Evaluation of Rice production in Iraq under subsurface drip irrigation system

Abstract

Due to the conditions of water scarcity that Iraq suffers from as a result of climatic changes (global warming) and the lack of water revenues coming to the Tigris and Euphrates rivers through the upstream countries. This has led to a direct impact on agricultural production in general and for some strategic crops such as rice crop in particular, which is represented by the fluctuation of its production or the ban on its cultivation. Here, the need arises for the use of modern technologies that guarantee the reduction of large losses in irrigation water associated with irrigating the rice crop (the immersion method) and the continuation of its production in the dry seasons. Therefore, a field experiment was conducted, which is the first of its kind in Iraq, in the College of Agricultural Engineering Sciences / University of Baghdad, Al-Jadriya region, in 2020. To study the possibility of successful cultivation of rice crop by dry farming method using subsurface drip irrigation system and to evaluate the effect of irrigation interval on some soil characteristics and rice yield of Oryza sativa L. yassamen cultivar, the irrigation interval was studied in three levels: one day, two days, and three days. And study its effect on soil moisture content (PW), amount of water added, flag leaf area, grain yield. The results showed the superiority of the daily irrigation interval by achieving the highest soil moisture content (PW) of 21.62%, and the lowest amount of water added was 15361 m³.ha^-1, the highest area of ​​the flag leaf was 29.84 cm², and the highest grain yield was 3.801 tons.ha^-1. Based on what the results of the experiment showed, we recommend cultivating the rice crop using the dry cultivation method under the sub-surface drip irrigation system for the success of its cultivation in this way.