Investigating the physical and economic efficiency of water in major crops in the Talvar Watershed, Kurdistan, Iran

Virtual water concepts and water productivity are considered as powerful tools for analyzing issues related to water resource management. This research was conducted to use the indicators of physical and economic productivity of water, in water resources management in Talvar Watershed, Kurdistan, Iran. The data from field observation, meteorological and climatic, water resources, agriculture, irrigation and watershed management were collected. The crop area of the irrigated products in the watershed was identified and their cultivation percentage was determined. Data on the growth of these products and their water consumption were calculated using CROPWAT software and field data. Using the results of data analyzing, management indicators such as physical productivity and economic productivity of products were calculated. Results showed that five crops of wheat, potato, barley, alfalfa and clover make up more than 93% of the irrigated products area of the watershed. It was found that the potato and wheat were with highest and lowest physical efficiency, respectively. The potato is with highes productivity as 3.46 and wheat was with lowest one as 0.43 kg m-3. Despite of low physical efficiency for wheat, the major part of water consumption in this crop was from green water, while the potato is using the lowest rate of green water. In terms of economic productivity, barley and potato products were with most net economic benefits. The results of this research can lead to proper management and appropriate water resources in the basin.