Author(s) :

DR ALI UMAR BASHIR, DR ADAM LAWAN NGALA, Dr. Mohammed Modu Maina.

Volume/Issue :

Abstract :

Declining water resources and limited clean water reservoirs call for more efficient water use for future food production. The objective of this research was to compare different irrigation methods based on maize yield components and sandy loam soils. A field experiment was conducted in the 2014 and 2015 dry seasons to study the effect of irrigation methods on maize growth parameters and grain quality. The experiment consisted of furrow, drip, and sprinkler irrigation methods. Growth, yield and yield parameters of maize were recorded during the crop growth and development. Maize kernel quality, the performance of irrigation systems used in terms of uniformity of water distribution, water savings and their irrigation efficiencies were evaluated. The result of the study revealed that the growth, yield and yield parameters were significantly affected by irrigation methods in both growing seasons with better performance from drip compared to sprinkler and furrow irrigation methods. The drip irrigation method has resulted in water savings of 17.31% and 31.75% when compared with sprinkler and furrow irrigation methods, respectively. The uniformity of water distribution was higher in the drip irrigation method with emission uniformity of 91.2% compared to a sprinkler with a coefficient of uniformity of 75% and furrow with distribution uniformity of 75%. The irrigation efficiencies of the drip, sprinkler and furrow irrigation methods used were 80%, 76% and 64% respectively. Maize crops irrigated using the drip irrigation method had the highest contents of carbohydrates, ash and fibre of 73.04%, 2.40% and 2.56%, respectively. The study revealed that the gravity drip irrigation method is the most viable alternative in maize production for the semi-arid region environment of Nigeria for improved yield, higher water savings and higher maize kernel quality.

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