Water scarcity in the Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia severely constrains crop production, necessitating efficient irrigation methods. This study evaluated the performance of drip and furrow irrigation for onion production in a 2018 field experiment in Adama district, using a randomized complete block design with three replications. Irrigation method significantly (p<0.05) influenced leaf number, bulb diameter, total and marketable bulb yield, and water productivity. Drip irrigation markedly outperformed furrow irrigation, achieving a total bulb yield of 40.76 t/ha and marketable yield of 37.39 t/ha compared to 37.14 t/ha and 34.05 t/ha, respectively, under furrow irrigation. The bulb diameter under drip irrigation was marginally greater, measuring 5.72 cm compared to 5.70 cm for furrow irrigation. This slight increase reflects the enhanced water efficiency associated with drip irrigation, contributing to marginally larger bulb size. Most notably, water productivity under drip irrigation (12.48 kg/m³) was substantially higher than that under furrow irrigation (7.45 kg/m³), demonstrating greater efficiency in water use. These results indicate that drip irrigation not only increases onion yield but also significantly enhances water productivity, making it a sustainable and water-saving irrigation strategy in this water-limited area. Adoption of drip irrigation could improve crop water use efficiency and contribute to better resource management in the region, addressing critical water scarcity challenges while boosting agricultural productivity.
| Published in | Journal of Water Resources and Ocean Science (Volume 14, Issue 6) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.wros.20251406.14 |
| Page(s) | 204-213 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
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Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Irrigation Methods, Water Management, Water Saving, Water Productivity
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APA Style
Ambomsa, A. (2025). Effect of Drip and Furrow Irrigation Methods on Yield and Water Productivity of Onion In East Shewa, Oromia, Ethiopia. Journal of Water Resources and Ocean Science, 14(6), 204-213. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.wros.20251406.14
ACS Style
Ambomsa, A. Effect of Drip and Furrow Irrigation Methods on Yield and Water Productivity of Onion In East Shewa, Oromia, Ethiopia. J. Water Resour. Ocean Sci. 2025, 14(6), 204-213. doi: 10.11648/j.wros.20251406.14
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Download@article{10.11648/j.wros.20251406.14,
author = {Anbese Ambomsa},
title = {Effect of Drip and Furrow Irrigation Methods on Yield and Water Productivity of Onion In East Shewa, Oromia, Ethiopia},
journal = {Journal of Water Resources and Ocean Science},
volume = {14},
number = {6},
pages = {204-213},
doi = {10.11648/j.wros.20251406.14},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.wros.20251406.14},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.wros.20251406.14},
abstract = {Water scarcity in the Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia severely constrains crop production, necessitating efficient irrigation methods. This study evaluated the performance of drip and furrow irrigation for onion production in a 2018 field experiment in Adama district, using a randomized complete block design with three replications. Irrigation method significantly (p<0.05) influenced leaf number, bulb diameter, total and marketable bulb yield, and water productivity. Drip irrigation markedly outperformed furrow irrigation, achieving a total bulb yield of 40.76 t/ha and marketable yield of 37.39 t/ha compared to 37.14 t/ha and 34.05 t/ha, respectively, under furrow irrigation. The bulb diameter under drip irrigation was marginally greater, measuring 5.72 cm compared to 5.70 cm for furrow irrigation. This slight increase reflects the enhanced water efficiency associated with drip irrigation, contributing to marginally larger bulb size. Most notably, water productivity under drip irrigation (12.48 kg/m³) was substantially higher than that under furrow irrigation (7.45 kg/m³), demonstrating greater efficiency in water use. These results indicate that drip irrigation not only increases onion yield but also significantly enhances water productivity, making it a sustainable and water-saving irrigation strategy in this water-limited area. Adoption of drip irrigation could improve crop water use efficiency and contribute to better resource management in the region, addressing critical water scarcity challenges while boosting agricultural productivity.},
year = {2025}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Effect of Drip and Furrow Irrigation Methods on Yield and Water Productivity of Onion In East Shewa, Oromia, Ethiopia AU - Anbese Ambomsa Y1 - 2025/12/09 PY - 2025 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.wros.20251406.14 DO - 10.11648/j.wros.20251406.14 T2 - Journal of Water Resources and Ocean Science JF - Journal of Water Resources and Ocean Science JO - Journal of Water Resources and Ocean Science SP - 204 EP - 213 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2328-7993 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.wros.20251406.14 AB - Water scarcity in the Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia severely constrains crop production, necessitating efficient irrigation methods. This study evaluated the performance of drip and furrow irrigation for onion production in a 2018 field experiment in Adama district, using a randomized complete block design with three replications. Irrigation method significantly (p<0.05) influenced leaf number, bulb diameter, total and marketable bulb yield, and water productivity. Drip irrigation markedly outperformed furrow irrigation, achieving a total bulb yield of 40.76 t/ha and marketable yield of 37.39 t/ha compared to 37.14 t/ha and 34.05 t/ha, respectively, under furrow irrigation. The bulb diameter under drip irrigation was marginally greater, measuring 5.72 cm compared to 5.70 cm for furrow irrigation. This slight increase reflects the enhanced water efficiency associated with drip irrigation, contributing to marginally larger bulb size. Most notably, water productivity under drip irrigation (12.48 kg/m³) was substantially higher than that under furrow irrigation (7.45 kg/m³), demonstrating greater efficiency in water use. These results indicate that drip irrigation not only increases onion yield but also significantly enhances water productivity, making it a sustainable and water-saving irrigation strategy in this water-limited area. Adoption of drip irrigation could improve crop water use efficiency and contribute to better resource management in the region, addressing critical water scarcity challenges while boosting agricultural productivity. VL - 14 IS - 6 ER -
Adami Tulu Agricultural Research Center, Batu, Ethiopia
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