Evaluating the Response of Teff to Irrigation Water Level and Type of Surface Irrigation in Meles Kebele Mekelle Zone of Tigray, Ethiopia

Abstract

Water scarcity is the major limiting factor for crop yield production. In this case, the need to use the available water economically and efficiently is indisputable. Both the irrigation water level and the type of surface irrigation are very important to manage the poor irrigation water management practices. The field experiment was carried out at Mekelle Agricultural Research site in Mekelle zone, Tigray, Ethiopia, during the 2024 irrigation season with the objective of evaluating the response of Teff to irrigation water level and type of surface irrigation on yield, some yield components, and water productivity of Teff. The experiment was laid out in split plot design with three replications. The experiment contains three irrigation water levels of application (100% CWR, 75% CWR, and 50% CWR) and two methods of irrigation (furrow and basin). Soil depth at 0-30cm was conducted using the gravimetric method. Data on growth and yield components were recorded and subjected to ANOVA using GenStat 16th edition software. Analysis of variance indicated that the treatment interactions of irrigation interval with irrigation water level were significantly (p<0.05) affected on water productivity, yield, and yield components of Teff. The highest grain yield (30.63q/ha), biomass yield (119.58q/ha), and water productivity (1.0392kg/m3 ) of Teff were obtained under the furrow irrigation method with 75% crop water requirement. Therefore, the deficit irrigation technique reduces irrigation water application and improves water productivity. If water saving is a major issue, then some yield reduction must be accepted, as shown by the trade-off in this study between water saving and yield loss. Farmers, water managers, water users’ associations, and decision makers can save irrigation water and improve crop productivity using deficit irrigation, and increase their agricultural production by expanding irrigable land with the same amount of water in a given irrigation scheme.