Effect of Regulated Deficit Irrigation with Magnetized Water on Quantitative, Qualitative Properties and Water Productivity of Green Pea

The crisis of water scarcity is the main reason for the reduction of crops and the lack of human food needs in the countries located in arid and semi-arid regions. One of the methods used to increase the yield and water productivity is the use of low irrigation and magnetized water technology. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of regulated deficit irrigation with magnetized water on quantitative and qualitative characteristics of pea (Pisum sativum L.). The present research was performed on a farm located in Aghuzbon Village, Mazandaran Province, Iran. The experiment was performed as a factorial experiment in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The control treatment included full irrigation (FI) at all stages of the plant growth with normal water (non-magnetized). The main factor included non-magnetized water (W1) and magnetized water (W2), and the sub-factor included irrigation levels (I1=100%, I2=80%, and I3= 60% of crop water requirement). For irrigation, the trickle irrigation system with tape pipes was used. The results showed that the effect of irrigation water type and irrigation level as well as their interaction on parameters of pod per plant, seed per pod, grain yield, and water use efficiency were significant (p<1%). The highest pods per plant, seed per pod and grain yield in W2I1 treatment were 13.2, 7.5, and 8.472 t. ha-1, respectively, and the highest water use efficiency was observed in the W2I3 as 3.7 kg.m-3. On average, irrigation with the magnetized water increased grain yield and water productivity by 8.6% and 8.7%, respectively, compared to the non-magnetized water treatment. Also, the effect of type of irrigation water and irrigation level on oil, oil yield, protein, protein yield and germination time had a significant effect at 1% probability level, but had no significant effect on the ripening time. Also, 20% increase in irrigation level from I3 to I2 and from I2 to I1 in non-magnetized water treatment caused increase of the grain yield by 14.5% and 18%, respectively, while in magnetized water treatment, yield increased by 14.2% and 13.6%, respectively. The fastest germination time was related to W2I2 with 10.3 days after planting. In general, it can be concluded that irrigation with magnetized water can be a good way to increase yield, improve quality characteristics, and increase water use efficiency of green pea plant.