PJB-2023-353
EFFECT OF DEFICIT IRRIGATION ON YIELD AND QUALITY OF BLACK CUMIN (Nigella sativa L.) IN SEMI-ARID REGION
YASEMİN ERDOĞDU
Abstract
Water stress is a major constraint affecting agricultural productivity due to climate change; therefore, it is of crucial importance to optimize irrigation. The effects of different irrigation levels with a drop irrigation system on crop yield, yield components, seed quality, water use (WUE) and irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE) of black cumin (Nigella sativa L.) were investigated in a semi-arid region (Thrace Region, Türkiye). The experiment was carried out in a randomized complete-block design with three replications. Black cumin was subjected to six irrigation regimes, as follows: over irrigation (I125), full irrigation (I100), 75% of full irrigation (I75), 50% of full irrigation (I50), 25% of full irrigation (I25), and rainfed (non-irrigated) as control (I0). The evapotranspiration amounts were obtained between 209.90 mm and 611.73 mm. The plant coefficient (Kc) of seed was determined as 0.39, 0.96, 1.28, 0.81 for initial, development, mid-season and late season, respectively. Water stress had a significant impact on seed yield response, yield increased linearly with irrigation amount and a seed yield increase of 2.6 times was observed with I125 compared to I0 treatment. The highest (28.58%) and lowest (16.07%) fixed oil contents were obtained from the I0 and I50 conditions, respectively. The existence of water deficit strikingly increased the fixed oil content. Similar fatty acids (linoleic (46.00-52.51%), oleic (23.83-26.02%)) were detected in all irrigation conditions; however, there were differences in the amounts of fatty acids depending on irrigation treatments. Furthermore, the highest WUE (0.31 kg m−3) and IWUE (0.70 kg m−3) were obtained from I50 and I25 treatments, respectively. The results revealed that irrigation is necessary for black cumin cultivation because rainfall is insufficient to meet the crop water needs. In addition, the study showed that I50 treatment can provide satisfactory seed yield and increase WUE in conditions where water supply is limited.
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