Adoption of an intelligent irrigation scheduling technique and its effect on water use efficiency for tomato crops in arid regions

Abstract The intelligent irrigation technique is a valuable tool for scheduling irrigation and quantifying water required by plants. This study was carried out during two successive seasons spanning 2010 and 2011. The main objectives were to investigate the effectiveness of the intelligent irrigation system (IIS) on water use efficiency (WUE), irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE) and to assess its potential for monitoring the water status and irrigation schedule of a tomato crop cultivated under severely arid climate conditions. The intelligent irrigation system was implemented and tested under a drip irrigation system for the irrigation of tomato crops (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill, GS-12). The results obtained with this system were consequently compared with the control system (ICS), which utilized an automatic weather station. The results reveal that plant growth parameters and water conservation were significantly affected by IIS irrigation. The water use efficiency under IIS was generally higher (7.33 kg m -3 ) compared to that under ICS (5.33 kg m -3 ), resulting in maximal water use efficiency for both growing seasons (average 6.44 kg m -3 ). The application of IIS technology therefore provides significant advantages in terms of both crop yield and WUE. In addition, IIS conserves 26% of the total irrigation water compared to the control treatment, and simultaneously generates higher total yields. These results show that this technique could be a flexible, practical tool for improving scheduled irrigation. Hence, this technology can therefore be recommended for efficient automated irrigation systems because it produces higher yield and conserves large amounts of irrigation water. The intelligent irrigation technique may provide a valuable tool for scheduling irrigation in tomato farming and may be extendable for use in other similar agricultural crops