The effect of furrow and flood irrigation systems on water use efficiency and yield of sweet orange orchards in Pakistan

Citrus is an important horticultural crop in Pakistan. The flood system of irrigation is used in Pakistan where majority of trees are affected by Phytopthera disease, which results in decline of citrus industry. A field study was conducted at the Agricultural Research Institute Tarnab in Peshawar Pakistan in 2012 to determine the effect of flood and furrow irrigation on water use efficiency and yield of Citrus sinensis L. Mature trees (8-9 years of age) were exposed to treatments for two years while flume data were recorded from May to July. In this trial, flood irrigation used 17,002 L extra water per hectare compared to the furrow system. Tree growth variables (shoot growth, leaf area, number of leaves per branch, shoot thickness and fruit yield) were higher on trees exposed to furrow irrigation compared with flood irrigation, although this difference was not found to be statistically significant. Therefore, even though flood irrigation used more water, it did not lead to any benefit to tree growth or production. Furrow irrigation was found to be a more efficient method of irrigating citrus orchards in field experiments conducted in the Peshawar region of Pakistan.