Irrigation Management and Water Requirements of Date Palm in Three Oases of Tunisia

Hédia Tiba; Latifa Dhaouadi; Nissaf Karbout; Abdulrassoul  Al-Omran; Mohamed Habib Sellami

doi:10.56027/JOASD.152025

Auteurs

Hédia Tiba National agronomic Institute of Tunisia, 43 Avenue Charles Nicolle, Tunis 1082, Tunisia
Latifa Dhaouadi Eremology and Desertification combating Laboratory, Institute of Arid Regions, Djorf km 22 Mednine, Tunisia
Nissaf Karbout Eremology and Desertification combating Laboratory, Institute of Arid Regions, Djorf km 22 Mednine, Tunisia
Abdulrassoul Al-Omran Soil Science Departments, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia
Mohamed Habib Sellami High School of Engineers Medjez El Bab, Jendouba University,. Laboratory of Soft material and Fluid Sciences, FST, Tunis El Manar University , Tunisia

DOI :

https://doi.org/10.56027/JOASD.152025

Mots-clés :

CROPWAT 8.0, Water requirement, Date palm Tunisian oases

Résumé

In Tunisia, managing the water requirements of date palm is a critical challenge due to scarce water resources and the necessity for efficient irrigation practices in oasis environments. This study aims to estimate the irrigation water requirements of date palm (cv. Deglet Nour) in three oases: Jemna, Rjim Maatoug, and Tozeur using the CROPWAT 8.0 model. Climatic data revealed similar maximum and minimum temperatures and solar radiation across the sites. However, minimum relative humidity varied significantly, recorded at 34%, 14.5%, and 8.4% in Jemna, Rjim Maatoug, and Tozeur, respectively. The annual irrigation water requirements of date palm were highest in Rjim Maatoug (1267.1 mm), followed by Jemna (1245.4 mm) and Tozeur (1044.6 mm). Water productivity values were estimated at 0.47, 0.44, and 0.59 kg·m⁻³ for Jemna, Rjim Maatoug, and Tozeur, respectively. These findings contribute to a better understanding of date palm water needs in southern Tunisia and support the development of improved irrigation scheduling and water use efficiency strategies. The use of the CROPWAT 8.0 model offers a practical tool for farmers to determine optimal irrigation quantities and frequencies for sustainable date palm cultivation.

Références

Al-Omran, A., Eid, S. & F. Alshammari. (2019). Crop water requirements of date palm based on actual applied water and Penman-Monteith calculations in Saudi Arabia. Appl Water Sci 9:69. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13201-019-0936-6.

Allen, R. G., Pereira, L. S., Raes, D., & Smith, M. (1998). Crop evapotranspiration-Guidelines for computing crop water requirements-FAO Irrigation and drainage paper 56. Fao, Rome, 300(9), D05109.

Belloumi, M., & Matoussi, M. S. (2006). A stochastic frontier approach for measuring technical efficiencies of date farms in southern Tunisia. Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, 35(2), 285-298.

Bouarfa, S., Marlet, S., Douaoui, A., Hartani, T., Mekki, I., Ghazouani, W., Aissa, I. B., Vincent, B., Hassani, F. & Kuper, M. (2009). Salinity patterns in irrigation systems, a threat to be demystified, a constraint to be managed: field evidence from Algeria and Tunisia. Irrigation and Drainage, 58(S3), S273-S284.

Boulbaba, A., Marzouk, L., ben Rabah, R., and Najet, S. (2012). Variations of Natural Soil Salinity in an Arid Environment Using Underground Watertable Effects on Salinization of Soils in Irrigated Perimeters in South Tunisia, 3, 1040–47.

Clarke, D., Smith, M., & El-Askari, K. (2001). CropWat for Windows: user guide. Oak Brook, IL, USA: Ihe.

Dhaouadi, L., Maachia, S. B., Namsi, A., Abouthief, F., Nagaz, K., & Masmoudi, M. M. (2022). Literature review on Water Productivity of date palm trees in Tunisian agro systems. Journal of Oasis Agriculture and Sustainable Development, 4(4), 30-39.

Dhaouadi, L. (2017). Etude Experimental Comparative de Technique d’irrigation Sous Palmier Datier Dans Les Oasis Tunisiennes, (Comparative Experimental Study of Under-Palm Tree Irrigation Technique in the Tunisian Oases). INAT.

Dhaouadi, L, Ben Maachia, S., Mkademi, C., Oussama, M. & Daghari. H. (2015). “Etude Comparative Des Techniques d ’Irrigations Sous Palmier Dattier Dans Les Oasis de Deguache Du Sud Tunisien. Journal of New Sciences, 18 (3), 658–667.

Dhaouadi, L., Boughdiri, A., Daghari, I., Slim, S., Ben Maachia, S., & Mkademic, C. (2017). Etude Des Paramètres de Performance de Trois Techniques d’irrigation Localisée Sous Palmiers Dattiers Dans Les Oasis de Deguache. (Study of the performance parameters of three irrigation techniques located under date palm trees in the oases of Deguache). 12.

Doorenbos J, Pruitt WO (1977) Guidelines for predicting crop water requirements. FAO, Rome, Irrig. Drain. 24, 144.

FAO (The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) (2018). CROPWAT Software, FAO, Land and Water Division. http://www.fao.org/land-water/databases-and-software/cropwat/en/ (Accessed on 20 August 2018).

Fergson, B. (1994). Stormwater Infiltration” CRC Press, Boca Raton. Caractérisation Des Sites Pour Infiltration.

Ghazouani, W., Marlet, S., Mekki, I., & Vidal, A. (2007, June). Diagnostic et analyse du fonctionnement d'un périmètre oasien. Cas de l'oasis de Fatnassa Nord, Kébili, sud tunisien. In Troisième atelier régional du projet Sirma (pp. 18-p). Cirad.

Haj-Amor, Z., Acharjee, T. K., Dhaouadi, L., & Bouri, S. (2020). Impacts of climate change on irrigation water requirement of date palms under future salinity trend in coastal aquifer of Tunisian oasis. Agricultural Water Management, 228, 105843.

Hillel, D. (2012). Soil and water: physical principles and processes. Elsevier.

INM, Institut National de la Météorologie. (1998). Journal Des Données Climatiques.

Marlet, S., Bouksila, F. & Bahri, A. (2009). Water and Salt Balance at Irrigation Scheme Scale: A Comprehensive Approach for Salinity Assessment in a Saharan Oasis. Agricultural Water Management 96, 9, 1311–22. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.AGWAT.2009.04.016.

Mechergui, M. & Gerrit V. V. (1998). Improved Irrigation Efficiencies in Tunisian.

Mekki, I., Frederic J., Serge, M., & Wafa, G. (2013). Management of Groundwater Resources in Relation to Oasis Sustainability: The Case of the Nefzawa Region in Tunisia. Journal of Environmental Management, 121, 142–51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2013.02.041.

Mihoub A., Helimi S, Mokhtari S, & Halitim A. (2016). Appréciation d’une Méthode Pour l’estimation Des Besoins En Eau d’une Culture Cultivée Dans Un Milieu Salin (Cas Du Palmier Dattier) (Evaluation of a Method for the Estimation of Water Requirements of a Crop Grown in a Saline Environment (Case of Date Palm)). Revue Agriculture. Numéro spé: 189–197.

Mokhtari, S., Helimi, S., & Mihoub, A. (2015). L’Oued Righ au défi du changement climatique : quel effet sur les besoins en eau du palmier dattier. Revue Agriculture. Numéro spécial, 1, 198-204.

Muñoz, G. & Grieser, J. (2006). CLIMWAT 2.0 for CROPWAT. Water Resources, Development and Management Service, Environment and Natural Resources Service, FAO: Rome, Italy.

Omrani, N., & Ouessar, M. (2009). Technical Perspectives of Irrigation Efficiency Improvement in the Oasis Systems: Cases of Southern Tunisia. In R. R. (Ed.), El Moujabber M. (Ed.), Mandi L. (Ed.), Trisorio-Liuzzi G. (Ed.), Martín I. (Ed.), Rabi A. (Ed.) (Eds.), Technological Perspectives. CIHEAM, 267–274.

Richards, L. A. (1948). Diagnosis and improvement of saline and alkali soils. U.S. Salinity Lab. Handbook No. 60. USDA, Wash. DC, USA.

Sabri, A., Bouaziz, A., Hammani, A., Kuper, M., Douaik, A., & Badraoui, M. (2017). Effet de l'irrigation déficitaire contrôlée sur la productivité et l'efficience d'utilisation de l'eau du palmier dattier cv Majhoul. Revue Marocaine des Sciences Agronomiques et Vétérinaires, 5(1), 23-31.

Sghaier, M. (2010). Etude de la gouvernance des ressources naturelles dans les oasis Cas des oasis en Tunisie. Union Internationale pour la Conservation de la Nature, 69, 25-26.

Smith, M. (1992). CROPWAT: A Computer Program for Irrigation Planning and Management. Food Agriculture Org.

Soltani, R., Ikbel, C., & Hamouda, M. H. B. (2008). Descriptive study of damage caused by the rhinoceros beetle, Oryctes agamemnon, and its influence on date palm oases of Rjim Maatoug, Tunisia. Journal of Insect Science, 8(1).

Shabani, F., Kumar, L., & Taylor, S. (2012). Climate change impacts on the future distribution of date palms: a modeling exercise using CLIMEX. PloS one, 7(10), e48021.

Verner, D. 2013. Tunisia in a Changing Climate: Assessment and Actions for Increased Resilience and Development.