GROUNDWATER CONTRIBUTION TO CORN WATER USE IN INLAND VALLEY OF BADEGGI, NIGERIA
GROUNDWATER CONTRIBUTION TO CORN WATER USE IN INLAND VALLEY OF BADEGGI, NIGERIA
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Date
2000-10
Authors
EGHAREVBA, NOSA ANTHONY
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Abstract
In order to quantify the groundwater contribution to total corn water use,
two sets of experiments were conducted. One was in a greenhouse were corn
was grown in a cylindrical containers in which the water table depths were
maintained at 100, 200, 300, 450, and 600 mm. The second was in an open field
along an inland valley where water table depths range of 200 to 500 mm and 600
to 800 mm were used. The sources of water for meeting the water requirement of
corn in a greenhouse during the crop growing seasons of 1997 to 1999 were the
water table and surface water application. The corn on the field was rainfed in the
month of September and partly in October and thereafter, left to obtain water from
the groundwater table during the remaining dry period of October to December of
each year during the study period.
The maximum yield was 1.3 t/ha at the 450 mm water depth in the
greenhouse, which is therefore taken as a suitable water regime for corn grown
under the greenhouse culture. The grain yield of 2.9 t/ha in the field plots situated
naturally within the water table depth range of 200 to 500 mm along the valley
toposequence was higher when compared to the yield of 0.8 t/ha from plots on
water table depth range of 600 to 800 mm. It is found that as much as 37% of the
total corn evapotranspiration demand was derived from the groundwater. The
water table fluctuations along the inland valley during the period of study can be
represented by an exponential function of time during the wet season. However,
Fourier series curves at weekly time steps gave a better representation of the
water table fluctuation for both the wet and dry seasons.
Description
A thesis submitted to the Post Graduate School,
Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy
in Engineering.
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING
FACULTY OF ENGINEERING
AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY,
ZARIA, NIGERIA
October, 2000
Keywords
GROUNDWATER, CONTRIBUTION, CORN WATER, USE, INLAND VALLEY, BADEGGI, NIGERIA