Determination of Optimal Irrigation Scheduling for Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) at Dubti, Afar National Regional State of Ethiopia

Irrigation means applying adequate water at the right time to crops in the right amount. Irrigation timetable is essential for the development of best irrigated area management practices. A significant concern has become the sustainable use of water in agriculture. The adoption of irrigation water saving and the maintenance of acceptable yields could help preserve this ever more restricted resource In most cases, its humidity before and after irrigation has not been checked in Ethiopia. Although irrigation has been practiced for a long time, farmers have limited experience of this. It is therefore very important to monitor soil moisture levels for effective management of irrigation water. For three successive years, a field study was conducted to determine the optimum irrigation schedule for sesame production at Dubti. The study's goals were to evaluate the effect of different irrigation regime (different levels of depletion of soil moisture) on yield and efficiency of sesame adi variety use of water. The treatments were established based on the levels of depletion of soil moisture for sesame (MAD= 0.60). Five levels of depletion of soil moisture were then selected to evaluate the optimum irrigation schedule, namely SMD1 (60%), SMD2 (80%), SMD3 (100%), SMD4 (120%) and SMD5 (140% of the recommended value, 0.60). The result showed that SMD4 has increased the yield and water use efficiency of sesame on a sandy loam textured soil significantly (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the total requirement for crop water was 585.50 mm. However, the lower level of depletion of soil moisture below the recommended value (SMD1 and SMD2) resulted in lower efficiency of both yield and use of crop water. Keywords:Dubti, Irrigation scheduling, Sesame, Water use Efficiency. DOI: 10.7176/IEL/9-3-03 Publication date: April 30th 201