Sustainable Deficit Irrigation Technique to Enhance “KEITT” Mango Productivity in a Semi-Arid Climate Region

Abstract

Water scarcity necessitates the implementation of various strategies to manage irrigation processes, aiming to optimize water usage for sustainable development, particularly in Semi-Arid regions. This research investigates the impact of using a sustainable deficit irrigation (SDI) technique alongside a drip irrigation system on the efficiency of water use and the growth and productivity of "KEITT" mango trees. The experiment examined four levels of irrigation requirements (IR) at 50%, 60%, 75% and 100%, using four different dripper spacing distances (60, 50, 40 and 30 cm). The average tree productivity during the 2022 season was 26.060, 24.100, 25.740 and 24.330 kg/tree, respectively, while in the 2023 season, it was 25.940, 24.760, 25.250 and 24.380 kg/tree. The average water use efficiency (WUE) values were 4.950, 3.880, 3.240 and 2.320 kg/m³ for the 50%, 60%, 75% and 100% IR treatments, respectively. The results indicated no significant differences in the growth and productivity of the mango crop across different irrigation levels. It was found that irrigating at 50% IR achieved the highest water use efficiency, saving more than 3500 m³ of water per fedden per season. These findings suggest that policymakers can adopt sustainable deficit irrigation techniques to enhance WUE without compromising crop productivity.