Effects of Irrigation Methods on Water Productivity, Yield and Growth Characteristics of Pyarom Date Palm

In recent years, larg parts of agricultural lands in the country have been at the risk of degradation because of quantative and qualitative limitations of water resources and soil salinization. Therefore, to increase plant yield per unit of consumed water, proper planning and selection of adaptable irrigation method for optimum use of the limited water resources is necessary. This study was carried out  in randomized complete blocks design with four treatments and three replications at Haji Abad Agricultural Research Station during  four years. The treatments of irrigation included surface (basin) and drip irrigation with irrigation depth equal to 75% and 100% net irrigation requirement based on cumulative evaporation from class A pan. The results showed that effects of irrigation treatments on fruit yield, leaf number, leaflet number, trunk perimeter, and plant canopy area were not significant, probably because the applied water based on pan evaporation was more than the actual plant water requirement. But, there was significant difference between water productivity, at 1% probability level. The maximum and minimum water productivity values were obtained in drip irrigation with irrigation depth equal to 75%  and in the basin irrigation with a depth equal to 100% of the cumulative evaporation from the class A pan, respectively. The drip irrigation treatment with irrigation depth of 75% of cumulative evaporation from the class A pan is recommendable for  date palm plantations.