Effect of Irrigation Water Management on Growth of Date Palm offshoots (Phoenix dactylifera) under the River Nile State Conditions*

Abstract

the objective of this study was to investigate the effect of
different irrigation water managements on the vegetative growth of date
palm offshoots. The experimental work was conducted at the Jordanian
Bashair project in the River Nile State, for two consecutive seasons (2007
and 2008). Two irrigation methods were used with three amounts of
irrigation water. The irrigation methods were the conventional basin
system and two bubbler types, a locally made and an imported bubbler
(Rain bird). The amounts of irrigation water were 50%, 75% and 100% of
the crop irrigation requirement, as determined by CROPWAT computer
model version 2003, using the average of 30 years data. Data were
collected on plant height, stem size and number of leaves per offshoot, at
age 12 months. The treatment affected significantly (P< 0.01) the growth
parameters. The imported bubbler gave the highest mean values of
growth parameters, while the basin irrigation gave the lowest values. The
same result was obtained with 100% Etc, compared with 75 % and 50 %
Etc. The interaction of the irrigation system and amount of watering
significantly affected the growth parameters. The imported bubbler with
100% Etc gave the highest average values of growth parameters, and
basin irrigation with 50% Etc showed the lowest values.