Abstract:
Agriculture in arid and semi-arid areas relies heavily on irrigation. However, at present
irrigation water supplies are decreasing resulting in water scarcity and restricting crop
production. The reasons for this are multi-dimensional, but of utmost importance is, low-tech
irrigation water management. Under these conditions, the need to use the available water
economically and efficiently is unquestionable. Deficit irrigation improves water productivity
and irrigation management practices resulting in water saving. Study was undertaken to
investigate the effect of deficit irrigation and furrow irrigation techniques on maize yield and
water productivity on clay loam soil at experimental site of MeARC, Raya Azebo district. The
experimental design was split-plot design in RCBD arrangement with three replications.
Three furrow irrigation techniques, Viz., Alternate, Fixed and Conventional furrow irrigation
techniques as a main plot and two deficit irrigation levels,75% and 50% ETc and a control
irrigation of 100% ETc as sub- plot was used as a treatments. Major measurements included
grain yield, biomass yield and CWP. The result indicated that there were significant (P <
0.05) difference between treatments in major agronomic parameters. The highest grain yield
obtained was 6.32 tons ha-1under CFI with 100% ETc application and the lowest was 3.12
tons ha- 1 under FFI with 50% ETc application. The highest crop water productivity of 2.29 kg
m-3 was obtained under AFI with 50% ETc application. AFI and FFI are ways to save water
than conventional furrow irrigation for dry regions. The interaction between AFI and
irrigation level of 100% ETc application resulted in 50% water saving for 6.96% yield
reduction than CFI with 100% ETc application. Hence, it is recommended as simple and
economically efficient technique in areas with limited water resources for maize production as
it maintains optimum yield as close to fully irrigated farm. The yield loss and other irrigation
expenses would also be compensated by irrigating additional land with the saved water
