Durum Response to Soil Water Depletion Levels

Abstract

Research has not been conducted in Arizona to determine when to irrigate wheat based on soil water depletion levels. The purpose of this work is to establish the optimum irrigation timing based on depletion of plant available water in the soil. A field experiment was conducted at the Maricopa Agricultural Center testing irrigation of wheat at 35, 50, 65, and 80% depletion of plant available water in the soil for two durum varieties, Kronos and Westbred 881. Grain yields averaged over the two varieties were 6479, 5099, 4283, and 4145 lbs/acre for the 35, 50, 65, and 80% depletion levels, respectively. The results of this study indicate that more frequent irrigations may be required than is typically practiced to optimize wheat grain yields in Arizona. This work will be repeated during the 1999-2000 growing season and the results from both years will be evaluated before general conclusions are drawn.