Abstract
<b>Abstract.</b> Irrigation is a major water source used in agriculture. A successful irrigation water management program to optimize the use of available water, while ensuring the best yield and quality at the lowest cost to the producer is needed. Irrigation scheduling is the application of irrigation water to plant at the current frequency and duration, in order to provide the plants the needed water required for a successful crop production or to meet plant water requirement. Waterleaf crop (Talinum triangulare) is a nutritious crop grown in the West Africa consume by many across Africa. Because of its high water use requirement, it is rarely grown in the dry season. Use of irrigation scheduling can help its production in the summer months. Lysimeter are tanks used to measure the amount of water used in evapotranspiration (ET) on a vegetated surface. Lysimeters are used to schedule the irrigation of waterleaf crop and monitor the growth and yield of the crop. Twelve lysimeters were used for this study, arranged in four different treatments (T1 at 100%, T2 at 80%, T3 at 60% and T4 at 40%) of water requirement applied. The lysimeter was filled with sandy loam soil of 12.928kg mixed with poultry dropping of 1.00kg as manure. The field capacity of the soil is 6.6m3 with particle size of 0.30mm. After ten days of interval application to the crop to all the treatment, subsequent irrigation were at 80%, 60% and 40% for (T2, T3 and T4) and the growth of the waterleaf crop monitored. The result shows the Cu of waterleaf crop as 3.22 mm/day, from the lysimeter were 5.6 mm/day for T2, 4.3 mm/day for T3 and 6.2 mm/day for T4. Equivalent values for the BMN are 14.36 mm/day, 42.24 mm/day, 15.08mm/day, 9.301 mm/day, 11.11mm/day and BC are 23.39mm/day, 22.05mm/day, 22.27mm/day, 21.27mm/day and 19.11mm/day. From the statistical analysis conducted, it was found that there was significant difference between the ET calculated from the lysimeter with the BMN and BC. The growth pattern as a result of the % water application showed that waterleaf crop from even the 40% application did as well as the 80% application. From this study it is recommended that farmers who apply water at 40% can also obtain as good as maximum yield as the application at 80%. This will minimize cost of irrigation water application and maximize waterleaf crop production.
Published Version
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