MAXIMIZING IRRIGATION WATER USE EFFICIENCY FOR PEPPER BY USING SANDY SOIL COMPRESSION TECHNIQUE UNDER EL-TAL EL- KABIR CONDITIONS

Optimal management of water and soil is critical for efficiency and productivity in arid and semi-arid areas. This experiment was conducted over two summer seasons (2023 and 2024) in a private farm in El-Tal El-Kabir, Ismailia Governorate, Egypt, using surface drip irrigation with three irrigation levels (IR 100, 75, and 50% of the ETc). The study evaluated the combined effects of soil amendment treatments (T0= clay: 0, humic acid: 0, biochar: 0; T1= clay: 8, humic acid: 10, biochar: 4; T2= clay: 16 t fed-1, humic acid: 20 kg fed-1, biochar: 8 t fed-1) and compression soil levels (0, 4 and 8 passes with a 10 ton roller, at 11% moisture content), on some soil physical properties, quality of peppers, marketable yield, water use efficiency (WUE), irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE) and yield response factor (Ky). The best values for available water, quality parameters and marketable yield were observed at T1, with CP= 4 passes and IR= 100%. While the highest values of WUE and IWUE were 4.04 and 3.55 kg m-3 for 2023, 4.16 and 3.64 kg m-3 for 2024 under T1, CP= 4 passes, and IR= 75%. The lowest Ky values, 0.23 and 0.21, occurred under the same treatment, revealing the crop's resilience to preserve productivity with deficit irrigation water. This study demonstrates that it is possible to save 33% in irrigation water and increase marketable yield by 11% compared to the control treatment when growing summer pepper with T1, CP= 4 passes and IR= 75%. These results underscore the importance of optimizing soil management and irrigation practices to maximize water use efficiency, marketable yield and agricultural sustainability.