Determination of applied water and water productivity in saffron fields in Khorasan Razavi province

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Assistant Professor of Agricultural Engineering Research Department, Khorasan Razavi Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Iran.

Abstract

Regarding the volume of irrigation water in the agricultural sector, the figures presented in the country are very different and there are serious doubts about their accuracy. Therefore, the main purpose of this research project is direct measurement and irrigation water fields of saffron cultivation under farmers' management. Thus, the volume of water used for saffron production in major cities of Khorasan Razavi province (Torbat-e-Heydariyeh, Zaveh and Gonabad) was measured in 18 questionnaires. The results of field measurements showed that the highest volume of saffron irrigation water belongs to surface irrigation at 4691 cubic meters per hectare and the lowest is related to irrigation with Piflex pipes at 3713 cubic meters per hectare and roll irrigation with irrigation water volume of 3900 Cubic meters per hectare was ranked second. The volume of saffron irrigation water in Torbat-e-Heydariyeh, Zaveh and Gonabad cities was 4974, 4816 and 4517 cubic meters per hectare, respectively. The average yield of saffron in Zaveh and Torbat-e Heydarieh counties was 7.3 kg / ha and in Gonabad county was 5 kg / ha. The highest water consumption efficiency in Zaveh city was 0.001669 kg / m3 and the lowest was related to Gonabad city (0.001076 kg / m3). Application efficiency based on ten-year statistics in Zaveh, Torbat-e Heydarieh and Gonabad counties was 51, 49 and 87%, respectively.

Keywords

Main Subjects