The Effects of Deficit Irrigation and Irrigation Interval on Yield and above ground Biomass of Haricot Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) at Adami Tullu, Oromia, Ethiopia.

Water Resources Engineering and Management

Abstract

This study assessed the response of haricot bean to deficit irrigation and irrigation intervals (II) at Adami Tullu, Oromia, Ethiopia using a factorial experiment.  The treatments were comprised of factorial combinations of two factors: four levels of water application (100%ETc, 85%ETc, 70%ETc, and 50%ETc) and three IIs (3 days, 5 days and 7 days). The experiment was replicated three times and the treatments were placed in each block in a randomized manner. Analyses of Variance (ANOVA) was used to analyze the results of the study and it showed highly significant (P < 0.05) differences among values of yield, above ground biomass and wateruse efficiency (WUE) under the considered treatments. The highest yield was obtained under 100%ETc with 3 days II; the lowest yield was obtained under 50%ETc with 7 days II. In terms of crop and field wateruse efficiencies (CWUE and FWUE, respectively), 50%ETc with 3 days II gave the highest CWUE and FWUE values (0.54kg/m³ and 0.38kg/m³, respectively). The lowest values of CWUE and FWUE were obtained under100%ETc with 7 days II (0.32kg/m³ and 0.26kg/m³, respectively). In general, 85%ETc with 5 days II could be recommended in the study area for optimum production under water scarce condition.