Is Deficit Irrigation Efficient Practice for Increasing Crop Production in Water-Starved Environments?

Increasing crop yield in arid and semiarid regions is a direct result of irrigation. There are two main irrigation programs namely full and deficit irrigation. In order to maximize agricultural productivity, full irrigation is most effective in locations with abundant water supplies. When applied to crops deficit irrigation reduces irrigation water use by supplying crops with less water than they consume. The lack of knowledge about the water-yield-relationships of crops is a major problem in deficit irrigation programs. There are a number of ways to implement deficit irrigation, including reducing total water applied to crops, increasing the time between irrigations, and not watering at certain phases of crop growth. In this study, we took a close look at the research on deficit irrigation in Turkey and elsewhere around the globe. According to our research conducted in Turkey, up to 20–25% deficit irrigation can be advised for dry and semi-arid locations because there was no significant yield drop compared to full irrigation.