Effect of deficit drip irrigation on yield and water productivity of potato crop

On the eve of changing climate, it is expected that there will be a competition to reallocate water for agricultural, industrial and urban needs in near future. Thus, in view of the increased water scarcity, an adequate management for water application is required to maximize water use and increase yield. In this regard, a field trial comprising four deficit drip irrigation treatments on potato crop under drip irrigation was conducted in filed condition using RCB design with four replications. Cropwat 8.0 program was used to determine the interval and depth of next irrigation at 15, 30, 45 & 60% management allowable depletion (MAD) of soil moisture. The outcomes indicated that irrigation to potato crop at 30% MAD level gave the highest water productivity (17.28 kg/m3) followed by 60, 15 and 45% MAD levels. Maximum %age of medium sized tuber was achieved by applying irrigation to potato crop at 60% MAD level (65.70) followed by 30% MAD level (65.5), 45% MAD (64.0) and 15% MAD level (60.50). The incidence of scab was found 2.50%, 2.75%, 3.25% and 3.75% in potato tubers at 15, 30, 45 and 60% MAD level, respectively. Thus, growers can save the water by adopting this water saving technique without reduction in tuber yield. For proper adaptation of new technique and practice, common farmer of Pakistan should be educated in term of visits to govt. research institutions and adoptive research farms to understand the right step to words better yield.