2024 Volume 15 Issue 2 Pages 73-80
The Tadla region, in Morocco, is experiencing recurring water shortages and drought years due to climate change and increased water demand. The irrigation sector is the largest water user in the region and many farmers practice furrow irrigation methods with low water application efficiency. Consequently, it is essential to prioritize sustainable crop production practices and efficient water use. The focus should be on maximizing crop production without exceeding the limited available water resources or reducing the cropping area. Therefore, this study aimed to reveal the extent to which the use of partial drip irrigation can mitigate water shortages in the Beni Amir irrigation scheme in terms of water delivery performance (WDP) indicators including adequacy, equity, and dependability. Also, crop production was assessed using the result of WDP and the concept of yield reduction rate in response to water availability. We analyzed the WDP of the prevailing furrow irrigation method with the proposed partial drip method, which irrigates only tree crops and furrows for other crops. The meteorological, hydrological, and agronomic data were collected to calculate the amount of water supply and demand, which are necessary to assess WDP for the dry seasons (April-September) of 2016, 2017, and 2018. The results showed that under the current furrow irrigation scheme 19-35% less water was supplied than required, and when the same amount of water was allocated to the irrigation scheme using the proposed partial drip method, the water supplied was sufficient to meet irrigation water requirements in all years. The proposed partial drip irrigation method also improved not only the adequacy but also the equity and reliability of the scheme’s water delivery. In addition, the improvement in WDP reduced the rate of yield reduction and increased crop production by about 20% to 30%.
