Effect of Using Reclaimed Water via Furrow and Subsurface Drip Systems under Alternate Partial Root-Zone Irrigation Mechanism on Crops Growth and Soil Properties

Abstract

Abstract The growing population in conjunction with water scarcity forces us to search for alternative sources of irrigation water and integrate it with irrigation strategies for agricultural expansion to meet sustainable development objectives. For this purpose, a field experiment was conducted over three years (2017, 2018, and 2019) to investigate the effect of water quality (reclaimed water (RW) and freshwater (CW)), irrigation techniques (subsurface drip irrigation (SDI and Furrow irrigation (FUI)), irrigation methods (Full irrigation (FI) and alternate partial root-zone irrigation (APRI (70% ETc)), and their interactions on the fresh fruit yield (FY), irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE), and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) of tomatoes. As well as evaluate the effects of these experimental factors on soil properties regard to electrical conductivity (EC), pH, and organic matter (OM) of Soil. The experiment was undertaken over three growing spring seasons in China. There were eight treatments in the experiment. For all three years, the yield, IWUE, and NUE values of all treatments under RW were high compared with the corresponding values under CW. The same occurred under SDI compared with FUI. Analysis of variances showed that there was no significant effect (P > 0.05) of water quality, irrigation technique, and irrigation methods on the soil EC, PH, and OM over the three years. In addition, there was no significant effect (P> 0.05) on the interaction between the experimental factors over the three years. In conclusion, the application of RW under SDI can result in saving CW and increasing productivity without any negative effect on the investigated soil properties, as well as, when RW-SDI is used in conjunction with APRI, it can result in increasing IWUE.