Investigating the effect of different levels of conventional Defficit irrigation compared to partial root drying technique on yield and water use efficiency in potato

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Department of Irrigation and Reclamation Engineering, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran.

2 Tehran University

10.22059/jwim.2025.385011.1204

Abstract

The increasing demand for water due to population growth and climate change has caused a decrease in agricultural water resources in areas that are facing water shortages. Therefore, a field experiment was conducted in an arid region of Iran (Medicinal research center of Islamic Azad University of Shahr-e-Qods branch) to evaluate the effects of two irrigation systems [conventional drip irrigation (DI) and partial root drying (PRD)] and three irrigation levels [100%, 75%, and 55% of crop evapotranspiration (I100, I75, and I55, respectively)] on the growth traits, tuber yield, and water productivity (WP) of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) during the 2023 and 2024 growing seasons. Soil moisture (θv) was lower under the DI system than under the PRD system. The fresh and dry tuber yields were higher under the PRD system than under the DI system. By contrast, WP was highest with the I55 treatment (6.60 and 7.55 kg m-3) and lowest with the I100 treatment (5.53 and 6.23 kg m-3) under the DI and PRD systems, respectively. These findings indicate that full irrigation (I100) with the PRD system maximizes potato yield but decreases water productivity, whereas integration of the PRD system with deficit irrigation is effective in improving water productivity due to less water being consumed, allowing these practices to be used under scarce water conditions

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

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Water and Irrigation Management
Volume 15, Issue 2
October 2025
Pages 411-430

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