Analysis of economic water and nitrogen productivity in alternate furrow irrigation for canola production

Conservation of soil and water resources in Iran is of great importance for crop production as well as for environment protection. Due to limited soil and water resources in Iran, new methods that can optimize the use of water and fertilizers for crop production are very important. In this study, the alternate furrow irrigation which is a relatively new method for reducing irrigation water for canola production was investigated. In this study, three irrigation methods including ordinary furrow (OF), variable alternate furrow (VAF) and fixed alternate furrow (FAF) were investigated. In each method, four different nitrogen fertilizer treatments with 0, 100, 200, and 300 kg/ha was applied. The results indicated that the best economic productivity of water usage was obtained in the VAF method with 200 kg/ha nitrogen application. Consequently, this treatment can be recommended for canola production in the studied area.