Effects Of Irrigation Management Research Articles

Fertilizer and Irrigation Management Effects on Nitrous Oxide Emissions and Nitrate Leaching

Irrigation and N fertilizer management are important factors affecting crop yield, N fertilizer recovery efficiency, and N losses as nitrous oxide (N2O) and nitrate (NO3−). Split application of conventional urea (split‐U) and/or one‐time application of products designed to perform as enhanced‐efficiency N fertilizers may mitigate N losses. The objective of this study was to compare the effects of controlled‐release polymer‐coated urea (PCU), stabilized urea with urease and nitrification inhibitors (IU) and split‐U on direct soil‐to‐atmosphere N2O emissions, NO3− leaching, and yield for fully irrigated and minimum‐irrigated corn in loamy sand. Indirect N2O emissions due to NO3− leaching were estimated using published emission factors (EF5). Split‐U increased yield and N uptake compared with preplant‐applied PCU or IU and decreased NO3− leaching compared with PCU. Direct N2O emissions were significantly less with IU or split‐U than with PCU, and there was a trend for greater emissions with split‐U than with IU (P = 0.08). Irrigation significantly increased NO3− leaching during the growing season but had no significant effect on direct N2O emissions. After accounting for significantly increased yields with irrigation, however, N losses expressed on a yield basis did not differ and in some cases decreased with irrigation. Post‐harvest soil N and soil‐water NO3− in spring showed the potential for greater N leaching in minimum‐irrigated than fully irrigated plots. Indirect emissions due to NO3− leaching were estimated to be 79 to 117% of direct emissions using the default value of EF5, thus signifying the potential importance of indirect emissions in evaluating management effects on N2O emissions.

Application of Landsat to Evaluate Effects of Irrigation Forbearance

Thirty-meter resolution Landsat data were used to evaluate the effects of irrigation management in the Wood River Valley, Upper Klamath Basin, Oregon. In an effort to reduce water use and leave more of the water resource in-stream, 4,674 ha of previously flood irrigated pasture was managed as dryland pasture. Ground-based measurements over one irrigated and one unirrigated pasture site were used to monitor the difference in evapotranspiration (ET) using the Bowen ratio-energy balance method. These data sets represent point measurements of the response to irrigation, but do not allow for the spatial integration of effects of irrigated versus unirrigated land treatment. Four Landsat scenes of the Wood River Valley during the 2004 growing season were evaluated using reconstructed METRIC algorithms. Comparisons of ET algorithm output with ground-based data for all components of the energy balance, including net radiation, soil heat flux, sensible heat flux and evapotranspiration, were made for the four scenes. The excellent net radiation estimates, along with reasonable estimates of the other components, are demonstrated along with the capability to integrate results to the basin scale.

Imazethapyr and imazapic runoff under continuous and intermittent irrigation of paddy rice

In the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, rice (Oryza sativa) is predominantly grown using a continuous flood, which can cause herbicide runoff when fields are over-irrigated or heavy rainfall occurs. Proper irrigation and drainage management can reduce herbicide transport to the environment. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of different irrigation practices on water runoff and the transport and dissipation of the herbicides imazethapyr and imazapic. The experiments were conducted in the 2007/08 and 2008/09 growing seasons at the experimental area of the Universidade Federal de Santa Maria. The treatments comprised two irrigation management systems: continuous flooding of an approximate 10-cm flood depth and intermittent flooding where the flood was allowed to fully subside before being reestablished to a 10-cm height. The amount of water runoff and the rates of herbicide dissipation and transport were evaluated. Owing to increased storage of rainwater, intermittent flooding reduced water runoff by 47% and runoff of imazethapyr and imazapic by 89 and 77%, respectively, relative to the continuously flooded control. Imazapic was significantly more persistent than imazethapyr, but there was no effect of irrigation management on herbicide persistence in water.

Influence of water management on the mobility and fate of copper in rice field soil

Purpose With widely applied water-saving irrigation techniques, the transformation and availabilities of copper (Cu) as both a micronutrient and a toxic metal are changed. However, little information is available on the binding forms, bioavailability, and fate of Cu in paddy fields with different irrigation management. Thus, we investigated the effects of irrigation management on the binding forms and the fate of Cu in a non-polluted paddy soil.

Irrigation management in pruned coffee tree crop

It was evaluated the effect of irrigation management on the production characteristics of coffee cultivar Acaiá MG-1474, planted in spacing of 3.00 m x 0.60 m, pruned in 2004, and irrigated by drip since the planting, in 1997. The experimental designed used was of randomized blocks with five treatments and four replications. The treatments consisted of irrigation management strategies, applying or not applying controlled moisture deficit in layer of 0 to 0.4m, in dry seasons of the year: A = no irrigation (control), B = irrigation during all year considering the factor of water availability in the soil (f) equal to 0.75, C = irrigation during all year considering f = 0.25, D = irrigation during all year, but in January /February /March /July /October /November /December with f = 0.25 and April /May /June /August /September with f = 0.75, E = irrigation only during April /May /June /August /September with f = 0.25. From July /2005 to June /2007 the applied water depth was defined based on Class A pan evaporation (ECA) and the period from July/2007 to June/2008 based on readings of matric potential of soil obtained from Watermark® sensors. Each plot consisted of three rows with ten plants per row, considering as useful plot five plants of center line. The results indicated that the E irrigation management was the most suitable for technical reasons.

Effects of different irrigation intervals and weed control on yield and yield components of safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.)

A two-year (2008–2009) field experiment was conducted to determine the effect of irrigation management and weed control on yield and yield components of safflower. The experiment was conducted as a split-split plot arranged in a randomized blocks design with three replications. There were two treatments (weedy and weed free) and four irrigation interval water managements (7 days for all stages, 15, 22 and 28 days after six-leaf stages). The results indicated that grain yield was 29% higher in weed-free plots than in weedy plots. Weed competition reduced yield components such as primary branches, petal weight and number of capitulum per plant. Increasing the irrigation interval to 15 days at the six-leaf stage had no significant effects on grain yield, but grain yield decreased by 18 and 29.8% with increases in the irrigation interval to 22 and 28 days, respectively. An increased irrigation interval >15 days had negative effects on yield components like number of capitulum per plant, petal weight and number of primary branches. The highest grain yield (3703 kg ha−1) was obtained in the weed-free plot, and there was no significant difference between 7- and 15-day irrigation intervals.

Agronomic performance, seed quality and nitrogen uptake of Descurainia sophia in response to different nitrogen rates and water regimes

Descurainia sophia (flixweed) is an annual weed widely distributed in cultivated crops, forage and rangelands throughout the world. This weed, in particular its seed, is used for food, medicinal and industrial purposes. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of irrigation management and different application rates of nitrogen on morphological traits and yield components of this weed as a means of enhancing production and economic returns. A two-year field experiment was conducted in a semi-arid region in Iran during the 2009–2010 and 2010–2011 growing seasons. The experiment was a split plot in a randomized complete block design with three replicates, with irrigation treatments as main plots and nitrogen rates as sub plots. The three irrigation regimes consisted of 0.1 maximum allowable depletion or deficiency (MAD) of available soil water (ASW), 0.2 MAD of ASW, 0.4 MAD of ASW in 2010 and 0.2 MAD of ASW, 0.4 MAD of ASW and 0.8 MAD of ASW in 2011. The plants were grown at three nitrogen rates of 0, 200, and 300kgNha−1. Generally there were significant increases in seed yield, biomass, straw yield, harvest index, number of siliques (pods) per plant, seed weight, plant height, time to maturity, water use efficiency, protein concentration in seed, straw N concentration, nitrogen uptakes and nitrogen harvest index each growing season by applying nitrogen at all irrigation treatments. There was a decreasing trend in number of plants per m2, nitrogen utilization efficiency and oil concentration with increasing nitrogen application under all the irrigation treatments. Seed yield response to irrigation treatments and N rates seemed to be more related to number of plants per m2 and number of siliques per plant. The highest seed yield was obtained at the plant population of 686plantsperm2. The results obtained here suggest that nitrogen application can improve the seed yield and seed quality of D. sophia grown under different irrigation regimes. Averaged over both years, the application of 300kgNha−1 under 0.2 MAD of ASW resulted in the highest revenue; 200kgNha−1 was not significantly different to 300kgNha−1.

Effects of irrigation management and watertable depth on growth and yield of field-grown Sultana grapevines in south eastern Australia

The influence of irrigation amount and frequency of application on growth and yield of Sultana grapevines was studied in a field trial carried out over four years in the Murray Valley irrigation area of Australia. Treatments included low (280mm of irrigation and rainfall), medium (780mm) and high (1300mm) application amounts, each with frequencies of 1, 2 and 4-weekly. Despite artificial drainage, there was a watertable of variable depth: its effect was evaluated by grouping plots into those with shallow (<2.2m depth) or deep (>2.2m depth) watertables. Treatments were applied to grapevines with Sultana scions grafted to Ramsey rootstocks and own-rooted Sultana vines. Yields from vines grafted to Ramsey were largely unchanged by irrigation treatments even where shallow watertables resulted in high soil salinities (ECe>3.0dSm−1), probably because of the capacity of Ramsey rootstock to exclude chloride ions. For vines on their own roots, there were interactions between irrigation frequency and watertable depth for soil salinity and yield, with the fortnightly frequency offering the best compromise where there was a shallow watertable. The response to irrigation amount also depended on watertable depth; the low amount reduced yield relative to that in the medium and high amounts in areas where the watertable was deep but not in areas where it was shallow. Yield in the medium and high amounts tended to be lower in areas where the water table was shallow compared with areas where it was deep. The results suggest that where shallow watertables are present irrigation management should be modified for both own-rooted and Ramsey grafted Sultanas to apply no more than moderate amounts of irrigation and preferably at not less than fortnightly intervals.

Recovery of 15N-labeled urea and soil nitrogen dynamics as affected by irrigation management and nitrogen application rate in a double rice cropping system

A sophisticated soil microcosm system and 15N-labeled urea were used to investigate nitrogen (N) use efficiency and soil N dynamics in a rice monoculture system in two successive seasons. Topsoil (0 cm–20 cm) and subsoil (20 cm–50 cm) samples were collected from a traditional double rice cropping field in the Jiangxi Province, China, and these soil samples were derived from Quaternary red clay. Treatments were randomly assigned with two irrigation regimes and three N application rates (no application control, 80% traditional rate and 100% traditional rate noted as N0, N1 and N2, respectively). The levels of 15N recovery of plants, 15N and N remaining in soil were determined. Moreover, the N dynamic of soil solution from different layers of the soil profile was surveyed. The results showed that the effects of irrigation management and N application rate varied in different rice growing seasons. Irrigation regimes had remarkable effects on grain yield and chemical 15N fertilizers (CF-15N) uptake. When compared to flood irrigation (FI), the shallow water depth with wetting and drying (WD) increased grain yield up to 5.7%–20%. Although the highest grain yield was obtained with reduced N application level, both N apparent recovery (NAR) and 15N use efficiency (the percentage of plant N uptake derived from applied N, %Ndfan) significantly decreased with increasing N inputs. However, the interaction between irrigation management and N application rate on grain yield and N use efficiency (NUE) of CF-15N were not significant. A survey of soil solutions every 5 days indicated that NH4+-N was the main residual form of N, and high NH4+-N leaching was observed. When compared to FI, WD decreased vertical NH4+-N and TN leaching, especially at 10–50 cm depths of soil profile in the second season. NH4+-N was the main N residual form in the soil profile. Therefore, in this study, the WD irrigation regime and reduced rate (N1) was the optimal irrigation and fertilizer management strategy to increase the NUE of CF-N, increase the after effects of CF-15N, decrease leaching loss of CF-15N and minimize the shallow groundwater pollution risk, which were all beneficial for the ecological environment.

Effect of water management on dry seeded and puddled transplanted rice. Part 1: Crop performance

An alarming rate of ground water depletion and increasing labour scarcity are major threats to future rice production in north west India. Management strategies that reduce the irrigation amount and labour requirement while maintaining or increasing yield are urgently needed. Dry seeded rice (DSR) has been proposed as one means of achieving these objectives, but little is known about optimal water management for DSR. Therefore a field study was conducted on a clay loam soil in Punjab, India, during 2008 and 2009, to investigate the effects of irrigation management on the performance of puddled transplanted rice (PTR) and dry seeded rice. Irrigation scheduling treatments were based on soil water tension (SWT) ranging from ponding/saturation (daily irrigation) to alternate wetting and drying (AWD) with irrigation thresholds of 20, 40 and 70 kPa at 18–20 cm soil depth. Rainfall was above average and well distributed in 2008 (822 mm), and average and less well distributed in 2009 (663 mm). With daily irrigation, crop duration of PTR and DSR was the same. Shifting from daily irrigation to AWD delayed crop maturity by 8–17 d, and DSR was more affected than PTR, and more so in the drier year. Crop performance in terms of tiller density, leaf area index and growth rate was better in DSR than PTR with daily and 20 kPa irrigation scheduling. However, crop performance was poorer in DSR than PTR at higher (40 and 70 kPa) irrigation thresholds, more so in the drier year when DSR showed signs of severe iron deficiency which was not overcome with iron sprays. Yield components were similar in both establishment methods when irrigation was scheduled daily or at 20 kPa, but panicle density and the number of filled grains per panicle were significantly lower at 40 and 70 kPa in DSR than PTR. Each year, yield of DSR and PTR were similar when irrigation was scheduled daily or at 20 kPa. Yields of both PTR and DSR declined under higher water deficit stress (40 and 70 kPa irrigation thresholds), but more so in DSR, and more so in the drier year. There was a very large and significant decline in irrigation water input with irrigation at 20 kPa compared to daily irrigation in both establishment methods, but only a very small decline in irrigation amount when the threshold was increased from 20 to 40 and 70 kPa. Irrigation water use in DSR-AWD treatments was significantly lower than in respective PTR treatments (e.g. by 33–53% when irrigation was scheduled at 20 kPa). The results suggest the feasibility of reducing irrigation amount while maintaining yield by replacing PTR with DSR with AWD, provided that soil tension is kept lower than 20 kPa at 20 cm depth, but that this threshold needs to be tested over a wider range of seasonal and site conditions and varieties.

Effect of irrigation management on yield and quality of tomatoes grown in different soilless media in a glasshouse

Global warming and resulting drought is the most important constraint affecting plant production in the Mediterranean Region. Therefore, effective management of scarce water resources is of paramount importance in this region. This research was conducted to determine the optimal irrigation strategy for drip irrigated fresh market tomato grown in different soilless culture in a glasshouse in the Mediterranean Region of Turkey. Volcanic ash, peat and their mixture were used as growth media. Four different irrigation levels (WL1=75%; WL2=100%; WL3=125% and WL4=150% of Class A Pan evaporation) and two watering frequencies (once and twice daily applications) were evaluated. Highest yield and fruit number were obtained from the ash+peat mixture (1:1) with twice a day watering at WL4 irrigation level. Soluble solids of tomato fruit decreased with increasing available water. The highest irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE) value of 121.4 kg m-3 was obtained from once a day irrigation WL1 irrigation level with peat+ash (1:1). IWUE decreased in all treatments as the amount of irrigation water increased. Key words: Peat, volcanic ash, substrate, drip irrigation, class A Pan, irrigation water use efficiency.

Effect of irrigation management on yield and water use efficiency of timothy hay in southern Alberta

Timothy hay production for export markets has recently expanded on the Canadian prairies. Irrigation management information for timothy production is limited; therefore, irrigation practices to achieve optimum dry matter (DM) yield and water use efficiency (WUE) of timothy hay were investigated from 2005 to 2007 near Bow Island and Picture Butte, Alberta. Treatments were defined by managing irrigation using 0.25-m, 0.50-m, 0.75-m, and 1.00-m root zone depths with an allowable moisture depletion of 50% of available soil moisture. The 0.25-m root zone treatment resulted in greater first-cut timothy DM yield than the 1.00-m root zone treatment at Bow Island. The 0.50-m root zone treatment resulted in greater first-cut timothy DM yield than the 0.25-m root zone treatment at Picture Butte. Treatment effect on the second-cut DM yield was not significant. Water use for the first-cut crop was significantly greater for the 0.25-m root zone treatment at Bow Island and for the 0.50-m root zone treatment at Picture Butte than the other treatments in 2006 and 2007. There was no consistent treatment effect with the second-cut crop water use. The treatment effect with the first-cut WUE was not significant and there was no consistent treatment effect with the second-cut WUE. Use of a shallow root zone depth (0.25-0.50 m) for irrigation management could optimize first-cut timothy production for export, but producers may need to avoid irrigating the second-cut crop to conserve water for other efficient uses in southern Alberta. Key words: Irrigation management, dry matter, timothy, Phleum pretense, root zone, water use efficiency, allowable depletion, available moisture

Effects of Different Levels of Irrigation Water Salinity and Leaching on Yield and Yield Components of Wheat in an Arid Region

Soil salinity is a major environmental factor limiting the productivity of agricultural lands. To determine the effects of irrigation water salinity and leaching on soil salinity and consequently wheat yield, a field experiment was conducted on a silty clay soil, a typical soil of Rudasht region, Isfahan province, Iran, with three irrigation water salinity levels of 2, 8, and 12 dS∕m with/without leaching levels of 4, 19, and 32% with two different irrigation water managements, using factorial design with four replications for each treatment. The results showed that as the irrigation water salinity and consequently soil salinity increases, the yield components such as grain yield, straw yield, 1,000-grain weight, crop height, spike length, and leaf area index decreases significantly. Leaching caused the yield components to increase significantly. An increase in seed protein percentage was noted as the salinity of irrigation water increased. The interaction effects of irrigation management and leaching on ...

Adaptation of a functional model of grassland to simulate the behaviour of irrigated grasslands under a Mediterranean climate: The Crau case

In order to take into account firstly the specificities of Mediterranean weather conditions on grass growth and secondly the effect of irrigation management on hay, we adapted an already published model of grassland growth. From literature new equations were added to account for water balance, botanical composition and the effect of wind. The modified model was parameterised based on new experimental data. An automatic and rigorous parameter estimation procedure was developed based on a criterion that combines the goodness-of-fit for dry matter (DM), leaf area index (LAI) and fraction of total transpirable soil water (FTSW). Mean squared error of prediction (MSEP) was estimated using cross-validation. Adding the three equations for water balance, botanical composition and wind effect improved the goodness-of-fit of the model. A sensitivity analysis showed that the model results were mainly sensitive to the parameter that controls the increase of leaf area index and to the radiation use efficiency coefficient. Both absolute values and dynamics of DM, LAI and FTSW were well simulated and satisfactory for future use of the model in a decision support tool. Estimated MSEP values for DM, LAI and FTSW were 0.145 T ha −1, 0.092 m 2 m −2 and 0.0155% respectively.

Effect of irrigation management on soil salinization in Manas River Valley, Xinjiang, China

Abstract The irrigated area of Manas River Valley in Northwest China is an example of the successful reclamation of massive land affected by shallow ground water levels and salinization. To determine the effect of irrigation management practices on soil salinization, soil profiles representing various soil types were sampled. The historical records on the characteristics of irrigation management practices, groundwater level and soil salts accumulation in this region at four key periods, namely: flood irrigation without drainage; flood irrigation with drainage but of low efficiency; irrigation in combination with lined irrigation canals and exploitation of groundwater; and irrigation with the application of water-saving irrigation techniques, were analyzed emphatically. In addition, the salinization status of cultivated land in 2010 and 2020 was also predicted by using analogism according to the relationship between soil salinization and irrigation practices. The results revealed that the application of the traditional irrigation methods, such as flood irrigation and ridge irrigation, resulted in a rapid rising of groundwater level and salts accumulation in soil surface layers. However, with the way of well irrigation and well drainage, the groundwater level and the desalinization in soil layers apparently lowered, leading to a substantial increase of crop yield. Currently, the application of drip irrigation under mulch decreased the salts concentration in soil layers and increased the crop yield. With the continuous application of drip irrigation, the average soil desalinization efficiency in soil layers may increase. It is predicted that the percentage of salinized land would be reduced to 35%–40% when irrigation water is utilized reasonably in 2010. With the high efficient utilization of irrigation water after 2020, the salinized land would remain below 30%. It is concluded that with the improvement of irrigation management, an obvious desalinization would appear in the soil surface layers and the area of salinized land in this study area would gradually narrow, but the land salinization problem would be hard to totally solve.

Produtividade do pimentão amarelo, Capsicum annuum L., cultivado em ambiente protegido, em função do potencial mátrico de água no solo

Research reports an experiment conducted under greenhouse conditions to study the effects of irrigation management at different soil water matric potential (ψm) conditions on yield of yellow pepper, Capsicum annuum (Solanaceae), Marengo HY cultivar. Experiment was carried out in a completely randomized design, with four treatments and six replications. Soil matric potentials studied were -15, -32, -50 and -65 kPa. Results obtained showed a significant effect of matric potentials on the yield and fruit characteristics, such as weight, length, diameter and pulp thickness. Highest productivity was obtained at ψm = -15 kPa for irrigation management

Soil–water and solute movement under precision irrigation: knowledge gaps for managing sustainable root zones

Precision irrigation involves the accurate and precise application of water to meet the specific requirements of individual plants or management units and minimize adverse environmental impact. Under precision irrigation applications, water and associated solute movement will vary spatially within the root zone and excess water application will not necessarily result in deep drainage and leaching of salt below the root zone. This paper estimates that 10% of the irrigated land area (producing as much as 40% of the total annual revenue from irrigated land) could be adversely affected by root zone salinity resulting from the adoption of precision irrigation within Australia. The cost of increases in root zone salinisation due to inappropriate irrigation management in the Murray and Murrumbidgee irrigation areas was estimated at AUD 245 million (in 2000/01) or 13.5% of the revenue from these cropping systems. A review of soil–water and solute movement under precision irrigation systems highlights the gaps in current knowledge including the mismatch between the data required by complex, process-based soil–water or solute simulation models and the data that is easily available from soil survey and routine soil analyses. Other major knowledge gaps identified include: (a) effect of root distribution, surface evaporation and plant transpiration on soil wetted patterns, (b) accuracy and adequacy of using simple mean values of root zone soil salinity levels to estimate the effect of salt on the plant, (c) fate of solutes during a single irrigation and during multiple irrigation cycles, and (d) effect of soil heterogeneity on the distribution of water and solutes in relation to placement of water. Opportunities for research investment are identified across a broad range of areas including: (a) requirements for soil characterisation, (b) irrigation management effects, (c) agronomic responses to variable water and salt distributions in the root zone, (d) potential to scale or evaluate impacts at various scales, (e) requirements for simplified soil–water and solute modelling tools, and (f) the need to build skills and capacity in soil–water and solute modelling.

Nitrogênio e água como fatores de produtividade do trigo no cerrado

Visando avaliar os efeitos do manejo da irrigação e de doses de nitrogênio na produtividade de duas cultivares de trigo e seus componentes, conduziram-se dois experimentos na Embrapa Arroz e Feijão, em Santo Antônio de Goiás, GO, em plantio direto, na palhada da cultura da soja em um dos quais o reinício da irrigação se dava na tensão matricial de 40 kPa e, no outro, na de 60 kPa. O delineamento experimental em ambos os experimentos foi o de blocos ao acaso, com parcelas subdivididas e quatro repetições. Nas parcelas foram estabelecidas cinco doses de nitrogênio em cobertura: 0, 50, 100, 150 e 200 kg ha-1 e, nas subparcelas, as cultivares EMBRAPA 22 e EMBRAPA 42. A tensão matricial de 60 kPa foi mais adequada para o manejo da irrigação no trigo, de vez que não afetou sua produtividade nem a qualidade mas utilizou menor lâmina total de água. A dose de nitrogênio em cobertura que proporcionou a máxima eficiência técnica, foi de 73 kg ha-1. O teor de proteína bruta aumentou com o incremento de nitrogênio, enquanto o incremento da freqüência de irrigação e de nitrogênio diminuiu o peso hectolítrico.

マメ科草生マルチ水稲栽培における潅水管理が水稲生育，収量，外観品質および食味に与える影響

マメ科草生マルチ水稲栽培における潅水管理が水稲生育，収量，外観品質および食味に与える影響

Irrigation Management of Peanut with a Moving Sprinkler System: Runoff, Yield, and Water Use Efficiency

Irrigation of peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) with a moving sprinkler irrigation system (MSIS) could affect runoff, evaporation, and crop yield. The objective was to determine the effects of irrigation management on soil water withdrawal, runoff, peanut yield and quality, and irrigation water use efficiency (WUE). Peanut was grown in a commercial field on a loess soil that is sensitive to seal formation and runoff. Irrigations were applied once every 3 or 7 d during the vegetative stage, and each of these treatments was subdivided into three irrigation‐frequency treatments of 3, 7, and 10 d during the flowering and pod‐filling stages. The total water applied in the various irrigation treatments, based on the soil moisture deficit up to field capacity, ranged from 575 to 648 mm. The lower the irrigation frequency, the smaller was the amount of water applied. During the vegetative stage, irrigation every 3 d led to faster coverage of the soil surface by the peanut canopy and reduced the amount of runoff by 60 mm compared with irrigation every 7 d. Pod yields in the various treatments ranged from 602 to 651 g m−2, but the differences were statistically insignificant. Decreasing the irrigation frequencies during the vegetative and pod‐filling stages increased the WUE. Since peanut yield was insignificantly affected by the irrigation frequency, the enhanced WUE must have been due to reduced water losses during the irrigation season. The water saving through reduced runoff at the high irrigation frequencies may be canceled by higher losses through evaporation from the soil, interception by the canopy, and water removal by wind. One also has to consider the additional labor requirement and nonirrigating movements of the MSIS under high‐frequency irrigation management; these are factors that detract from the advantages of the MSIS.