Long-term effects of using controlled drainage on: Crop yields and soil salinity in Egypt

Egypt suffers from a lack of rainwater and hot weather most of the year, which represents a challenge to the current trend to achieve optimum utilization of newly reclaimed land. Egypt’s agriculture depends on irrigation that consumes about 85% of the available water resources. How this problem is m...

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Main Authors: Eman Mostafa Foda, Mohamed Mohamed Foad Sobeih, Gehan Abd El - Hakeem Salam, Ashraf Fathy Saber Ellayn, Yasser Mohamed Atta
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2020-01-01
Series:Water Science
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/11104929.2020.1807169
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author Eman Mostafa Foda
Mohamed Mohamed Foad Sobeih
Gehan Abd El - Hakeem Salam
Ashraf Fathy Saber Ellayn
Yasser Mohamed Atta
author_facet Eman Mostafa Foda
Mohamed Mohamed Foad Sobeih
Gehan Abd El - Hakeem Salam
Ashraf Fathy Saber Ellayn
Yasser Mohamed Atta
author_sort Eman Mostafa Foda
collection DOAJ
description Egypt suffers from a lack of rainwater and hot weather most of the year, which represents a challenge to the current trend to achieve optimum utilization of newly reclaimed land. Egypt’s agriculture depends on irrigation that consumes about 85% of the available water resources. How this problem is managed is the aim of the study, where the controlled drainage (CD) application was evaluated as a water-saving tool and the long-term impacts of using such practice on crop productivity and soil salinity were predicted using DRAINMOD-S for El-Tina plain in the northwestern corner in Sinai. Soil texture of the plain varies between sandy loam to clay. Collected data of wheat and corn as winter and summer crops, respectively, were used to check the model reliability. The water table fluctuations were monitored on a daily basis. At the same time, drains discharges and salinities were also monitored during the whole growing season. The salinities of the topsoil till 1.0 m depth were measured. The obtained results from the model were assessed compared with the observed values of the daily water table fluctuations; lateral discharges, salt concentrations in the soil profile, and relative crop yield during each season. Simulation results satisfactorily matched the data collected from the field. Simulation values obtained for 10 years indicated that the average quantity of drain discharge increased by increasing the managed drainage depth which makes (CD) a promising tool for regulating the draining intensity, a remarkable increase in the soil salinity of the root zone will take place if the irrigation water salinity reaches values above 800 ppm, and consequently the high irrigation water salinity values will badly affect most of the crops that grow normally in the field under study except the high salt tolerance ones as wheat. A noticeable decrease in crop yields will be the inevitable result if both the managed drainage depth and water salinity are increased. The outputs of the study can be considered as guidelines for how to utilize the controlled drainage application under Egyptian conditions.
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spelling doaj.art-d6714fa8d95e4071897ccf7c18ce4b2e2022-12-22T02:36:04ZengTaylor & Francis GroupWater Science2357-00082020-01-0134114315410.1080/11104929.2020.1807169Long-term effects of using controlled drainage on: Crop yields and soil salinity in EgyptEman Mostafa Foda0Mohamed Mohamed Foad Sobeih1Gehan Abd El - Hakeem Salam2Ashraf Fathy Saber Ellayn3Yasser Mohamed Atta4Civil Engineer, Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, Embaba, Giza, EgyptProf. of Hydraulics, Faculty of Engineering, Menoufia University, EgyptAssoc. Prof., Drainage Research Institute (DRI), National Water Research Center, Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, EgyptLecturer, Faculty of Engineering, Menoufia University, EgyptAssoc. Prof., Drainage Research Institute (DRI), National Water Research Center, Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, EgyptEgypt suffers from a lack of rainwater and hot weather most of the year, which represents a challenge to the current trend to achieve optimum utilization of newly reclaimed land. Egypt’s agriculture depends on irrigation that consumes about 85% of the available water resources. How this problem is managed is the aim of the study, where the controlled drainage (CD) application was evaluated as a water-saving tool and the long-term impacts of using such practice on crop productivity and soil salinity were predicted using DRAINMOD-S for El-Tina plain in the northwestern corner in Sinai. Soil texture of the plain varies between sandy loam to clay. Collected data of wheat and corn as winter and summer crops, respectively, were used to check the model reliability. The water table fluctuations were monitored on a daily basis. At the same time, drains discharges and salinities were also monitored during the whole growing season. The salinities of the topsoil till 1.0 m depth were measured. The obtained results from the model were assessed compared with the observed values of the daily water table fluctuations; lateral discharges, salt concentrations in the soil profile, and relative crop yield during each season. Simulation results satisfactorily matched the data collected from the field. Simulation values obtained for 10 years indicated that the average quantity of drain discharge increased by increasing the managed drainage depth which makes (CD) a promising tool for regulating the draining intensity, a remarkable increase in the soil salinity of the root zone will take place if the irrigation water salinity reaches values above 800 ppm, and consequently the high irrigation water salinity values will badly affect most of the crops that grow normally in the field under study except the high salt tolerance ones as wheat. A noticeable decrease in crop yields will be the inevitable result if both the managed drainage depth and water salinity are increased. The outputs of the study can be considered as guidelines for how to utilize the controlled drainage application under Egyptian conditions.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/11104929.2020.1807169Controlled drainagedrainage water managementDRAINMOD-Slong-term simulationshallow water tablewater management systems
spellingShingle Eman Mostafa Foda
Mohamed Mohamed Foad Sobeih
Gehan Abd El - Hakeem Salam
Ashraf Fathy Saber Ellayn
Yasser Mohamed Atta
Long-term effects of using controlled drainage on: Crop yields and soil salinity in Egypt
Water Science
Controlled drainage
drainage water management
DRAINMOD-S
long-term simulation
shallow water table
water management systems
title Long-term effects of using controlled drainage on: Crop yields and soil salinity in Egypt
title_full Long-term effects of using controlled drainage on: Crop yields and soil salinity in Egypt
title_fullStr Long-term effects of using controlled drainage on: Crop yields and soil salinity in Egypt
title_full_unstemmed Long-term effects of using controlled drainage on: Crop yields and soil salinity in Egypt
title_short Long-term effects of using controlled drainage on: Crop yields and soil salinity in Egypt
title_sort long term effects of using controlled drainage on crop yields and soil salinity in egypt
topic Controlled drainage
drainage water management
DRAINMOD-S
long-term simulation
shallow water table
water management systems
url https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/11104929.2020.1807169
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