Impact of Tillage Depth and Agricultural Gypsum Application on Sorghum Yield, Water Use Efficiency, and Soil Chemical Properties in Toshka, Egypt | ||
| Alexandria Journal of Agricultural Sciences | ||
| Articles in Press, Corrected Proof, Available Online from 07 September 2025 PDF (609.57 K) | ||
| Document Type: Original Article | ||
| DOI: 10.21608/alexja.2025.418846.1167 | ||
| Authors | ||
| Mahmoud Mohamed El-Sayed1; Aly Sayed Aly Abdel-Mawgoud1; Abdelhady khamis Abdelhalim2; Ahmed Hamdy Amin1; Ashraf El Namas* 2 | ||
| 1Soil and Water Department, Al-Azhar Univ., Assiut, Egypt | ||
| 2Soil and Water Sciences Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Alexandria University | ||
| Abstract | ||
| A field experiment was conducted during two successive growing seasons of 2020/2021 and 2021/2022, in non-saline soil, Toshka area, Aswan Government, south Egypt, in order to investigate the effect of tillage depth and agricultural gypsum application on Sorghum yield, water use efficiency, and soil chemical properties. The experiment was conducted using a randomized complete block design (RCBD) comprising four treatments and three replicates. Results indicated spectacular improvements in sorghum morphological and yield traits due to tillage and gypsum application. The DT+G treatment stimulated plant height by 7.35%, seed index by 44.23%, straw yield by 49.69%, and grain yield by 16.51% as compared to ST. Grain nitrogen content was the highest at 2.21% under DT+G, which reflects a 26.96% improvement, whereas the highest straw nitrogen content (1.25%) was achieved in ST+G treatment. Water use efficiency increased both due to deep tillage and the application of gypsum. Irrigation Water Productivity (IWP) was increased by 16.52% under ST+G to 0.34 kg m⁻³, while Crop Water Productivity (CWP) was increased by 18.65% under ST+G with a maximum of 0.47 kg m⁻³. At the same time, water consumptive use (CU) was reduced by 1.85% under DT+G, indicating improved water conservation. Physical properties of the soil were significantly improved. Available water content was increased by 36.90% (0–30 cm) and 17.97% (30–60 cm) by ST+G treatment compared to ST. In contrast, the field capacity and saturation percentages in gypsum treatments were elevated at a significant level. Also, the availability of nitrogen up to 13.70%, phosphorus 22.11%, and potassium 11.43% were increased to a significant level in treatment. Hence, the combined application of deep tillage and gypsum presents a quite practical and efficient method for enhancing sorghum yields, water use efficiency, and general soil fertility under hyper-arid conditions. | ||
| Keywords | ||
| Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor); Tillage depth; Gypsum application; Water use efficiency; Soil moisture retention; Sandy soils; Soil fertility; Arid lands; Toshka region; Egypt | ||
|
Statistics Article View: 80 PDF Download: 1 |
||
