Water scarcity is of growing concern in many countries around the world, especially within the arid andsemi-arid zones. Accordingly, rationalizing irrigation water has become an obligation to achieve the sus-tainable developmental goals of these countries. This may take place via using deficit irrigation which islong thought to be an effective strategy to save and improve water productivity. The current study is atrial to evaluate the pros and cons of using 50 and 75 % of the irrigation requirements (IR) of wheat (def-icit irrigations) versus 100 %IR, while precisely charting changes in wheat growth parameters, antioxidantenzymes in plant shoots and the overall nutritional status of plants (NPK contents). Accordingly, a fieldexperiment was conducted for two successive seasons, followed a split-plot design in which deficit irri-gations (two irrigations to achieve 50 % of the irrigations requirements (IR), three irrigations to attain75 % IR, and four irrigations to fulfill 100 % IR) were placed in main plots while four different studiedwheat cultivars were in subplots. Results obtained herein indicate that deficit irrigations led to significantreductions in growth parameters and productivity of all wheat cultivars, especially when using 50 % IR. Italso decreased NPK contents within plant shoots while elevated their contents of proline, peroxidase, andcatalase enzymes. On the other hand, this type of irrigation decreased virtual water content (VWC, theamount of water used in production on ton of wheat grains). Stress tolerance index (STI), and financialrevenues per unit area were also assessed. The obtained values of grain productivity, STI, VWC and finan-cial revenues were weighted via PCA analyses, and then introduced in a novel model to estimate the effi-ciency of deficit irrigations (ODEI) whose results specified that the overall efficiency decreased as follows:50 %IR < 75 %IR < 100 %IR. In conclusion, deficit irrigation is not deemed appropriate for rationalizing irri-gation water while growing wheat on arid soils.
(PDF) Can deficit irrigations be an optimum solution for increasing water productivity under arid conditions? A case study on wheat plants. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/366240534_Can_deficit_irrigations_be_an_optimum_solution_for_increasing_water_productivity_under_arid_conditions_A_case_study_on_wheat_plants [accessed Jul 08 2025]. |
