Sustainable management of olive trees under saline irrigation and soil conditions using micro-irrigation systems and remote sensing

Abstract The study was carried out to examine the sustainable management of irrigation water for olive cultivation in sandy soils with varying levels of water salinity at a farm situated in the Regwa region of EL-Beheira Governorate, Egypt, which is noted for its arid climate, aiming to improve the effective utilization of sustainable ecosystems while optimizing economic returns for agricultural producers. Field experiments were implemented over two successive growing seasons, specifically 2022–2023 and 2023–2024, employing seven distinct irrigation methodologies: micro-sprinklers, T-tape GR drippers, Root Zone Watering System (RZWS), inline drippers, inline PC drippers, mist sprayers, and bubblers. In the 2022–2023 season, the inline dripper treatment yielded the highest output of 13.78 ton ha −1 , followed by the inline PC dripper and micro-sprinkler systems, which yielded 13.20 ton ha −1 and 12.45 ton ha −1 , respectively. In contrast, the mist sprayer treatment produced the lowest yield at 7.61 ton ha −1 . The oil content in olive fruits reached optimal levels under bubbler and inline PC dripper treatments in the second growing season at 40.0% and 39.87%, respectively. Conversely, the minimum oil content was recorded under micro-sprinkler and inline dripper treatments in the first growing season, yielding 34.31% and 34.36%, respectively. During the first growing season, the inline dripper exhibited irrigation water productivities (IWPs) of 31.60 kg m −3 , followed by the inline PC dripper with an IWP of 30.28 kg m −3 . In stark contrast, the mist sprayer reported the lowest IWPs of 0.74 kg m −3 in the second growing season. The distribution patterns of soil moisture and salinity within the root zone were analyzed utilizing Surfer software. The most significant net farm income (NFI) was attained under the inline PC dripper treatment, with an NFI of 38,664.35 US$ y −1 , succeeded by the inline dripper and micro-sprinkler treatments with NFIs of 36,010.95 and 30,265.94 US$ y −1 , respectively; the mist sprayer demonstrated the lowest NFI at 17,186.49 US$ y −1 .