Ingeniería de Sistemas de Riego y Drenaje

Evaluation of Potato Responses to Supplementary Irrigation in Rain-Fed Agriculture at Misrak Azernet Berbere Woreda, Ethiopia

Abstract

Bekele T, Abebo M and Wabala K

In Sub-Saharan countries more than 95% of agricultural practices were laid on rain-fed. Ethiopia is one of the parts of the Sub-Saharan country and its agricultural practice mostly depends on rain-fed farming system. Highly reliance of agriculture on variable rainfall reduces income of farmers which adversely affects economy of the country. The similar climatic variability was happening in the study area in which rain fall doesn’t fulfil the needs crop up to maturity. To address this problem, two years field experiment was conducted at 2015 and 2016 in Misrak Azernet Berbere Woreda, Southern Ethiopia to evaluate the effects of different supplementary irrigation (SI) levels on yield of potato. The experiment laid out in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with five treatments replicated three times. The treatments were:- Rain fed, 100% ET_c (crop evapotranspiration) SI throughout season, 75% of ET_c SI throughout season, 50% of ET_c SI throughout season and 100% ET_c SI starting at flowering stage).The combined yield results show that only rain-fed agriculture through season decreased yield of potato significantly. The maximum yield (45.31 t/ha) was obtained from 100% ET_c Supplementary irrigation throughout season while the minimum yield (24.46 t/ha) was obtained from only rain fed treatment. The yield obtained from 100% of ET_c supplementary irrigation starting from flowering stage was 38.98t/ha which has insignificant yield difference with 100% of ET_c throughout the season (45.31 t/ha). The yields of all supplemented treatments are greater than rain-fed treatment. From these result it can be concluded that supplementing rain fed potato production through irrigation increases yield.