decline in water availability. Most farmers in Syria aim to maximize yield per unit of land regardless of the quantity of water applied. Water losses can be reduced and water productivity (yield per unit of water consumed) improved by applying deficit irrigation, but this requires a better understanding of crop response to various levels of water stress. This paper presents results from a 3-year study (2004-2006) conducted in northern Syria to quantify cotton yield response to different levels of water and fertilizer. The experiment included four irrigation levels and three levels of nitrogen (N) fertilizer under drip irrigation. The overall mean cotton (lint plus seed, or lintseed) yield was 2502 kg ha-1, ranging from 1520 kg ha-1 under 40% irrigation to 3460 kg ha-1 under 100% irrigation. Mean water productivity (WPET) was 0.36 kg lintseed per m3 of crop actual evapotranspiration (ETc), ranging from 0.32 kg m-3 under 40% irrigation to 0.39 kg m-3 under the 100% treatment. Results suggest that deficit irrigation does not improve biological water productivity of drip-irrigated cotton. Water and fertilizer levels (especially the former) have significant effects on yield, crop growth and WPET. Water, but not N level, has a highly significant effect on crop ETc. The study provides production functions relating cotton yield to ETc as well as soil water content at planting. These functions are useful for irrigation optimization and for forecasting the impact of water rationing and drought on regional water budgets and agricultural economies. The WPET values obtained in this study compare well with those reported from the southwestern USA, Argentina and other developed cotton producing regions. Most importantly, these WPET values are double the current values in Syria, suggesting that improved irrigation water and system management can improve WPET, and thus enhance conservation and sustainability in this water-scarce region.

Suggested Citation

  • Oweis, T.Y. & Farahani, H.J. & Hachum, A.Y., 2011. "Evapotranspiration and water use of full and deficit irrigated cotton in the Mediterranean environment in northern Syria," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 98(8), pages 1239-1248, May.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:98:y:2011:i:8:p:1239-1248
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378377411000424
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Falkenberg, Nyland R. & Piccinni, Giovanni & Cothren, J. Tom & Leskovar, Daniel I. & Rush, Charlie M., 2007. "Remote sensing of biotic and abiotic stress for irrigation management of cotton," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 87(1), pages 23-31, January.
    2. Ayars, J. E. & Phene, C. J. & Hutmacher, R. B. & Davis, K. R. & Schoneman, R. A. & Vail, S. S. & Mead, R. M., 1999. "Subsurface drip irrigation of row crops: a review of 15 years of research at the Water Management Research Laboratory," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 42(1), pages 1-27, September.
    3. Hunsaker, D. J. & Clemmens, A. J. & Fangmeier, D. D., 1998. "Cotton response to high frequency surface irrigation," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 55-74, June.
    4. Oweis, Theib & Hachum, Ahmed, 2009. "Optimizing supplemental irrigation: Tradeoffs between profitability and sustainability," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 96(3), pages 511-516, March.
    5. Zwart, Sander J. & Bastiaanssen, Wim G. M., 2004. "Review of measured crop water productivity values for irrigated wheat, rice, cotton and maize," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 69(2), pages 115-133, September.
    6. Wanjura, Donald F. & Upchurch, Dan R. & Mahan, James R. & Burke, John J., 2002. "Cotton yield and applied water relationships under drip irrigation," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 55(3), pages 217-237, June.
    7. Karam, Fadi & Lahoud, Rafic & Masaad, Randa & Daccache, Andre & Mounzer, Oussama & Rouphael, Youssef, 2006. "Water use and lint yield response of drip irrigated cotton to the length of irrigation season," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 85(3), pages 287-295, October.
    8. DeTar, W.R., 2008. "Yield and growth characteristics for cotton under various irrigation regimes on sandy soil," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 95(1), pages 69-76, January.
    9. Grismer, M. E., 2002. "Regional cotton lint yield, ETc and water value in Arizona and California," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 54(3), pages 227-242, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Fan, Yubing & Wang, Chenggang & Nan, Zhibiao, 2016. "Determining water use efficiency for wheat and cotton: A meta-regression analysis," 2016 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Boston, Massachusetts 236059, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    2. Fan, Yubing & Wang, Chenggang & Nan, Zhibiao, 2018. "Determining water use efficiency of wheat and cotton: A meta-regression analysis," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 199(C), pages 48-60.
    3. Fazlullah Akhtar & Bernhard Tischbein & Usman Awan, 2013. "Optimizing Deficit Irrigation Scheduling Under Shallow Groundwater Conditions in Lower Reaches of Amu Darya River Basin," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 27(8), pages 3165-3178, June.
    4. Abdelghany, Ahmed Elsayed & Dou, Zhiyao & Alashram, Mohamed G. & Eltohamy, Kamel Mohamed & Elrys, Ahmed S. & Liu, Xiaoqiang & Wu, You & Cheng, Minghui & Fan, Junliang & Zhang, Fucang, 2023. "The joint application of biochar and nitrogen enhances fruit yield, quality and water-nitrogen productivity of water-stressed greenhouse tomato under drip fertigation," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 290(C).
    5. Fan, Yubing & Wang, Chenggang & Nan, Zhibiao, 2014. "Comparative evaluation of crop water use efficiency, economic analysis and net household profit simulation in arid Northwest China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 335-345.
    6. Khozaei, Maryam & Kamgar Haghighi, Ali Akbar & Zand Parsa, Shahrokh & Sepaskhah, Ali Reza & Razzaghi, Fatemeh & Yousefabadi, Vali-allah & Emam, Yahya, 2020. "Evaluation of direct seeding and transplanting in sugar beet for water productivity, yield and quality under different irrigation regimes and planting densities," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 238(C).
    7. Ying Jiang & Derong Su, 2018. "Models of turfgrass seed germination related to water content," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(10), pages 1-13, October.
    8. Brar, Harjeet Singh & Singh, Pritpal, 2022. "Pre-and post-sowing irrigation scheduling impacts on crop phenology and water productivity of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) in sub-tropical north-western India," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 274(C).
    9. Zou, Haiyang & Fan, Junliang & Zhang, Fucang & Xiang, Youzhen & Wu, Lifeng & Yan, Shicheng, 2020. "Optimization of drip irrigation and fertilization regimes for high grain yield, crop water productivity and economic benefits of spring maize in Northwest China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 230(C).
    10. Kaili Shi & Lili Zhangzhong & Furong Han & Shirui Zhang & Rui Guo & Xueying Yao, 2023. "Reducing Emitter Clogging in Drip Fertigation Systems by Magnetization Technology," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-11, February.
    11. Rao, Sajjan Singh & Tanwar, Suresh Pal Singh & Regar, Panna Lal, 2016. "Effect of deficit irrigation, phosphorous inoculation and cycocel spray on root growth, seed cotton yield and water productivity of drip irrigated cotton in arid environment," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 14-25.
    12. Darouich, Hanaa & Gonçalves, José M. & Muga, André & Pereira, Luis S., 2012. "Water saving vs. farm economics in cotton surface irrigation: An application of multicriteria analysis," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 223-231.
    13. Wang, Haidong & Cheng, Minghui & Zhang, Shaohui & Fan, Junliang & Feng, Hao & Zhang, Fucang & Wang, Xiukang & Sun, Lijun & Xiang, Youzhen, 2021. "Optimization of irrigation amount and fertilization rate of drip-fertigated potato based on Analytic Hierarchy Process and Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation methods," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 256(C).
    14. Iulia Dolganova & Natalia Mikosch & Markus Berger & Montserrat Núñez & Andrea Müller-Frank & Matthias Finkbeiner, 2019. "The Water Footprint of European Agricultural Imports: Hotspots in the Context of Water Scarcity," Resources, MDPI, vol. 8(3), pages 1-11, August.
    15. Wang, Jingwei & Li, Yuan & Niu, Wenquan, 2021. "Effect of alternating drip irrigation on soil gas emissions, microbial community composition, and root–soil interactions," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 256(C).
    16. Wang, Haidong & Wu, Lifeng & Wang, Xiukang & Zhang, Shaohui & Cheng, Minghui & Feng, Hao & Fan, Junliang & Zhang, Fucang & Xiang, Youzhen, 2021. "Optimization of water and fertilizer management improves yield, water, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium uptake and use efficiency of cotton under drip fertigation," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 245(C).
    17. Wu, You & Yan, Shicheng & Fan, Junliang & Zhang, Fucang & Zhao, Wenju & Zheng, Jing & Guo, Jinjin & Xiang, Youzhen & Wu, Lifeng, 2022. "Combined effects of irrigation level and fertilization practice on yield, economic benefit and water-nitrogen use efficiency of drip-irrigated greenhouse tomato," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 262(C).
    18. Campi, Pasquale & Mastrorilli, Marcello & Stellacci, Anna Maria & Modugno, Francesca & Palumbo, Angelo Domenico, 2019. "Increasing the effective use of water in green asparagus through deficit irrigation strategies," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 217(C), pages 119-130.
    19. Wang, Hongbo & Li, Guohui & Huang, Weixiong & Li, Zhaoyang & Wang, Xingpeng & Gao, Yang, 2024. "Compensation of cotton yield by nitrogen fertilizer in non-mulched fields with deficit drip irrigation," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 298(C).
    20. Bai, Zhentao & Bai, Wenqiang & Xie, Cong & Yu, Jiang & Dai, Yulong & Pei, Shengzhao & Zhang, Fucang & Li, Yunxia & Fan, Junliang & Yin, Feihu, 2023. "Irrigation depth and nitrogen rate effects on seed cotton yield, fiber quality and water-nitrogen utilization efficiency in southern Xinjiang, China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 290(C).
    21. Eric Njuki & Boris E. Bravo-Ureta, 2019. "Examining irrigation productivity in U.S. agriculture using a single-factor approach," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 51(2), pages 125-136, June.
    22. Shareef, Muhammad & Gui, Dongwei & Zeng, Fanjiang & Waqas, Muhammad & Zhang, Bo & Iqbal, Hassan, 2018. "Water productivity, growth, and physiological assessment of deficit irrigated cotton on hyperarid desert-oases in northwest China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 206(C), pages 1-10.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. DeTar, W.R., 2008. "Yield and growth characteristics for cotton under various irrigation regimes on sandy soil," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 95(1), pages 69-76, January.
    2. Brar, Harjeet Singh & Singh, Pritpal, 2022. "Pre-and post-sowing irrigation scheduling impacts on crop phenology and water productivity of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) in sub-tropical north-western India," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 274(C).
    3. Komlan Koudahe & Aleksey Y. Sheshukov & Jonathan Aguilar & Koffi Djaman, 2021. "Irrigation-Water Management and Productivity of Cotton: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-21, September.
    4. Ünlü, Mustafa & Kanber, RIza & Koç, D. Levent & Tekin, Servet & Kapur, Burçak, 2011. "Effects of deficit irrigation on the yield and yield components of drip irrigated cotton in a mediterranean environment," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 98(4), pages 597-605, February.
    5. Dagdelen, N. & Basal, H. & YIlmaz, E. & Gürbüz, T. & Akçay, S., 2009. "Different drip irrigation regimes affect cotton yield, water use efficiency and fiber quality in western Turkey," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 96(1), pages 111-120, January.
    6. Ibragimov, Nazirbay & Evett, Steven R. & Esanbekov, Yusupbek & Kamilov, Bakhtiyor S. & Mirzaev, Lutfullo & Lamers, John P.A., 2007. "Water use efficiency of irrigated cotton in Uzbekistan under drip and furrow irrigation," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 90(1-2), pages 112-120, May.
    7. Pereira, L.S. & Paredes, P. & Sholpankulov, E.D. & Inchenkova, O.P. & Teodoro, P.R. & Horst, M.G., 2009. "Irrigation scheduling strategies for cotton to cope with water scarcity in the Fergana Valley, Central Asia," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 96(5), pages 723-735, May.
    8. Kang, Yaohu & Wang, Ruoshui & Wan, Shuqin & Hu, Wei & Jiang, Shufang & Liu, Shiping, 2012. "Effects of different water levels on cotton growth and water use through drip irrigation in an arid region with saline ground water of Northwest China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 117-126.
    9. Dagdelen, Necdet & Yilmaz, Ersel & Sezgin, Fuat & Gurbuz, Talih, 2006. "Water-yield relation and water use efficiency of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) and second crop corn (Zea mays L.) in western Turkey," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 82(1-2), pages 63-85, April.
    10. Zwart, Sander J. & Bastiaanssen, Wim G. M., 2004. "Review of measured crop water productivity values for irrigated wheat, rice, cotton and maize," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 69(2), pages 115-133, September.
    11. Gao, Yang & Yang, Linlin & Shen, Xiaojun & Li, Xinqiang & Sun, Jingsheng & Duan, Aiwang & Wu, Laosheng, 2014. "Winter wheat with subsurface drip irrigation (SDI): Crop coefficients, water-use estimates, and effects of SDI on grain yield and water use efficiency," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 1-10.
    12. Papastylianou, Panayiota T. & Argyrokastritis, Ioannis G., 2014. "Effect of limited drip irrigation regime on yield, yield components, and fiber quality of cotton under Mediterranean conditions," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 127-134.
    13. Darouich, Hanaa & Gonçalves, José M. & Muga, André & Pereira, Luis S., 2012. "Water saving vs. farm economics in cotton surface irrigation: An application of multicriteria analysis," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 223-231.
    14. Sharma, Bharat & Molden, D. & Cook, Simon, 2015. "Water use efficiency in agriculture: measurement, current situation and trends," Book Chapters,, International Water Management Institute.
    15. DeLaune, P.B & Mubvumba, P. & Ale, S. & Kimura, E., 2020. "Impact of no-till, cover crop, and irrigation on Cotton yield," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 232(C).
    16. Sharma, Bharat & Molden, D. & Cook, Simon, 2015. "Water use efficiency in agriculture: measurement, current situation and trends," IWMI Books, Reports H046807, International Water Management Institute.
    17. Wakchaure, G.C. & Minhas, P.S. & Ratnakumar, P. & Choudhary, R.L., 2016. "Optimising supplemental irrigation for wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and the impact of plant bio-regulators in a semi-arid region of Deccan Plateau in India," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 172(C), pages 9-17.
    18. Blessing Masasi & Saleh Taghvaeian & Randy Boman & Sumon Datta, 2019. "Impacts of Irrigation Termination Date on Cotton Yield and Irrigation Requirement," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-15, February.
    19. Thind, H.S. & Aujla, M.S. & Buttar, G.S., 2008. "Response of cotton to various levels of nitrogen and water applied to normal and paired sown cotton under drip irrigation in relation to check-basin," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 95(1), pages 25-34, January.
    20. Geerts, Sam & Raes, Dirk, 2009. "Deficit irrigation as an on-farm strategy to maximize crop water productivity in dry areas," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 96(9), pages 1275-1284, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:98:y:2011:i:8:p:1239-1248. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/agwat .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.