Ways to Reduce Irrigation Water Consumption when Cultivating Potatoes in the Lower Volga Region

Abstract

Potatoes in the arid zone of southern Russia are grown only under irrigation, using mainly the ridge technology recommended by regional scientific institutions. Greater compaction of heavy loamy light chestnut soils by irrigation requires additional loosening. Cultivating potatoes in beds formed from two paired ridges can increase crop productivity (number and size of tubers) due to the formation of a large tuber nest. The studies were carried out in 2017–2019 in the conditions of the Lower Volga region in order to determine the effect of hilling in ridges and ridges with three common irrigation methods (sprinkling: control, furrow, and drip irrigation) on potato productivity and the efficiency of irrigation water use. Hilling potatoes in beds made it possible to significantly increase its yield compared to hilling in ridges by 2.5–3.9 t/ha. The maximum harvest of tubers, 57.4 t/ha, was observed with a combination of hilling in beds and drip irrigation, which exceeds the harvest when hilling in ridges by 2.5 t/ha and the control option by 28.1 t/ha. Water was supplied to the plants through a drip irrigation system (DIS) at lower irrigation rates. They decreased from 3900 m³/ha with sprinkling (control) to 3210 m³/ha with DIS with hilling in ridges and 3030 m³/ha with hilling in beds. However, it led to an increase in the number of irrigations on average over the years from 6.3–9.3 times with sprinkling and furrow irrigation to 23.3–24.7 times during the growing season of the crop with DIS. The use of drip irrigation and planting potatoes in beds ensured the greatest efficiency in the use of irrigation water: the water consumption coefficient was 104.0 m³/t, which is 51% lower than the same coefficient with sprinkling.