Impact of Micro Irrigation on the Growth and Yield of Tomatoes in Sandy Loam Soil

Santosh D.T.
DOI:10.30954/2347-9655.02.2023.3

Abstract:

A study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of drip emitters and micro sprinklers under field conditions

for cultivating tomatoes, with a focus on improving irrigation efficiency and minimizing field losses. The

investigation involved assessing moisture distribution patterns for both micro-irrigation techniques. The

data on moisture content before and after irrigation were scrutinized, and soil moisture contour maps

for the longitudinal cross-section were created using the “Surfer” software. Results indicated that the

drip system displayed a uniformity coefficient of 89.25% at 1.2 kg/cm^₂, while the micro sprinkler system

exhibited uniformity coefficients of 89.80% and 88.50% at 25cm and 50cm heights from the ground,

respectively. The coefficient of manufacturing variation was low (0.048) in the drip irrigation system at

1.20 kg/cm². Regarding crop response, notable enhancements in growth parameters and tomato yield

were observed under micro sprinkler irrigation compared to both drip and control treatments. The

micro sprinkler treatment yielded the highest production at 54.3 t/ha, surpassing the drip (53.6 t/ha) and

control (40 t/ha) treatments. Drip irrigation demonstrated the highest water use efficiency (245 kg/ha/

mm), utilizing the least amount of water, including effective rainfall (350 mm). The benefit-cost (B-C) ratio

increased for the micro sprinkler treatment (3.56) compared to drip (3.37) and control (3.07) treatments,

indicating superior economic performance. In summary, the micro sprinkler treatment outperformed

the drip plots in terms of yield and cost-effectiveness, despite the drip treatment exhibiting higher water

use efficiency.