EVALUATION OF YIELD AND SOIL WATER BALANCE OF TWO COWPEA VARIETIES UNDER DEFICIT IRRIGATION AND MULCH IN A WEIGHING-TYPE MICRO LYSIMETER

📄 Project Abstract

The field experiment was conducted during the 2011 dry season at the Irrigation Research Fields of the Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR), Samaru, Nigeria, to evaluate yield and soil water balance of two cowpea varieties under deficit irrigation and mulch using locally assembled weighing- type micro lysimeter. The treatments comprised of three levels of irrigation water application depths (50%, 75% and 100% of weekly reference evapotranspiration (WRETo)) and two levels of mulch (No mulch- NM, and black polyethylene mulch -BPM) and two varieties of cowpea (SAMPEA7 and 9) laid in a group balanced block on split-plot design. The result showed that the yield of the cowpea pods ranged from 0.29 t/ha to 1.29 t/ha. The highest yield was obtained from SAMPEA7 treatment irrigated at 100% WRETo with BPM. The drainage depth ranged from 3.9 mm to 89.5 mm with the least value obtained by SAMPEA9 at 50% WRETo and NM. The highest depth was by SAMPEA9 at 100% WRETo and BPM. In comparison, SAMPE...