Water usage and water use efficiency of drip-irrigated tomato under deficit irrigation

Abstract: Efficient irrigation is essential for sustainable use of available water resources. A field experiment was conducted on two tomato cultivars (Melka Shola and Melkassa Marglobe) and four irrigation deficit levels (0%ET_c, 25%ET_c, 50%ET_c, and 75%ET_c). The objective was to determine crop factor (Kf) and water use efficiency (WUE). The K_cf values of 0.62, 0.65, 0.70, and 0.71 during the respective four growth stages of the crop were determined. The highest (91.23 kg ha¹ mm¹) and lowest (81.62 kg ha¹ mm¹) water use efficiencies were recorded in 25 and 0% deficit levels, respectively. The yield and WUE of Melka Shola cultivar was higher than that of Melkassa Marglobe. Generally, it was found that irrigating the tomato crop with 75% of ET_c (i.e. 25%ET_c deficit) is the best irrigation practice in the area. In terms of both yield and WUE, Melka Shola tomato cultivar was found to perform better than Melkassa Marglobe.