Comparative Assessment of Crop Water Productivity of Drip Irrigated Green Pepper under Poly-House and Open-Field Conditions

Abstract

Crop water productivity (CWP) is a crucial factor in determining the sustainability of agricultural practices. Drip irrigation is a method that has shown potential in improving CWP in crop production. The study aimed to compare the crop water productivity of green pepper production under poly-house and open-field environments during 2020/2021 and 2021/2022 growing seasons. The experiment was conducted during the dry seasons of 2020.2021 and 2021/2022 at the Teaching and Research Field of Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria. The beds were prepared, nursery was established, drip irrigation system was installed and fumigation was carried out before transplanting. The experimental design was a randomized complete block (RCBD) with nine replications in each environment. The same design was applied to both poly-house and open-field conditions. The factors are environment (poly-house and open-field) and irrigation intervals of 5, 6 and 7 days (I5, I6 and I7). Data obtained were subjected to analysis of variance and Tukey’s Honestly Significant Difference (HSD) was used for multiple comparison. Drip irrigation was applied to all plots at different irrigation intervals. The results showed that the crop water productivity under poly-house and open-field environments in 2020/2021 growing season were: I5: 29.67, I6: 36.97, I7: 20.92 and I5: 17.06, I6: 21.45, I7: 12.21 kg/m3. Similarly, in the 2021/2022 growing season, the CWP values were I5: 16.90, I6: 23.27, I7: 12.95 and I5: 9.60, I6: 14.01, I7: 6.81 kg/m3 under poly-house and open-field, respectively. The results revealed that water productivity was more efficient at low levels of water supply in the poly-house during the 2020/2021 and 2021/2022 growing seasons. The production of green pepper under poly-house increased water conservation, reduced nutrient leaching, enhanced crop productivity for sustainable agricultural practices and water management.