Water 2018, 10(6), 711; https://doi.org/10.3390/w10060711
Effects of Alternate Wetting and Drying Irrigation Regime and Nitrogen Fertilizer on Yield and Nitrogen Use Efficiency of Irrigated Rice in the Sahel
Koffi Djaman 1,*
, Valere C. Mel 2, Lamine Diop 3, Abdoulaye Sow 2, Raafat El-Namaky 2, Baboucarr Manneh 2, Kazuki Saito 4, Koichi Futakuchi 4 and Suat Irmak 5
, Valere C. Mel 2, Lamine Diop 3, Abdoulaye Sow 2, Raafat El-Namaky 2, Baboucarr Manneh 2, Kazuki Saito 4, Koichi Futakuchi 4 and Suat Irmak 51
Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, New Mexico State University, Agricultural Science Center at Farmington P.O. Box 1018, Farmington, NM 87499-1018, USA
2
Africa Rice Center, Senegal Station, P.O. Box 96 Saint Louis, Senegal
3
UFR S2ATA, “Sciences Agronomiques, de l’Aquaculture et des Technologies Alimentaires”, Universite’ Gaston Berger, BP 234 Saint-Louis, Senegal
4
Africa Rice Center, M’be Station, 01 B.P. 2551, Bouake 01, Cote d’Ivoire
5
Department of Biological Systems Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68583-0726, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 23 April 2018 / Revised: 23 May 2018 / Accepted: 29 May 2018 / Published: 31 May 2018
(This article belongs to the Section Water Use and Scarcity)
Abstract
The objectives of this study were to investigate water saving strategies in the paddy field and to evaluate the performance of some of the newly released rice varieties. Field experiments were conducted at Fanaye in the Senegal River Valley during two rice growing seasons in 2015. Three irrigation regimes ((i) continuous flooding, (ii) trigging irrigation at soil matric potential (SMP) of 30 kPa, (iii) trigging irrigation at SMP of 60 kPa) were tested in an irrigated lowland rice field. Irrigation regimes (ii) and (iii) are alternate wetting and drying (AWD) cycles. Four inbred rice varieties (NERICA S-21, NERICA S-44, Sahel 210 and Sahel 222) and one hybrid rice (Hybrid AR032H) were evaluated under five nitrogen fertilizer rates (0, 50, 100, 150 and 200 kg N ha−1). The results showed that rice yield varied from 0.9 to 12 t ha−1. The maximum yield of 12 t ha−1 was achieved by NERICA S-21 under AWD 30 kPa at 150 kg N ha−1. The AWD irrigation management at 30 kPa resulted in increasing rice yield, rice water use and nitrogen use efficiency and reducing the irrigation applications by 27.3% in comparison with continuous flooding. AWD30 kPa could be adopted as a water saving technology for water productivity under paddy production in the Senegal River Middle Valley. Additional research should be conducted in the upper Valley, where soils are sandier and water is less available, for the sustainability and the adoption of the irrigation water saving practices across the entire Senegal River Valley. View Full-Text
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Djaman, K.; Mel, V.C.; Diop, L.; Sow, A.; El-Namaky, R.; Manneh, B.; Saito, K.; Futakuchi, K.; Irmak, S. Effects of Alternate Wetting and Drying Irrigation Regime and Nitrogen Fertilizer on Yield and Nitrogen Use Efficiency of Irrigated Rice in the Sahel. Water 2018, 10, 711.
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