Effect of drip deficit irrigation and mulching on soil salinity, yield and water use efficiency of squash (Cucurhita pepo L.) / [electronic resource].

Year book of Misr Society of Agricultural Engineering : The 20 th. Annual Conference of the Misr Society of Agricultural Engineering "Agricultural Engineering and Country Challenges"

Includes references.

Yield and water-use efficiency ofsquash (Cucurbita pepo L.) under drip
deficit irrigation and mulching were investigated Field experiments were
conducted for two consecutive seasons (summer and fall), to study the
effect of different mulches (without mulch, WM as a control, white
polyethylene: PM, rice straw: RSM, farmyard manure: FYMj on growth,
water-use efficiency (WUE) and yield of squash under three irrigation
treatments. Amount of applied irrigation to each experimental plot
depended upon a percentage ofETc computed using the equation ofAllen
et al (1998) in addition to the leaching requirements and considering the
irrigation application efficiency. Irrigation treatments were irrigation on
basis of 100, 85 and 70 % of computed evapotranspiration. Plant
photosynthesis efficiency, total soluble sugars (FSS), leaf area index,
harvest index (HI), yield and WUE were not significantly affected by
interaction between irrigation and mulching treatments. All mulching
materials effectively reduced salt accumulation in the root zone.
Mulching treatments markedly increased WUE and yield in the order of
FYM> RSM> PM> WM Results showed that, irrigation ofsquash with
85 . the I8j strategy studied here could be succe~sfully applied during
summer and fall seasons in commercial squash production allowing
water savings of 15% without any detrimental effect on plant growth or
yield.

Summary in Arabic