Effect of irrigation regime on yield component and water use efficiency of tomato at Ataye irrigation scheme, Ataye Ethiopia

The importance of an irrigation regime is that it enables the irrigator to apply the exact amount of water to achieve optimum production and minimize adverse environmental impact. In the study area, the amount of irrigation and the frequency of application are not well determined, and the farmers are unaware of how much water and when to apply for tomato crops. Therefore, the objective of this study is to quantify the effects of irrigation regimes on yield and yield components of tomatoes in lowland areas of Ethiopia. The treatments were factorial combinations of five irrigation depths (50, 75, 100, 125, and 150 % of ETc) and three irrigation intervals and laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The collected data were analyzed using R-software and significant treatment means separated using the least significant difference at 5 %. According to the findings, irrigation level and frequency had a significant (P< 0.05) effect on marketable fruit yield, water use efficiency, and plant height of tomatoes. The highest and lowest yields were 54.49 t/ha and 37.89 t/ha respectively. The optimum yield (48.5 t/ha) and water use efficiency (10.79kgm-3) were obtained from 75% ETc before the 3-day interval. Therefore, for the study area and similar agro-ecologies, tomatoes can be irrigated with 376.72 mm net irrigation depth with 33.64 mm and 5-day interval, 60.54 mm and 9-das interval, 94.18 mm and 14-day interval, 94.18 mm and 14-days interval, and 94.18 mm and 14-days irrigation interval at initial, development one, development two, mid and late stages of tomatoes crop respectively and saving 3127.33 m3 water to irrigate an additional 0.59 ha to achieve a yield of 29.00 t/ha for the user without a high yield penalty.