Abstract

CHAVEZ, Carlos; FUENTES, Carlos  and  VENTURA RAMOS, Eusebio. Water use efficiency in furrow irrigation with application of gypsum and polyacrylamide. Terra Latinoam [online]. 2010, vol.28, n.3, pp.231-238. ISSN 2395-8030.

Furrow irrigation systems show low efficiency in their application. This can be translated as a greater amount of water necessary to satisfy the crop demand. The use of conditioners such as polyacrylamide (PAM) and gypsum in the soil significantly reduce water consumption, because they modify the structure of the top soil layer decreasing water loss through evaporation and allowing better absorption of water by plants. This paper evaluates water use efficiency of furrow irrigation in two typical plots using the universal soil loss equation (USLE). The plots were planted with Avena sativa at a rate of 120 kg ha^-1. In the first control plot nothing was applied, while in the second 20 kg ha^-1 of PAM and 5 Mg ha^-1 of calcium sulfate dihydrate were applied. Volumetric moisture content of soil, height and SPAD readings plants were measured. Irrigation was applied in each plot when soil reached 35% available water, for a total of four in the treated plot and five in the control plot, reducing the calculated laminar flow by 10 cm: a savings of 20% of the total volume. Dry matter yield in the treated plot was 20.95 Mg ha^-1, 5.54 Mg ha^-1 more than in the control plot. Crop production water efficiency in the treated plot was 6.49 kg m^-3, which is 1.72 kg m^-3 higher than the control plot.

Keywords : conditioners of ground; ground; Avena sativa; furrow irrigation; yield.

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