Effects of Irrigation Regime and Farm Yard Manure on Yield and Water Use of Lucerne (Medicago sativa L.) on a Salt-affected Clay Soil A.H.A. Baraka, T.E.E.M. Hago and

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted in the University of Khartoum Farm at Shambat for two consecutive seasons (1994/95 and 1995/96) to investigate the effects of irrigation regime and farm yard manure (FYM) on yield, consumptive use and water use efficiency of lucerne in a salt-affected clay soil. The irrigation treatments consisted of irrigating after 8.3 (W1), 12.5 (W2) and 16.7 (W3) cm of water evaporated from a U. S. Class A Pan. These treatments were equivalent to 18.8, 37.5 and 75% of available water depletion, respectively. At each irrigation, the amount of water depleted was added. FYM was either not applied (control, 0F) or applied at a rate of 10 tons/ha (1F). The experiment was laid out in a split-plot design with three replications. The irrigation treatments were designated to the main plots, whereas FYM treatments were allotted to the subplots. The results showed that irrigation treatments significantly (P = 0.05) affected yield, consumptive use and water use efficiency of lucerne, with the light and hence more frequent irrigation (W1) being the superior treatment. The aforementioned treatment increased green and dry forage yields by about 61% and 49%, respectively, in the first season, and by about 41% and 31%, respectively, in the second season in comparison to the heaviest treatment (W3). The influence of FYM on the studied parameters was slight and inconsistent. Some interactive effects were observed.