Investigation of applied water and water productivity of wheat fields in Fars province

Improving irrigation management of wheat fields can reduce water consumption and increase water productivity in Fars province. In order to apply proper irrigation management in wheat farms, it is necessary to have sufficient and accurate information about the status of water consumption and water productivity. Hence, a study was conducted to measure and calculate water productivity in 30 wheat fields in three different climatic regions of Fars province. T-test was used for statistical comparison of the obtained results. Also, the correlation between different factors was examined by determining the correlation coefficient. The results of this study showed that the average amount of water used in wheat fields was equal to 5340 cubic meters per hectare, which is 1064 cubic meters per hectare more than the average water requirement in the experimental year. The amount of water used was significantly different from the long-term water requirement and there was no significant difference in the amount of water used in different irrigation systems. The average amount of irrigation water productivity and total water productivity were 1.25 and 1.04 kg/m3, respectively, but the difference in water productivity in different irrigation systems (surface, sprinkler and drip) was not significant. The difference between irrigation water productivity in hot and cold regions and hot and temperate regions was significant at 5% level. The study of correlation between different factors showed that the cool air in the region, and the length of the growth period were important factors in crop production and the number of irrigations.