INFLUENCE OF USING AUTOMATIC IRRIGATION SYSTEM AND ORGANIC FERTILIZER TREATMENTS ON FABA BEAN WATER PRODUCTIVITY

Abstract

Egypt faces challenges to irrigation water shortage concerns because of its arid region location, which requires the use of modern irrigation systems, and appropriate agriculture management especially in sandy soils, to improve the soil and to avoid water stress. Field experiments were carried out at the NRC farm of research and production in Nubaria, Egypt, during the winter season 2017/2018 and 2018/2019 in a sandy soil cultivated by faba bean (Vica Faba L.) (G843 Variety), using the drip irrigation system with four different irrigation levels of the ET₀ 35, 65, 100 and 135 %, and two rates of Humic Acid Compost Fertilizers (HACF) 40 and 20 kg per feddan. The obtained results indicated that the best production of faba bean was under 40 kg HACF with water treatments ET₀ 100% or 135%. Also, there is no significant difference between the economic faba bean crop data under both two water treatments ET₀ 135% and 100%. Under current experimental conditions, no more than 100% of the Evapotranspiration of water should be added due to the non-response of the crop to additional quantities of water. By increasing the amount of water more than ET₀ 100%, no significant increase resulted in yield and water and fertilizers productivity, therefore, it is not recommended to add more water than ET₀ 100% under this condition. It could be concluded that a large amount of compost with 100% or 65% of ET₀, it was helped to save more water in the sandy soil to avoid water stress on faba bean plants.