ISHS Acta Horticulturae 143: VIII African Symposium on Horticultural Crops
ESTIMATED CROP WATER REQUIREMENT WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO VEGETABLES IN UM DOM PROJECT, KHARTOUM PROVINCE |
| Author: | A.M. Ibrahim |
| Abstract:
Um Dom project is an industrial irrigated vegetable farm of about 1400 ha which is at present under execution. The farm is irrigated by pumping water from the Blue Nile. The vegetables produce are meant mainly for export to Arab countries and Europe. The project lies on the right bank of the Blue Nile approximately 20 km from Khartoum. The main features of the climate of the area are the relatively cool winters and hot summers; highly irregular annual rainfall and a potential evapotranspiration which exceeds precipitation throughout the year. Average annual rainfall is 167 mm falling in 20 days of rain between June and September. Temperature, due to its high variations is the main climatic factor affecting crop water requirements in the different seasons and is fundamental to the choice of the crops and the time at which they are grown. The soil is characterized by relatively high clay content (40 %), poor structure and low permeability as well as the presence of soluble salts and sodium and extremely low organic matter content. Reclamation and management practices are discussed. The crop water requirements have been calculated by the original and modified Penman methods. Effective monthly precipitation was not taken into account. Seepage and operational losses and farm losses are taken into consideration. As long furrow irrigation is adopted, an overall irrigation efficiency of 70 % is expected to be attainable. | |
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