Enhancing water productivity and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) production through applying different irrigation manners

The availability and quality of irrigation water in Egypt have become major challenges for the agricultural sector. Thus, increasing water productivity and improving irrigation efficiency are critical goals. A field experiment was conducted under Upper Egypt conditions at the El-Mattana Agricultural Research Station, Luxor governorate, Egypt, to evaluate the effects of different irrigation methods traditional furrow irrigation (Ti), surge furrow irrigation (Si), and alternate furrow irrigation (Ai), on water productivity, growth, and yield of wheat in clay loam soil. The wheat cultivar MISR2 (Triticum aestivum L.) was cultivated during the 20/21 and 21/22 growing seasons, using irrigation scheduled after 50% depletion of the soil available water. The results indicated that the treatment of Si produced the greatest plant height (115.0 and 117.7 cm) and grain yield (7.99 and 8.16 t ha⁻¹) for both seasons, respectively. In contrast, the treatment of Ai resulted in the lowest values for these traits (106.4 and 107.2 cm in plant height and 6.94 and 6.24 t ha⁻¹ in grain yield, respectively). The total annual rainfall during the two growing seasons were recorded as 0 mm. The highest amount of irrigation water applied (6522, 6427.2 m³ ha^-1) was recorded with the treatment of Ti; while the lowest amount (5493.6, 5175.1 m³ ha^-1) was recorded with Ai treatments in 20/21, and 21/22 growing seasons, respectively. The highest irrigation water productivity (1.75 kg m^-3 and 1.35 kg m^-3 in the first season and 1.44 kg m^-3 and 1.20 kg m^-3 in the second season under the treatment of Ai and Si, respectively. The treatment of Ai was most effective for saving water, by 15.8% and 19.48% over the two seasons. These results suggesting that an extra irrigation water amount may be saved without any significant loss in yield of wheat when applying Si irrigation method. This research contributes to developing evidence-based irrigation management strategies for improving wheat production in arid regions.