Wheat Production on the Desert of Wadi El-Assiuti Using Modern Irrigation and Fertilization Techniques

P.I. El-Sayed Mahmoud Shalaby

Prof. of Crop Science, Assiut University

          Egypt imports more than 45% yearly of its requirements of wheat which is equal to 12.5 million tons, costing more than 1200 million dollars.  The area allocated for wheat production in the old alluvial soils of Nile Valley and Delta is limited and cannot be increased in the crop rotation.  More than 96% of the total area of Egypt is desert.  Success in cultivating part of this desert with wheat will certainly be the best solution of this problem.

Objectives:

1.        Evaluation of Drip and Sprinkler irrigation systems in the production of some wheat cultivar (T. aestivum and T. durum) on the desert of Wadi El-Assiuti, Assiut Governorate.

2.        Application of the different fertilizers in the soluble form through the irrigation systems.

3.        Controlling fertilizers losses with irrigation water and avoiding underground water pollution as a result of decreasing seepage of irrigation water.

4.        Selection of the best bread and Simolina wheat varieties suitable for desert and modern irrigation conditions.

5.        Testing the best seeding rates of each wheat variety which produce the maximum grain yield in the desert.

6.        Rationalization of the quantity of irrigation water with the purpose of eliminating water and fertilizer losses.

Most Important Results:

          Through six years of field experiments the following results were obtained:

1.   1- Wheat production and water use efficiency were better under drip irrigation compared with sprinkler.

2. 2-  Maximum grain and straw yields (4.83 ton/acre grains) were obtained by Sakha 69 bread wheat variety and 4.4 ton/acre for Simolina wheat.

3.    3- Best fertilization treatments under drip irrigation were 50, 7.5, 24 kg/fed. N, P₂O₅ and K₂O.  This was less by 25, 7.5, 24 kg from these fertilizers recommended for surface irrigation.

4.    4-Seeding rate of 60 kg/fed was the best for long spike and durum varieties.

5.    5-Splitting the fertilizers applications improved the protein contents of wheat grains.