Evaluation of water productivity indicators in the production of crops and garden in the west and center of Mazandaran province and ranking of studies plains

Limited water resources and increasing the need for it in the agricultural sector have made the use of strategies to increase physical productivity and improve economic water efficiency in the agricultural sector inevitable. In this regard, water productivity indicators can be considered as one of the main components in the field of national planning. In this research, economic and physical productivity was calculated using Indicators Crop Per Drop (CPD), Benefit Per Drop (BPD) and Net Benefit Per Drop (NBPD) indicators for lands under citrus and paddy in the west and center of Mazandaran province, which were irrigated as a Modern (irrigation and underwater irrigation). the method used in this study is based on field visits and perceptions and including performance estimation, water consumption, net and gross costs. The study area in Mazandaran province was divided into four plains including Ramsar - Chalus, Nor - Noshahr, Amol - Babol and GhaemShahr - Joybar. The results of this study showed that the average economic and physical productivity in lands under citrus culture and paddy for CPD index, 5.8 and 0.76 kg/ m3 per hectare, for BPD index, 261 and 175, 1000 Rials/m3 per hectare for the NBPD index, 209 and 127, 1000 Rials/m3 per hectare. Therefore, citrus and paddy fields in Nor - Noshahr and Ramsar - Chalous areas have the best performance in terms of economic productivity of NBPD index and Nor - Nowshahr and Amol - Babol areas have the best performance in terms of CPD index. According to the results of the present study, water management in the field, the use of modern irrigation methods and changing the pattern of culture due to the climatic. Also, creating the necessary infrastructure to replace malfunctioning machines and incentive and punitive policies can be an effective way to increase water productivity.