Irrigation water management in Southern continental oasis of Tunisia

Zied Haj Amor, Nesma Feki, Salem Bouri
2014 IOSR Journal of Environmental Science Toxicology and Food Technology  
Although the available water resource is sufficient, it doesn't manage to satisfy the requirements of practiced crop (mainly date palms) in the small continental oasis Lazala (75 ha) situated in the South of Douz (Southern Tunisia). Indeed, the oasis showed a low frequency of water delivery turn for the whole irrigated surface (especially in summer). This incited us to evaluate the irrigation performance. To reach this objective, a comparative survey of the features of exploited water resource
more » ... 60 l/s), the crop water requirements, the proprieties of irrigation network and the water management within the plots has been undertaken. The flow rate measurements that were carried along the hydraulic network and the spatial and temporal following of water management in some plots (experimental plots) during the 2012/13 irrigation season showed a poor overall irrigation efficiency (E o = 28.41 %), a relatively low water application efficiency (E a = 44.6 %) and a moderate value of water distribution uniformity (D U = 67 %) which are related mainly to the context of the region (climatic conditions and soil type), the technical dysfunctions of the hydraulic infrastructure and the individual farmer's practices within the plots (high irrigation duration, absence of water-saving systems in many irrigated areas and the bad land leveling).
doi:10.9790/2402-08314858 fatcat:orcrxsqcuzgzpf3g5vijvjjsuy