RESPONSE OF SOYBEAN (Glycine max) UNDER DRIP WATER APPLICATION IN AKURE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Field experiments were conducted to determine the water use (ET), water use efficiency and yield of field grown irrigated soybean (Glycine max) during dry season at the experimental farm of Agricultural and Environmental Engineering Department, The Federal University of Technology, Akure. The experiments were conducted between January and May of 2013 and 2014. The physico-chemical properties of the soil were determined using standard procedures. The experiments were conducted under four levels of water application. Results show that the soil at the experimental site is sandy clay loam. The result obtained for soil pH at the experimental site ranged from 6.8 – 7.3 which favoured the crop growth at the experimental site. The water use of soybean obtained during the growing seasons of the crop ranged from 403.42mm - 533.43mm. The soybean grain yield obtained during the experiment was highest at the full irrigation treatment (T-100%) with 1.97 ton/ha, and the biomass yield measured on wet and dry basis were also highest at this treatment (T-100%). The soybean water use efficiency obtained during the experiment ranged from 0.044 – 0.085tons/mm-ha. It was observed that there is significant difference between the yield obtained from full irrigation treatment and the other irrigation treatments (T-85%), (T-70%) and (T-45%). The highest water use efficiency of soybean was obtained at the full irrigation treatment, while the lowest water use efficiency was obtained at the treatment (T-45%) that received the lowest amount of water during the growing season. Therefore, the research study is useful for effective management of irrigation water