Wheat yield response to line-source sprinkler irrigation in the arid Southeast Anatolia region of Turkey

In the arid Southeast Anatolia Project (GAP) region of Turkey, crop yields are mainly limited by available water. A field experiment was conducted for wheat (Triticum durum L.) during the period 1993–1996 to evaluate the effects of deficit irrigation on yield and water use efficiency. Two line-source sprinkler laterals were used in order to create gradually varying deficit irrigation treatments (I1 through I5) with the two fixed irrigation intervals of 7-day (IF1) and 14-day (IF2). Irrigation water was applied based on cumulative Class-A Pan evaporation for the irrigation interval of 7-day (IF1I1); and to replenish soil water deficit in the 90 cm depth to the field capacity for the 14-day irrigation interval in treatment plots adjacent to sprinkler lateral (IF2I1).