The Effect of Polyethylene Mulching on Water Consumption and The Crop Coefficient of Maize Cultivated in Al Kut City / Wasit Governorate

Abstract

Experiment was conducted to estimate the water consumption of maize Zea maya L. in the field of the College of Agriculture / University of Wasit located at a longitude 45° 50' 33.5"east and N 29° 36' 49.8" norths for the Autumn 2019. The soil texture was sandy loam, to study the effect of the two irrigation methods (basins and furrow irrigation) and soil mulching on the actual water consumption and the crop coefficient Kc of the maize crop. The experiment was designed according to a randomized complete block design RCBD with three replications. The seeds of maize cultivar Fajir were planted 20/7/2019 and harvested on 20/11/2019. The reference water consumption (ETo) was calculated using several equations (Blaney-criddle - Najeab Kharrufa- Jensen Haise -– Penman-Monteith). The results showed that the Najeab Kharrufa equation gave the highest reference water consumption (ETo) which was 1326.02 mm, followed by the Blaney-criddle equation with a value of 1093.17 mm, and Jensen Hess with a value of 1066.13 mm, and the lowest value was for the Penman-Monteith equation 883.9 mm. The results also showed that the highest actual water consumption was for irrigation in basins, where the control basins were 594.78 mm, and the lowest value of nylon furrows was 380.93 mm. The results also showed an increase in the values of the crop coefficient Kc for all treatments as the growing season progressed and reached the highest value in the flowering stage and then decreased in the ripening and harvest stages. The highest values for the Kc during the flowering stage and for the treatments of the basins without mulching ranged from (0.93 - 1.31) and (0.77 - 1.08) for the treatment of furrows without mulching, while the lowest values for the Kc were during germination, as it ranged from (0.12 - 0.16) for all treatments.