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Research on Crops

Sustainable water productivity and sunflower yield under different tillage systems and depths in Central Iraq


DOI: 10.31830/2348-7542.2026.ROC-1291    | Article Id: ROC-1291 | Page : 256-263
Citation :- Sustainable water productivity and sunflower yield under different tillage systems and depths in Central Iraq. Res. Crop. 27: 256-263
SHAIMA SAMI DAWOD, HADEEL AMER JABBAR AND ALAA SALIH ATI alaa.salih@coagri.uobaghdad.edu.iq
Address : College of Agricultural Engineering Sciences, University of Baghdad, Baghdad, Iraq
Submitted Date : 4-02-2026
Accepted Date : 11-04-2026
Online Published:

Abstract

Efficient irrigation scheduling and accurate estimation of crop water requirements are essential to prevent stress, improve yield, and optimise water use, especially under arid and semi-arid conditions. Evaluating different tillage systems, depths, and irrigation levels is crucial to enhance soil properties, sunflower productivity, and water use efficiency while reducing production costs. Based on this, a field experiment for the cultivation of sunflower Helianthus annuus L. during the autumn season of 2024 in the south of Baghdad (Yousafia district), to study the difference system, depth of tillage and irrigation levels in water requirements and the yield of sunflower. Every tillage system was implemented as a factorial experiment within a Nested-Factorial Experiments Design, with the irrigation intervals (three intervals for irrigation) (using 50% of the available water (control treatment) and 75% of the control treatment and 50% of the control treatment) on the main plot. The main factor is divided into four replicates and distribute the tillage depths (0-15 and 0-30 cm). The results showed that the seasonal water consumption for the plant was 476 and 551 mm when ploughing was done with chisel and a moldboard plough, respectively. The average of the total yield of sunflower seeds has increased when treated with the chisel plough system, which was 3141 kg/ha, compared to the moldboard plough tillage system, which was 2798 kg/ha. However, the mechanical qualities of the chisel plough are significant in providing the highest average soil disturbed volume of 471.76 m3/hr and 437.65 m3/hr for the moldboard plow. The average soil mass of the largest diameter (> 10 cm) was higher in the moldboard plough than in the chisel ploughs, at 59.6% and 46.02%, respectively.

Keywords

Irrigation schedule sunflower tillage water consumption efficiency

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