Optimizing irrigation scheduling using a drip system to enhance water use efficiency in tomato cultivation

Tahmina Akter; Nargis Akter; Ashutus Singha; Mohammad Nurun Nabi Mazumder

doi:10.31015/2025.2.1

EN

Optimizing irrigation scheduling using a drip system to enhance water use efficiency in tomato cultivation

Abstract

Irrigation scheduling with drip irrigation is a crucial management technique for ensuring optimal soil moisture, thereby promoting plant growth, production, and economic return while enhancing water efficiency. Tomato crops, a mass consumer product grown worldwide, face significant challenges in the Sylhet region due to inefficient water management. To ascertain the best watering schedule for tomato crops based on evapotranspiration, a field experiment was carried out utilizing a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with six treatments and four replications. The six treatments include two irrigation frequencies (daily basis, F1 and every alternate day, F2) with three water doses W1, W2, W3 (i.e., 50%ETc, 75%ETc, 100%ETc). The Penman-Monteith method was used to estimate crop water requirements, and water for farming was applied according to designated schedules. Data analysis using SPSS 23 revealed that the impacts of irrigation frequency and water doses on plant growth, fruit yield, and water use efficiency were significant, except for stem diameter. The plant height, number of fruits, number of flowers, yield, and water use efficiency were increased with increasing water doses and decreased with decreasing water doses. The maximum yield was gained by increasing irrigation frequency at F1 and water dosage at W3, but the highest WUE was obtained at a lower irrigation frequency under the treatment F2, with the highest water dose at W3. The study concluded that the irrigation scheduling F1W3 was the best in balancing tomato productivity, fruit quality, and WUE in this study. The findings of this study will help local farmers make sustainable decisions about their irrigation methods.

Keywords

Irrigation scheduling, Drip irrigation, Water use efficiency, Tomato, Yield

Supporting Institution

We express our appreciation to the Sylhet Agricultural University Research System (SAURes) for providing financial assistance for this research project, which was supported by the UGC.

Ethical Statement

Peer-review Externally peer-reviewed. Conflict of interest The authors state there is no competing interest.

Thanks

The authors thank for receiving National Science, Information and Communication Technology (NSICT) fellowship of the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh for this work.

References

Abdelhady, S. A., El-Azm, N. A. I. A., & El-Kafafi, E. S. H. (2017). Effect of deficit irrigation levels and NPK fertilization rates on tomato growth, yield and fruits quality. Middle East Journal of Agriculture Research, 6(3), 587-604.
Agbemafle, R., Owusu-Sekyere, J., Bart-Plange, A., & Otchere, J. (2014). Effect of deficit irrigation and storage on Physicochemical quality of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. var. Pechtomech). Food Science and Quality Management, 34(10).
Agbna, G. H., Dongli, S., Zhipeng, L., Elshaikh, N. A., Guangcheng, S., & Timm, L. C. (2017). Effects of deficit irrigation and biochar addition on the growth, yield, and quality of tomato. Scientia Horticulturae, 222, 90-101. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2017.05.004
Alemayehu, Y. A., Steyn, J. M., & Annandale, J. G. (2009). FAO-type crop factor determination for irrigation scheduling of hot pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) cultivars. South African Journal of Plant and Soil, 26(3), 186-194. https://doi.org/10.1080/02571862.2009.10639953
Allen, R. G., Pereira, L. S., Raes, D., & Smith, M. (1998). Crop evapotranspiration-Guidelines for computing crop water requirements-FAO Irrigation and drainage paper 56. Fao, Rome, 300(9), D05109.
Alves Souza, S., Higino Vieira, J., Bispo dos Santos Farias, D., da Silva, G. H., & Cabral Aleman, C. (2020). Impact of irrigation frequency and planting density on bean’s morpho-physiological and productive traits. Water, 12(9), 2468. DOI: 10.3390/w12092468
Arfanuzzaman, M., & Rahman, A. A. (2017). Sustainable water demand management in the face of rapid urbanization and ground water depletion for social–ecological resilience building. Global ecology and Conservation, 10, 9-22.
Biel, C., Camprubí, A., Lovato, P. E., & Calvet, C. (2021). On-farm reduced irrigation and fertilizer doses, and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal inoculation improve water productivity in tomato production. Scientia Horticulturae, 288, 110337. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2021.110337
Biswas, S. K., Akanda, A. R., Rahman, M. S., & Hossain, M. A. (2016). Effect of drip irrigation and mulching on yield, water-use efficiency and economics of tomato. Plant, Soil and Environment, 61(3), 97-102. DOI: 10.17221/804/2014-PSE
Boltana, S. M., Bekele, D. W., Ukumo, T. Y., & Lohani, T. K. (2023). Evaluation of irrigation scheduling to maximize tomato production using comparative assessment of soil moisture and evapotranspiration in restricted irrigated regions. Cogent Food & Agriculture, 9(1), 2214428. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311932.2023.2214428

Buttaro, D., Santamaria, P., Signore, A., Cantore, V., Boari, F., Montesano, F. F., & Parente, A. (2015). Irrigation management of greenhouse tomato and cucumber using tensiometer: Effects on yield, quality and water use. Agriculture and agricultural science procedia, 4, 440-444. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aaspro.2015.03.050
Chowdhury, N. T. (2010). Water management in Bangladesh: an analytical review. Water policy, 12(1), 32-51. https://doi.org/10.2166/wp.2009.112
Colimba-Limaico, J. E., Zubelzu-Minguez, S., & Rodríguez-Sinobas, L. (2022). Optimal irrigation scheduling for greenhouse tomato crop (Solanum lycopersicum L.) in Ecuador. Agronomy, 12(5), 1020. https://doi.org/10.3390/ agronomy12051020
De Azevedo, P. V., de Souza, C. B., da Silva, B. B., & da Silva, V. P. (2007). Water requirements of pineapple crop grown in a tropical environment, Brazil. Agricultural water management, 88(1-3), 201-208. DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2006.10.021
Deka, B., Bhagawati, M., & Dutta, M. (2023). Effect of drip, fertigation and plastic mulching on growth and yield of cauliflower. Scientist, 4(4), 238-244. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7816669
Derib, S. D., Descheemaeker, K., Haileslassie, A., & Amede, T. (2011). Irrigation water productivity as affected by water management in a small-scale irrigation scheme in the Blue Nile basin, Ethiopia. Experimental agriculture, 47(S1), 39-55. doi:10.1017/S0014479710000839
Eshete, D. G., Sinshaw, B. G., & Legese, K. G. (2020). Critical review on improving irrigation water use efficiency: Advances, challenges, and opportunities in the Ethiopia context. Water-Energy Nexus, 3, 143-154. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wen.2020.09.001
Ewaid, S. H., Abed, S. A., & Al-Ansari, N. (2019). Crop water requirements and irrigation schedules for some major crops in Southern Iraq. Water, 11(4), 756. DOI: 10.3390/w11040756
FAO Irrigation and Drainage Paper. 2006.
Fara, S. J., Delazari, F. T., Gomes, R. S., Araújo, W. L., & da Silva, D. J. H. (2019). Stomata opening and productiveness response of fresh market tomato under different irrigation intervals. Scientia Horticulturae, 255, 86-95. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2019.05.025
Farooque, A. A., Afzaal, H., Abbas, F., Bos, M., Maqsood, J., Wang, X., & Hussain, N. (2022). Forecasting daily evapotranspiration using artificial neural networks for sustainable irrigation scheduling. Irrigation Science, 1-15. DOI: 10.1007/s00271-021-00751-1
Ganjegunte, G. K., Sheng, Z., & Clark, J. A. (2012). Evaluating the accuracy of soil water sensors for irrigation scheduling to conserve freshwater. Applied Water Science, 2, 119-125. DOI: 10.1007/s13201-012-0032-7
Gatahi, D. M. (2020). Challenges and opportunities in tomato production chain and sustainable standards. International Journal of Horticultural Science and Technology, 7(3), 235-262. DOI: 10.22059/ijhst.2020.300818.361
Hao, L. I. U., Duan, A. W., LI, F. S., Sun, J. S., Wang, Y. C., & Sun, C. T. (2013). Drip irrigation scheduling for tomato grown in solar greenhouse based on pan evaporation in North China Plain. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 12(3), 520-531.
Her, Y., Morgan, K. T., & Wang, Q. (2019). Excel-Based Computational Template for Irrigation Scheduling Using Dual Crop Coefficients. The Journal of Extension, 57(1), 3. https://doi.org/10.34068/ joe.57.01.03
Jones, H. G. (2004). Irrigation scheduling: advantages and pitfalls of plant-based methods. Journal of experimental botany, 55(407), 2427-2436.
Junk, W. J., An, S., Finlayson, C. M., Gopal, B., Květ, J., Mitchell, S. A., ... & Robarts, R. D. (2013). Current state of knowledge regarding the world’s wetlands and their future under global climate change: a synthesis. Aquatic sciences, 75, 151-167. DOI: 10.1007/s00027-012-0278-z
Karim, M. R., Rahman, M. S., & Alam, M. S. (2009). Profitability of summer BARI hybrid tomato cultivation in Jessore district of Bangladesh. Journal of Agriculture & Rural Development, 73-79.
Kuscu, H., Turhan, A., Ozmen, N., Aydinol, P., & Demir, A. O. (2014). Optimizing levels of water and nitrogen applied through drip irrigation for yield, quality, and water productivity of processing tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.). Horticulture, Environment, and Biotechnology, 55, 103-114. DOI 10.1007/s13580-014-0180-9
Li, Y., Sun, Y., Liao, S., Zou, G., Zhao, T., Chen, Y., ... & Zhang, L. (2017). Effects of two slow-release nitrogen fertilizers and irrigation on yield, quality, and water-fertilizer productivity of greenhouse tomato. Agricultural Water Management, 186, 139-146.
Linker, R. (2021). Stochastic model-based optimization of irrigation scheduling. Agricultural Water Management, 243, 106480. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2020.106480
Liu, H., Li, H., Ning, H., Zhang, X., Li, S., Pang, J., ... & Sun, J. (2019). Optimizing irrigation frequency and amount to balance yield, fruit quality and water use efficiency of greenhouse tomato. Agricultural Water Management, 226, 105787. DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2019.105787
López Ordaz, A., Trejo López, C., Ramírez Ayala, C., Peña Valdivia, C. B., Tijerina Chávez, L., & Carrillo Salazar, J. A. (2011). Irrigation technique to increase the eficiency of water use in tomato. Revista mexicana de ciencias agrícolas, 2(4), 475-488.
Mahendran, S., & Bandara, D. C. (2000). Effects of soil moisture stress at different growth stages on vitamin C, capsaicin and β-carotene contents of chilli (Capsicum annuum L.) fruits and their impact on yield. Tropical Agricultural Research, 12, 95-106.
Mancosu, N., Snyder, R. L., Kyriakakis, G., & Spano, D. (2015). Water scarcity and future challenges for food production. Water, 7(3), 975-992.
Marino, S., Aria, M., Basso, B., Leone, A. P., & Alvino, A. (2014). Use of soil and vegetation spectroradiometry to investigate crop water use efficiency of a drip irrigated tomato. European Journal of Agronomy, 59, 67-77. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.eja.2014.05.012
Mohammad, F. S., Al-Ghobari, H. M., & El Marazky, M. S. A. (2013). Adoption of an intelligent irrigation scheduling technique and its effect on water use efficiency for tomato crops in arid regions. Australian Journal of Crop Science, 7(3), 305-313.
Mushtaq, R., Sharma, M. K., Ahmad, L., Krishna, B., Mushtaq, K., & Mir, J. I. (2020). Crop water requirement estimation using pan evaporimeter for high density apple plantation system in Kashmir region of India. Journal of Agrometeorology, 22(1), 86-88.
Naor, A., Naschitz, S., Peres, M., & Gal, Y. (2008). Responses of apple fruit size to tree water status and crop load. Tree Physiology, 28(8), 1255-1261. https://doi.org/10.1093/treephys/28.8.1255
Nouri, H., Glenn, E. P., Beecham, S., Chavoshi Boroujeni, S., Sutton, P., Alaghmand, S., ... & Nagler, P. (2016). Comparing three approaches of evapotranspiration estimation in mixed urban vegetation: Field-based, remote sensing-based and observational-based methods. Remote Sensing, 8(6), 492. DOI:10.3390/rs8060492
Oke, A. M., Osilaechuu, A. P., Aremu, T. E., & Ojediran, J. O. (2020, February). Effect of drip irrigation regime on plant height and stem girth of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill). In IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 445, 012016. DOI:10.1088/1755-1315/445/1/012016
Pardossi, A., & Incrocci, L. (2011). Traditional and new approaches to irrigation scheduling in vegetable crops. HortTechnology, 21(3), 309-313.
Pereira, L. S., Allen, R. G., Smith, M., & Raes, D. (2015). Crop evapotranspiration estimation with FAO56: Past and future. Agricultural water management, 147, 4-20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2014.07.031
Rebouças, M. D. O., Azevedo, B. M. D., Araújo, T. V. V. D., Vasconcelos, D. V. D., & Fernandes, C. N. V. (2017). Irrigation frequency on economic performance and productivity of tomato in the coast of Ceará, Brazil. Revista Caatinga, 30, 971-979. DOI: 10.1590/1983-21252017v30n418rc
Sezen, S. M., Celikel, G., Yazar, A., Tekin, S., & Kapur, B. (2010). Effect of irrigation management on yield and quality of tomatoes grown in different soilless media in a glasshouse. Journal of Scientific Research and Essays, 5(1), 41–48.
Simić, D., Pejić, B., Bekavac, G., Mačkić, K., Vojnov, B., Bajić, I., & Sikora, V. (2023). Effect of different ET-based irrigation scheduling on grain yield and water use efficiency of drip irrigated maize. Agriculture, 13(10), 1994. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13101994
Sivakumar, R., & Srividhya, S. (2016). Impact of drought on flowering, yield and quality parameters in diverse genotypes of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.). Advances in Horticultural Science, 30, 3-11. DOI: 10.13128/AHS-18696
Wu, Y., Yan, S., Fan, J., Zhang, F., Xiang, Y., Zheng, J., & Guo, J. (2021). Responses of growth, fruit yield, quality and water productivity of greenhouse tomato to deficit drip irrigation. Scientia Horticulturae, 275, 109710. DOI: 10.1016/j.scienta.2020.109710
Vikas Sharma, P.K. Singh, S.R. Bhakar, K.K. Yadav, S.S. Lakhawat, & Manjeet Singh. (2021). Pan evaporation and sensor-based approaches of irrigation scheduling for crop water requirement, growth and yield of okra. Journal of Agrometeorology, 23(4), 389–395. https://doi.org/10.54386/jam.v23i4.142
Zegbe, J. A., Behboudian, M. H., & Clothier, B. E. (2006). Responses of ‘Petopride’ processing tomato to partial rootzone drying at different phenological stages. Irrigation Science, 24(3), 203-210. DOI 10.1007/s00271-005-0018-4

Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Irrigation Systems

Journal Section

Research Article

Authors

Tahmina Akter ^*
0000-0003-1147-2268
Bangladesh

Nargis Akter
0009-0006-1847-8100
Bangladesh

Ashutus Singha
0000-0002-1946-3860
Bangladesh

Mohammad Nurun Nabi Mazumder
0000-0002-7788-0101
Bangladesh

Publication Date

June 26, 2025

Submission Date

December 31, 2024

Acceptance Date

April 23, 2025

Published in Issue

Year 2025 Volume: 9 Number: 2

DOI

https://doi.org/10.31015/2025.2.1

IZ

https://izlik.org/JA76BP94PJ

APA

Akter, T., Akter, N., Singha, A., & Nurun Nabi Mazumder, M. (2025). Optimizing irrigation scheduling using a drip system to enhance water use efficiency in tomato cultivation. International Journal of Agriculture Environment and Food Sciences, 9(2), 261-271. https://doi.org/10.31015/2025.2.1

AMA

1.Akter T, Akter N, Singha A, Nurun Nabi Mazumder M. Optimizing irrigation scheduling using a drip system to enhance water use efficiency in tomato cultivation. int. j. agric. environ. food sci. 2025;9(2):261-271. doi:10.31015/2025.2.1

Chicago

Akter, Tahmina, Nargis Akter, Ashutus Singha, and Mohammad Nurun Nabi Mazumder. 2025. “Optimizing Irrigation Scheduling Using a Drip System to Enhance Water Use Efficiency in Tomato Cultivation”. International Journal of Agriculture Environment and Food Sciences 9 (2): 261-71. https://doi.org/10.31015/2025.2.1.

EndNote

Akter T, Akter N, Singha A, Nurun Nabi Mazumder M (June 1, 2025) Optimizing irrigation scheduling using a drip system to enhance water use efficiency in tomato cultivation. International Journal of Agriculture Environment and Food Sciences 9 2 261–271.

IEEE

[1]T. Akter, N. Akter, A. Singha, and M. Nurun Nabi Mazumder, “Optimizing irrigation scheduling using a drip system to enhance water use efficiency in tomato cultivation”, int. j. agric. environ. food sci., vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 261–271, June 2025, doi: 10.31015/2025.2.1.

ISNAD

Akter, Tahmina - Akter, Nargis - Singha, Ashutus - Nurun Nabi Mazumder, Mohammad. “Optimizing Irrigation Scheduling Using a Drip System to Enhance Water Use Efficiency in Tomato Cultivation”. International Journal of Agriculture Environment and Food Sciences 9/2 (June 1, 2025): 261-271. https://doi.org/10.31015/2025.2.1.

JAMA

1.Akter T, Akter N, Singha A, Nurun Nabi Mazumder M. Optimizing irrigation scheduling using a drip system to enhance water use efficiency in tomato cultivation. int. j. agric. environ. food sci. 2025;9:261–271.

MLA

Akter, Tahmina, et al. “Optimizing Irrigation Scheduling Using a Drip System to Enhance Water Use Efficiency in Tomato Cultivation”. International Journal of Agriculture Environment and Food Sciences, vol. 9, no. 2, June 2025, pp. 261-7, doi:10.31015/2025.2.1.

Vancouver

1.Tahmina Akter, Nargis Akter, Ashutus Singha, Mohammad Nurun Nabi Mazumder. Optimizing irrigation scheduling using a drip system to enhance water use efficiency in tomato cultivation. int. j. agric. environ. food sci. 2025 Jun. 1;9(2):261-7. doi:10.31015/2025.2.1

Cited By

Assessment of Allelopathic Potentiality of Vimraj (Wedelia chinensis) Against Some Stored Grain Insect Pests

International Journal of Agriculture Environment and Food Sciences

https://doi.org/10.31015/2025.3.26

Sustainability of Food Security: Diallel Hybridization and Applications in Wheat Breeding

International Journal of Agriculture Environment and Food Sciences

https://doi.org/10.31015/2025.si.14

Abstracting & Indexing Services

Google Scholar | Crossref DOI Registry

All content published in this journal is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
Authors retain copyright of their work and grant the journal a non-exclusive right to publish, reproduce, and distribute the articles within an open-access framework.

Web: dergipark.org.tr/jaefs E-mail: editorialoffice@jaefs.com Phone / WhatsApp: +90 850 309 59 27

Abstract

Optimizing irrigation scheduling using a drip system to enhance water use efficiency in tomato cultivation

Abstract

Keywords

Supporting Institution

Ethical Statement

Thanks

References

Details

Primary Language

Subjects

Journal Section

Authors

Publication Date

Submission Date

Acceptance Date

Published in Issue

DOI

IZ

Cite

Cited By

Assessment of Allelopathic Potentiality of Vimraj (Wedelia chinensis) Against Some Stored Grain Insect Pests

Sustainability of Food Security: Diallel Hybridization and Applications in Wheat Breeding

Abstracting & Indexing Services

© International Journal of Agriculture, Environment and Food Sciences