Effect of Soil Moisture Stress at Different Growth Stages on Potato Yield and Water Use Efficiency in Wondo Genet Woreda, Sidama Region, Ethiopia
Aregash Deboch Jelos *
Irrigation and Drainage Engineering Research Program, Sidama Agricultural Research Institute, Hawassa Agricultural Research Center, Hawassa, Ethiopia.
Sirak Tekleab Gebrekristos
Center for Water Research, Institute of Water, Environment, and Climate Research (IWECR), Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
A field experiment was conducted to study the influence of soil moisture stress at different growth stages of potato with the objectives of identifying crop growth stages sensitive to soil moisture stress, to determining the critical time for irrigation application under condition of limited water resources. The experimental design was randomized complete block design with three replications and seven treatments. The highest and lowest mean tuber yield was 29.16 t/ha obtained from plants grown under full irrigation condition and the minimum was 10.20 t/ha. Most of the parameters (dependent variable) that are plant height, branch number, tuber number and total tuber yield showed significant(p<0.05) yield in their values as moisture stress increased at different growth stages. Initial and Mid- season growth stage of potato was the most critical stage (causes 65% yield loss) for soil moisture stress followed by development stage (49% yield reduction). The maximum water use efficiency was 7.9 kg/m3 and lowest one was 4.3 kg/m3.
Keywords: Deficit irrigation, potato, growth stages, moisture stress