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Background
Zucchini is a popular summer crop regularly grown by local farmers under rainfed conditions in the arid regions of the fertile crescent that extends from northern Iraq to northern Jordan and Palestine. However, the plant production is subjected to high risk due to rainfall quantitative and temporal variability.
Aims
The aim of this study is to evaluate the growth and yield of two zucchini varieties under rainfed conditions with partial irrigation using two irrigation systems, namely pitcher irrigation and drip irrigation, operated on gravity.
Methods
A complete block design experiment was carried out in the field having deep clay soil and of 250-m2 area. Two varieties of Zucchini (Amira F1 hybrid and Anita F1 Hybrid) and two irrigation systems (automated drip system and pitcher irrigation) were used in the experiment plus a control in triplicates. The experiment was conducted under rainfed conditions with partial irrigation during the hot months of the season.
Methods
A complete block design experiment was carried out in the field having deep clay soil and of 250-m2 area. Two varieties of Zucchini (Amira F1 hybrid and Anita F1 Hybrid) and two irrigation systems (automated drip system and pitcher irrigation) were used in the experiment plus a control in triplicates. The experiment was conducted under rainfed conditions with partial irrigation during the hot months of the season.
Results
Partial irrigation increased the average zucchini yield for both varieties by about 18% compared to rainfed more so for the drip irrigation. However, experimental results revealed that the influence of variety was more significant than partial irrigation. The fruit yield and dry matter yield of Amira F1 Hybrid (Z1) under rainfed condition were 3783 kg/D (D: Donum = 1000 m2) and 479 kg/D compared to 2298 kg/D and 292 kg/D for variety Anita F1 Hybrid (Z2), respectively. Higher differences between Z1 and Z2 were observed in the case of partial irrigation. For pitcher irrigation, the fruit yield and dry matter yield of Z1 were 87% and 68% higher than Z2. Whereas, in the case of drip irrigation, the corresponding increases of Z1 compared to Z2 were 83% and 91%. Similar trend between the two varieties was obtained for the number of fruit per plant except that the number of fruit for plant grown with pitcher irrigation, 12.2/plant, was slightly higher, P<0.15, than drip irrigation of 9.9 fruit/plant.
Conclusion
The yield of zucchini cultivation in drylands increased significantly with partial irrigation during the hot months of the growing season and also by choosing appropriate cultivars.
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ARID LANDS
DESERT TECHNOLOGY XV
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