Agricultural Economics

Agricultural Economics

Economic Evaluation of Wheat Cultivation under Low-Irrigation Pattern in Saline Conditions: The Case Study Sadooq Research Farm

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
samane ghazali 1
Mohammad Hassan Rahimian 2
Gholamhassan Ranjbar 3
1 National Salinity Research Center, Agricultural Research,Education and Extension Organization, Yazd, Iran
2 Assistant Professor of Irrigation, National Salinity Research Center (NSRC), Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Yazd, Iran.
3 Associate Professor of Crop Science, National Salinity Research Center (NSRC), Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Yazd, Iran.
10.22034/iaes.2025.2055766.2116
Abstract
Drip irrigation (tape) is a strategy used to optimize water consumption in wheat farming, and it has been implemented in some wheat-growing regions of the country. However, the expansion of this method has recently been limited due to high startup costs. This study aims to economically evaluate wheat cultivation under low-irrigation patterns (tape) in soil saline conditions. The required data on various cost items, yield, and price of wheat (Narin variety) were obtained by designing a questionnaire in different low-irrigation patterns. The economic evaluation of wheat cultivation was carried out considering two discount rates of 15% and 20%. Accordingly, net present value (NPV), benefit-cost ratio (BCR), and partial budgeting were used. The results showed that at a salinity of 3 dS/m, the second treatment (60 cm spacing of strips and three-row planting arrangement) with a yield of 5038 kg/ha had the highest economic benefit (NPV: 256 and B/C: 1.64). At a salinity of 8 dS/m, the fourth treatment (140 cm spacing of the strips and seven rows) with a yield of 3868 kg/ha produced the highest economic benefit (NPV: 137 and B/C: 1.34). Hence, the second treatment for low salinity conditions and the fourth treatment for high salinity conditions are economically suggested.
Keywords
Wheat cropping arrangement
Tape irrigation system
Irrigation management
Irrigation treatments
Economic evaluation
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