Yield and Water Productivity of Drip-Irrigated Potato under Different Nitrogen Levels and Irrigation Regime with Saline Water in Arid Tunisia

Fathia El Mokh¹, Kamel Nagaz^1*, Mohamed Moncef Masmoudi², Netij Ben Mechlia²

¹Institut des Régions Arides, Médenine, Tunisia.
²INAT, Tunis, Tunisia.

DOI: 10.4236/ajps.2015.64054                

Abstract

Field studies were conducted on a sandy soil during autumn of 2010 and 2011 in an arid region of Tunisia to investigate the effects of nitrogen and irrigation regimes with saline water on yield and water productivity (WP) of potato (Solanum tuberosum L. cv. Spunta) and soil salinity. For the two years, irrigation treatments consisted in water replacements of cumulated crop evapotranspiration (ETc) at levels of 100% (I100, full irrigation), 60% (I60) and 30% (I30), when the readily available water in I100 treatment was depleted, while the nitrogen treatments (N) were 0, 100, 200, and 300 kg/ha (No, N100, N200, and N300). Results showed that soil salinity values remained lower than those of electrical conductivity of irrigation water (ECiw) and were the lowest under treatment I100 and the highest with I30 treatment. Relatively low ECe values were also observed under I60 treatment. The highest potato yields for the two years were obtained with I100 treatment. Compared to I100, significant reductions in potato yields were observed under I60 and I30 deficit irrigation treatments resulting from a reduction in tubers number/m2 and tuber weight. The water productivity (WP) was found to significantly vary among treatments, where the highest and the lowest values were observed for I30 and I100 treatments, respectively. Potato yield and WP increased with an increase in nitrogen rates. The rate of 300 kg N/ha was seen to give good yield and higher WP of potato under full (I100) and deficit (I60) irrigation treatments. However, application of N adversely affected potato yield and WP, when N level applied above 200 kg N/ha at I30. The WP was improved by N supply, but its effect decreased as the irrigation level increased. The IWP at I100, which produced the highest potato yield, was 8.5 and 9.9 kg/m3 with N300 but this increased to 11.9 and 15.6 kg/m3 at I30 with N200, in 2010 and 2011, respectively. These results suggested that potato in arid region could be cultivated with acceptable yields while saving irrigation water and reducing nitrogen supply but it was essential to exploit the interaction effect between these two parameters to maximize resource use efficiency.

Keywords

Potato, Salinity, Irrigation Scheduling, Deficit Irrigation, Nitrogen, Yield, Water Productivity, Arid

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	Phene, C.J. and Howell, T.A. (1984) Soil Sensor Control of High Frequency Irrigation. Transactions of the ASAE, 27, 392-396. http://dx.doi.org/10.13031/2013.32798
[2]	Ayers, J.E., Hutmacher, R.B., Schoneman, R.A., Vail, S.S. and Felleke, D. (1986) Drip Irrigation of Cotton with Saline Drainage Water. Transactions of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers, 29, 1668-1673. http://dx.doi.org/10.13031/2013.30371
[3]	Saggu, S.S. and Kaushal, M.P. (1991) Fresh and Saline Water Irrigation through Drip and Furrow Method. International Journal of Tropical Agricultural, 9, 194-202.
[4]	Phene, C.J., Davis, K.R., Mead, R.M., Yue, R., Wu, I.P. and Hutmacher, R.B. (1994) Evaluation of a Subsurface Drip Irrigation System after Ten Cropping Seasons. ASAE Pap. 932560 (Winter Meeting, Chicago). ASAE, St. Joseph.
[5]	Yohannes, S. and Tadesse, T. (1998) Effect of Drip and Furrow Irrigation and Plant Spacing on Yield of Tomato at Dire Dawa, Ethiopia. Agricultural Water Management, 35, 201-207. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0378-3774(97)00039-5
[6]	Darwish, T., Atallah, T., Hajhasan, S. and Chranek, A. (2003) Management of Nitrogen by Fertigation of Potato in Lebanon. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems, 67, 1-11. http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1025107202143
[7]	Yuan, B.Z., Nishiyama, S. and Kang, Y. (2003) Effects of Different Irrigation Regimes on Growth and Yield of Drip-Irrigated Potato. Agricultural Water Management, 63, 153-167. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0378-3774(03)00174-4
[8]	Onder, S., Caliskan, M.E., Onder, D. and Caliskan, S. (2005) Different Irrigation Methods and Water Stress Effects on Potato Yield and Yield Components. Agricultural Water Management, 73, 73-86. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2004.09.023
[9]	Kaur, M., Narda, N.K. and Chawla, J.K. (2005) Irrigation and Potassium Management in Trickle Fertigated Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.). Indian Journal of Agricultural Science, 75, 290-291.
[10]	Opena, G.B. and Porter, G.A. (1999) Soil Management and Supplemental Irrigation Effects on Potato. II. Root Growth. Agronomy Journal, 91, 426-431. http://dx.doi.org/10.2134/agronj1999.00021962009100030011x
[11]	Wang, F., Kang, Y. and Liu, S. (2006) Effects of Drip Irrigation Frequency on Soil Wetting Pattern and Potato Growth in North China Plain. Agricultural Water Management, 79, 248-264. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2005.02.016
[12]	Doorenbos, J. and Pruitt, W.O. (1977) Crop Water Requirements. Irrigation and Drainage Paper No. 24, 144 p.
[13]	Ritchie, J.T. (1972) Model for Predicting Evaporation from a Row Crop with Incomplete Cover. Water Resources Research, 8, 1204-1213. http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/WR008i005p01204
[14]	Waddell, J.T., Gupta, S.C., Moncrief, J.F., Rosen, C.J. and Steele, D.D. (1999) Irrigation and Nitrogen Management Effects on Potato Yield Tuber Quality, and Nitrogen Uptake. Agronomy Journal, 91, 991-997. http://dx.doi.org/10.2134/agronj1999.916991x
[15]	Cappaert, M.R., Powelson, M.L., Christensen, N.W., Stevenson, W.R. and Crowe, F.J. (1992) Influence of Irrigation Severity on Potato Early Dying Tuber Yield. Phytopathology, 82, 1448-1453. http://dx.doi.org/10.1094/Phyto-82-1448
[16]	Shock, C.C., Zalewski, J.C., Stieber, T.D. and Burnett, D.S. (1992) Impact of Early-Season Water Deficits on Russet Burbank Plant Development, Tuber Yield and Quality. American Potato Journal, 69, 793-803. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF02854186
[17]	Stark, J.C. and McCann, I.R. (1992) Optimal Allocation of Limited Water Supplies for Russet Burbank Potatoes. American Potato Journal, 69, 413-421. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF02852292
[18]	Shock, C.C., Feibert, E.B.G. and Saunders, L.D. (1998) Potato Yield and Quality Response to Deficit Irrigation. HortScience, 33, 655-659.
[19]	Sermet, O., Caliskan, M.E., Onder, D. and Caliskan, S. (2005) Different Irrigation Methods and Water Stress Effects on Potato Yield Components. Agricultural Water Management, 73, 73-86. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2004.09.023
[20]	Fabeiro, C., De Santa Ollala, F.M. and De Juan, J.A. (2001) Yield and Size of Deficit Irrigated Potatoes. Agricultural Water Management, 48, 255-266. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0378-3774(00)00129-3
[21]	Ferreira, T.C. and Goncalves, D.A. (2007) Crop-Yield/Water-Use Production Functions of Potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L.) Grown under Differential Nitrogen and Irrigation Treatments in a Hot Dry Climate. Agricultural Water Management, 90, 45-55. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2007.02.012
[22]	Albassam, B.A. (2001) Effect of Nitrate Nutrition on Growth and Nitrogen Assimilation of Pearl Millet Exposed to Sodium Chloride Stress. Journal of Plant Nutrition, 24, 1325-1335. http://dx.doi.org/10.1081/PLN-100106984
[23]	Flores, P., Carvajal, M., Cerda, A. and Martinez, V. (2001) Salinity and Ammonium/Nitrate Interactions on Tomato Plant Development, Nutrition, and Metabolites. Journal of Plant Nutrition, 24, 1561-1573. http://dx.doi.org/10.1081/PLN-100106021
[24]	Meyer, R.D. and Marcum, D.B. (1998) Potato Yield, Petiole Nitrogen, and Soil Nitrogen Response to Water and Nitrogen. Agronomy Journal, 90, 420-429. http://dx.doi.org/10.2134/agronj1998.00021962009000030017x
[25]	Allen, R.G., Perreira, L.S., Raes, D. and Smith, M. (1998) Crop Evapotranspiration: Guidelines for Computing Crop Water Requirements. Irrigation and Drainage Paper No. 56, FAO, Rome, 300 p.
[26]	Bresler, E. (1975) Two-Dimensional Transport of Solutes during Nonsteady Infiltration from Trickle Source. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 39, 604-613. http://dx.doi.org/10.2136/sssaj1975.03615995003900040014x
[27]	Singh, S.D., Gupta, J.P. and Singh, P. (1977) Water Economy and Saline Water Use by Drip Irrigation. Agronomy Journal, 70, 948-951. http://dx.doi.org/10.2134/agronj1978.00021962007000060014x
[28]	Schoups, G., Hopmans, J.W., Young, C.A., Vrugt, J.A., Wallender, W.W., Tanji, K.K. and Panday, S. (2005) Sustainability of Irrigated Agriculture in the San Joaquin Valley, California. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 102, 15352-15356. http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0507723102
[29]	Kaman, H., Kirda, C., Cetin, M. and Topcu, S. (2006) Salt Accumulation in the Root Zones of Tomato and Cotton Irrigated with Partial Root-Drying Technique. Irrigation and Drainage, 55, 533-544. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ird.276
[30]	Geerts, S., Raes, D., Garcia, M., Condori, O., Mamani, J., Miranda, R., Cusicanqui, J., Taboada, C. and Vacher, J. (2008) Could Deficit Irrigation Be a Sustainable Practice for Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) in the Southern Bolivian Altiplano? Agricultural Water Management, 95, 909-917. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2008.02.012
[31]	Singh, B. and Bhumbla, D.R. (1968) Effect of Quality of Irrigation Water on Soil Properties. Journal of Research Punjab Agricultural University, 5, 166-172.
[32]	Patel, N. and Rajput, T.B.S. (2007) Effect of Drip Tape Placement Depth and Irrigation Level on Yield of Potato. Agricultural Water Management, 88, 209-223. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2006.10.017
[33]	Schjoerring, J.K. (1995) Nitrogen Incorporation and Remobilization in Different Shoot Components of Field-Grown Winter Oilseed Rape (Brassica napus L.) as Affected by Rate of Nitrogen Application and Irrigation. Plant and Soil, 177, 255-264. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00010132
[34]	Kang, Y., Wang, F.X., Liu, H.J. and Yuan, B.Z. (2004) Potato Evapotranspiration and Yield under Different Drip Irrigation Regimes. Irrigation Science, 23, 133-143. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00271-004-0101-2
[35]	Hamdy, A. and Samti, H. (1995) Interaction salinité-fertilisation et son effet sur la production de la pomme de terre. Proceedings of Workshop on Farm Sustainable Use of Saline Water in Irrigation: Mediterranean Experiences, Hammamet, 5-8 October 1995, a9.1-a9.24.
[36]	Kashyap, P.S. and Panda, R.K. (2003) Effect of Irrigation Scheduling on Potato Crop Parameters under Water Stressed Conditions. Agricultural Water Management, 59, 49-66. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0378-3774(02)00110-5
[37]	Kirnak, H., Higgs, D., Kaya, C. and Tas, I. (2005) Effects of Irrigation and Nitrogen Rates on Growth, Yield, and Quality of Muskmelon in Semiarid Regions. Journal of Plant Nutrition, 28, 621-638. http://dx.doi.org/10.1081/PLN-200052635
[38]	Aujla, M.S., Thind, H.S. and Buttar, G.S. (2007) Fruit Yield and Water Use Efficiency of Egg-Plant (Solanum melongema L.) as Influenced by Different Quantities of Nitrogen and Water Applied through Drip and Furrow Irrigation. Scientia Horticulturae, 112, 142-148. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2006.12.020