Natural Resources and Conservation Vol. 1(3), pp. 77 - 93
DOI: 10.13189/nrc.2013.010303
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Effect of Prolonged Irrigated Fodders on Soil Physical Properties and Agronomic Water Use Efficiency

Zahid Murtaza ^1,*, Waqas Ahmad ², Jamil Shafi ³, Muhammad Shoaib ¹, Muhammad Aqeel Sarwar ⁴, Muhammad Asif Shehzad ^4
1 Institute of Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad (38040) Pakistan
² Institute of Horticultural Sciences, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad (38040) Pakistan
³ Department of Plant Pathology, University of Agriculture Faisalabad (38040) Pakistan
⁴ Department of Agronomy, University of Agriculture Faisalabad (38040) Pakistan

ABSTRACT

The experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of prolonged irrigated fodders on soil key parameters and agronomic water use efficiency. The experiment was laid-out in Randomized Complete Block design with split plot arrangement having four replications with a net subplot size of 7 m × 3 m. Treatments consisted of two crops (pearl millet and sorghum) and three irrigation levels (2, 3 and 4 numbers of irrigation). Soil parameters, i.e. organic carbon, particle density, bulk density, porosity were measured at three depth, i.e. 0-5 cm, 5-10 and 10-15 cm. Agronomic parameters were also recorded such as plant height, fresh biomass and dry biomass. The results of this study showed that the maximum fresh biomass of sorghum (27.96 Mg ha-1) and of pearl millet (28.16 Mg ha-1) was observed with treatment where three number of irrigation was applied. The maximum agronomic water use efficiency was also observed with three number of irrigation in both the crops. The minimum soil bulk density and maximum percentage of pore spaces was observed with I2 where three number of irrigation was used in case of pearl millet and sorghum.

KEYWORDS
Prolonged Irrigation, Soil Parameters, Pearl Millet, Sorghum

Cite This Paper in IEEE or APA Citation Styles
(a). IEEE Format:
[1] Zahid Murtaza , Waqas Ahmad , Jamil Shafi , Muhammad Shoaib , Muhammad Aqeel Sarwar , Muhammad Asif Shehzad , "Effect of Prolonged Irrigated Fodders on Soil Physical Properties and Agronomic Water Use Efficiency," Natural Resources and Conservation, Vol. 1, No. 3, pp. 77 - 93, 2013. DOI: 10.13189/nrc.2013.010303.

(b). APA Format:
Zahid Murtaza , Waqas Ahmad , Jamil Shafi , Muhammad Shoaib , Muhammad Aqeel Sarwar , Muhammad Asif Shehzad (2013). Effect of Prolonged Irrigated Fodders on Soil Physical Properties and Agronomic Water Use Efficiency. Natural Resources and Conservation, 1(3), 77 - 93. DOI: 10.13189/nrc.2013.010303.