Effect of Irrigation Method and Non-Uniformity of Irrigation on Potato Performance and Quality

Potato growth, yield, and quality under improved irrigation methods and non-uniformity of their irrigation applications are important to enhance water management in arid regions. A field experiment was conducted in 2014 spring and fall growing seasons using potato (Solanum tuberosum) grown in northern Egypt at Shibin El Kom, Menofia, Egypt to evaluate potato response to furrow or trickle irrigation. A Randomized Split-Plot Design with irrigation method randomly distributed and non-uniformity of irrigation applications evaluated along either irrigation furrow or trickle lateral as dependent variables measured at the 3rd, 13th, 23rd, 33rd, 43rd and 53rd m along the 55 m irrigation line. Traditional (TF) and partial (PF) furrows as well as trickle point (TP) and line (TL) sources were used as irrigation methods. Each treatment was repeated three times. For a 33rd m treatment, seasonal optimum water use by potato was 328, 234, 269 and 292 mm over 118 days in spring and 200, 164, 178 and 186 mm over 122 days in fall under TF, PF, TP and TL irrigation methods, respectively. Potato tuber yield and quality were significantly affected by growing season (S), irrigation method (I) and non-uniformity of irrigation application (U). Tuber yield, total soluble solid (TSS) and leaf area index (LAI) were significantly affected by I and U, and their interaction I * U;harvest index (HI) was not affected by I but U. Except for TSS by S * I and HI by U * I and S * I, results showed no significant differences. Moreover, tuber weight, number and marketable yield were significantly affected by S, I, U and I * U interaction, except medium tuber size and culls by S. A given 33rd treatment under partial furrow and trickle irrigation, relative to that of traditional furrow, enhanced tuber yield and improved quality in both growing seasons. In non-un- iform irrigation application over two growing seasons, potato crop response was developed under varied irrigation methods. Tuber yields were significantly affected in a linear relationship (r2 ≥ 0.75) by either water deficit or excessive water under irrigation methods.

Use fuzzy interface systems to optimize land suitability evaluation for surface and trickle irrigation

In this study fuzzy logic system was used for optimization parametric evaluation system in surface and trickle irrigations.This study was performed on a surface area of 5175 ha in fathali region located in Ardabil province of Iran.It was indicated that for trickle and surface irrigation respectively an area of about 2941.35 ha(56.77%)and 159.81 ha(3%)of the lands is“highly suitable”and an area of about 246.43 ha(4.7%)and 312.69 ha(6%)is“moderately suitable”.About 797.1 ha(15.4%)and 2744.17 ha(53.02%)were respectively“marginally suitable”for trickle and surface irrigations.“Currently not suitable”suitability included about 737.58 ha(14.2%)and 1746.05 ha(33.7%)and“Permanently not suitable”suitability matched 458.54 ha(8.86%)and 212.28 ha(4.1%)in the zone under study.According to the results,there is a major difference between the“highly suitable”lands obtained through the two methods and the area of“highly suitable”lands in the trickle method is about 18 times of the area of“highly suitable”obtained through the surface irrigation method.As a result,considering the gradual changes of soil parameters,fuzzy evaluation leads to more accuracy compared to the parametric non fuzzy method.By and large,it can be said that fuzzy method,shows higher qualities about the suitability of lands for trickle irrigation.