Rainwater harvesting for supplemental irrigation of onions in the southern dry lands of Ethiopia

Shibeshi Assefa, Birhanu Biazin, Alemayehu Muluneh, Fantaw Yimer and Amare Haileslassie

Agricultural Water Management, 2016, vol. 178, issue C, 325-334

Abstract: Agricultural water scarcity is a major limiting factor for crop production in dry land regions of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Despite notable efforts of developing macro-catchment rainwater harvesting (RWH) techniques, few studies have evaluated the performance of RWH for deficit supplemental irrigation of crops. We examine the agro-meteorological risks such as late onset, early cessation, overall low rainfall amounts and long dry spells during the growing season and evaluate the potential of macro-catchment RWH for supplemental irrigation of onion in the southern dry lands of Ethiopia. Field experiments were undertaken during 2012 and 2013 to evaluate the effects of 50% ETc, 75% ETc and 100% ETc irrigation levels on yield and water productivity of onion during dry and wet seasons. The harvestable yield and water productivity of onion under 75% ETc irrigation were not significantly lower than that under 100% ETc irrigation during both the dry and wet seasons. Thus, deficit supplemental irrigation of onion at 75% ETc can be implemented with macro-catchment RWH to reduce the risks of crop failure and significant yield declines in dryland areas.

Keywords: Dry spell; Onset; Cessation; Water productivity; Water supply efficiency (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:178:y:2016:i:c:p:325-334

DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2016.10.012

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