Response of drip-irrigated chufa (Cyperus esculentus L. var. sativus Boeck.) to different planting configurations: Yield and irrigation water-use efficiency

A two-year study was conducted to analyze the yield and irrigation water-use efficiency of chufa crop in response to planting configuration and drip irrigation scheduling as a function of the volumetric soil water content. The planting configurations were: beds with three plant rows and three driplines (B3), beds with three plant rows and two driplines (B2), beds with two plant rows and two driplines (b), and ridges (R). The yield was affected by the planting configuration; greater yields were obtained in beds (on average 2.36 kg m−2) than in R (2.14 kg m−2). Considerably less irrigation water was applied in R and in B2 than in beds B3 and b. The irrigation water-use efficiency was affected by the planting configuration in the same line that the irrigation water was applied, with greater values being obtained in B2 (7.58 kg m−3) than in the R (6.63 kg m−3), which in turn was higher than B3 (5.92 kg m−3) and b (5.69 kg m−3). These values of the irrigation water-use efficiency were considerably higher than those obtained in previous experiments (based on the volumetric soil water content in the ridges). Neither the yield nor the average tuber weight were affected by the position of the different planting rows in the bed.