Use of subsurface drip irrigation and water retention barrier to effective use of water in rice

Abstract

Aims: Rice is one of the most applied irrigation waters applied plant among cultivated plants since it is grown in water or in saturated soil conditions in a significant portion of the growing season. This study was aimed to determine the effects of rice grown on water use, development, yield and some yield parameters using of both separately and jointly water retention barriers and subsurface drip irrigation methods in Enez, Edirne, Turkey in 2017.Methods and Results: Four different treatments were applied: ponding ((control(C)), subsurface drip irrigation system (SDI), ponding + water retention barrier (C+WRB) and SDI+WRB in this study. Subsurface drip irrigation laterals were placed 10 cm deep from the soil surface and the WRB was placed at 30 cm deep. Plants were irrigated with a constant water height of 10-15 cm on the soil in C and C+WRB treatments, 20% ± 5% of the available water retention capacity is consumed without exposure to water stress in SDI and SDI+WRB treatments, the field capacity is completed. WRB and SDI applications significantly affected the irrigation water amount, grain yield and yield components of rice. The yield and irrigation water amount according to the treatments varied between 321-715 kg da-1 and 751-2444 mm, respectively. Conclusions: In comparison to the control treatment, water saving was achieved by 27%, 50%, 69% in C+WRB, SDI and SDI + WRB treatments, respectively. Despite this, when marketable yield values are analysed according to the control treatment, it has increased by 10.8% in C+WRB, and decreased by 48.8% and 40.7% in SDI and SDI + WRB treatments. The water retention barriers and subsurface drip irrigation practices used in the study have been shown to reduce the use of irrigation water in rice production.Significance and Impact of the Study: It can be said that these methods have the potential to be used especially in arid and semi-arid regions where water is limited or inadequate.