Yield and water use efficiency of potato varieties under different soil-moisture stress conditions in the Fergana Valley of Central Asia

ABSTRACT

Deficit irrigation could be considered as one potential option to improve water productivity and obtain some level of assured income under water scarcity and drought conditions in Central Asia. This article investigates water productivity and economic returns to two varieties of potato crop under four different soil-moisture regimes in Uzbekistan. Results suggest that deficit irrigation may not be considered as an option to improve water productivity of potato crop, particularly when the deficit is high. However, deficit irrigation options could be still considered as a viable option to maintain food security and some assured farm income even under extreme drought conditions.

KEYWORDS:

• Central Asia
• climate change
• deficit irrigation
• income security
• water productivity

Additional information

Funding

Authors are grateful to the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) of Germany for providing the grant to carry out the present research work.