The Use of Organic Waste in Sustainable Water Management Under the Conditions of Dry Areas: Field and Modeling Study

Abstract

Organic waste poses a threat to the environment in the event of its repeated use; however, in this study, we converted it into a useful and environmentally safe source of fertilization. In addition to its fertilization ability, it exhibited a good ability to reduce water stress in cultivated plants in area in which irrigation is lacking and are suffering the impact of climate change. Two field experiments were conducted during the 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 seasons to study the effect of the regulated deficit irrigation strategy and organic N-fertilization ratio during wheat cultivation. The majority of the studied characteristics were slightly higher when irrigation was 75% FI as compared to 100% FI. When using organic nitrogen fertilization in addition to mineral nitrogen fertilization, at 50% organic to 50% mineral, it was possible to irrigate at 75% FI. In this scenario, productivity increased by 28.5% in 2019/2020, and 56% in 2020/2021. The model simulated the studied characteristics of the two seasons relatively well. In summary, the field and modeling results indicate that the use of organic waste in sustainable water management in dry areas has various benefits, including a higher yield and reduced use of chemical fertilizers by up to 50%. This was replaced with 50% organic nitrogen fertilizer produced from the compost from agricultural waste, which is abundant on all farms. These additional benefits increase the income for farmers, and reduce environmental pollution.