Filters
The Effect of Drip Irrigation and Nitrogen Levels on the Oil and Fatty Acid Composition of Sesame and Its Economic Analysis
One of the oldest oilseed crops is sesame, which is mainly cultivated due to its valuable oleic/linolenic fatty acid ratio. The application of precise irrigation and fertilisation is crucial to ensure the continuity and productivity of sesame production, especially in arid and semi-arid regions. This study aimed to determine the effect of drip irrigation and nitrogen levels on sesame’s oil and fatty acid composition. For this purpose, four nitrogen doses (N0: 0 kg ha−1, N30: 30 kg ha−1, N60: 60 kg ha−1 and N90: 90 kg ha−1) and three different irrigation water levels (I50, I75 and I100, which correspond to 50, 75 and 100% evaporation levels from the evaporation of the Class A pan) were applied. The highest oleic acid content (43.06%) was obtained for the I75N90 treatment. In the case of linoleic fatty acid, the greatest value (43.66%) was for I50N0 treatment. The effects of irrigation and nitrogen doses on oleic acid and linoleic acid content were inverse of each other. An increase in applied irrigation water increased the linoleic acid content. However, it caused a decrease in oleic acid content. Increasing the nitrogen dose increased the oleic acid content and caused a decrease in linoleic acid content. Furthermore, this study showed that the I50N60 treatment (50% Epan and a rate of 60 kg N ha−1) is the most effective for achieving high grain and oil yields in sesame cultivation. The results obtained provide practical guidance for farmers in sesame cultivation.
Effects of Silicon Application and Groundwater Level in a Subirrigation System on Yield of a Three-Cut Meadow
The increasing demand for food and animal products makes it important to ensure that animals have sufficient fodder obtained from grassland. Unfortunately, there has been a recent decline in grassland areas, which makes it essential to find solutions to increase the grassland’s productivity and the quality of the fodder it yields. One of these solutions may be the use of appropriate irrigation and fertilization. The present study investigated the effect of the foliar application of silicon fertilizer and the groundwater level in a subirrigation system on the yield of a three-cut meadow. Four different experimental plots were used: high groundwater level (HWL), high groundwater level with silicon application (HWL_Si), lower groundwater level (LWL), and lower groundwater level with silicon application (LWL_Si). The analyses showed that silicon significantly reduced the amount of dry matter obtained in each of the three meadow cuts during the year. Furthermore, the plot with a higher groundwater level had an annual yield of 12.69 Mg·ha−1, whereas when silicon was applied to this area, it was 10.43 Mg·ha−1 (17.8% reduction in dry matter). A similar trend was noted at lower water levels, in which silicon also caused a dry matter reduction. However, the experiment did not indicate a statistically significant effect of silicon application on plant height and NDVI values. These results show that further research is still needed to better understand silicon’s effect on meadow sward.
Water Needs of Sweet Cherry Trees in the Light of Predicted Climate Warming in the Bydgoszcz Region, Poland
The Bydgoszcz region (Poland) is located in an area with a very high demand for supplementary irrigation during the vegetation period of plants. The projected global warming will bring a rise in the water needs of crops, and thus a further increase in irrigation needs. The goal of the study was an attempt to estimate the water needs of sweet cherry trees in 2021–2050 (forecast period) in the region of Bydgoszcz. The years 1981–2010 were adopted as the reference period. The water needs of sweet cherry trees were calculated on the basis of air temperature using the Treder method, in which water needs are equated with the potential evapotranspiration of a given fruit tree species. It was found that in the growing season of the forecast period, the relative diversity of sweet cherries’ water needs was relatively small (7%). The highest variability of monthly water needs was in April, May, and June. The seasonal water needs amounted to 573 mm, with very high monthly water needs noted in July (139 mm) and August (134 mm). A significant trend of the time variability of water needs was calculated only in August. During this month, it is predicted that the water needs will rise by 5 mm in each subsequent decade. These results will be helpful in the design of sweet cherry irrigation treatments.
The Effect of Irrigation and Vermicompost Applications on the Growth and Yield of Greenhouse Pepper Plants
In agricultural practice, improper irrigation levels and excessive fertiliser use negatively impact water resources and soil properties, respectively. This experiment aims to determine the effects of varying irrigation levels and vermicompost doses on the growth, quality, and productivity of pepper plants grown under polycarbonate greenhouse conditions. To achieve this objective, different irrigation levels (IL) of IL100 (100% full irrigation), IL75 (75%), IL50 (50%), and vermicompost doses (VD) of VD0 (0%), VD10 (10%), and VD20 (20%) were tested. The highest irrigation level was in the IL100–VD10 treatment, which also had the highest water consumption (ET) in the 27.8 L pot−1. By comparison, the IL50–VD0 treatment had the lowest irrigation level in the 15.4 L pot−1, representing nearly 55.4% of the maximum irrigation water amount. The findings showed that the irrigation levels and vermicompost doses had a significant impact on plant growth, quality, and fruit yield parameters. Accordingly, the irrigation levels and vermicompost doses had significant effects on the studied plant growth parameters (stem diameter, plant height, number of leaves, stem fresh weight, stem dry weight, root fresh weight, and root dry weight). Similar effects were also observed on the fruit quality parameters (fruit width, fruit length, fruit weight, fruit flesh thickness, pH, titratable acidity (TA), total soluble solids (TSS), chrome, and hue). This study found that the highest total yield (164.5 g pot−1), marketable yield (149.8 g pot−1), total water use efficiency (6.1 g L−1), and marketable water use efficiency (5.6 g L−1) were obtained at the 100% irrigation level. However, similar results were observed at the 75% irrigation level and a 20% vermicompost dose, where the total water use efficiency was 5.9 g L−1 and the marketable water use efficiency was 5.3 g L−1. This suggests that 75% irrigation can be a viable alternative to full irrigation (100%) and offers water-saving potential, particularly in areas with limited water resources.