Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Drip irrigation enhances water use efficiency without losses in cucumber yield and economic benefits in greenhouses in North China

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Irrigation Science Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The cultivation mode of planting offseason crops, such as cucumber, with drip irrigation has been widely used in greenhouses in North China to achieve high yields, obtain large economic benefits, and improve water use efficiency. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effects of drip irrigation on the irrigation water amount, irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE), and cucumber yield and the corresponding economic benefits. These objectives were achieved using data from a seven-season experiment in a commercial greenhouse with cucumber plants in North China. Local furrow irrigation was used as the control. The results showed that the cucumber yields and income with drip irrigation were 4.3% and 3.1% higher than those under furrow irrigation, respectively. However, the seasonal total irrigation depth for drip irrigation was approximately 50% lower than that for furrow irrigation. The IWUE averaged 0.41 in furrow irrigation but increased to 0.79 in drip irrigation. The irrigation water productivity and the economic irrigation water productivity for drip irrigation were approximately 100% higher than those for furrow irrigation. The mean economic irrigation water productivity was 19.8 US$ m−3 for drip irrigation, which is 7 times higher than the 2019 value of 2.7 US$ m−3 in the agricultural sector in China, indicating potential high economic benefits. In conclusion, drip irrigation is recommended in greenhouses to reduce irrigation water by approximately 50% and increase cucumber yield and economic benefits by approximately 3–4% compared to traditional furrow irrigation in North China.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abdalhi MAM, Cheng J, Feng S, Yi G (2016) Performance of drip irrigation and nitrogen fertilizer in irrigation water saving and nitrogen use efficiency for waxy maize (Zea mays L.) and cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) under solar greenhouse. Grassland Sci 62(3):174–187

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Allen RG, Pereira LS, Raes D, Smith M (1998) Crop evapotranspiration:guidelines for computing crop water requirements. Irrigation and DrainagePaper 56. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United nations, Rome

  • Ayas S, Demirtas C (2009) Deficit irrigation effects on cucumber (L. Maraton) yield in unheated greenhouse condition. J Food Agric Environ 7(3–4):645–649

    Google Scholar 

  • Çakir R, Kanburoglu-Çebi U, Altintas S, Ozdemir A (2017) Irrigation scheduling and water use efficiency of cucumber grown as a spring-summer cycle crop in solar greenhouse. Agric Water Manage 180:78–87

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Du Y, Cao H, Liu S, Gu X, Cao Y (2017) Response of yield, quality, water and nitrogen use efficiency of tomato to different levels of water and nitrogen under drip irrigation in Northwestern China. J Integr Agric 16(5):1153–1161

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fernández MD, Bonachela S, Orgaz F, Thompson RB, López JC, Granados MR, Gallardo M, Fereres E (2010) Measurement and estimation of plastic greenhouse reference evapotranspiration in a Mediterranean climate. Irrig Sci 28(6):497–509

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fernández MD, Bonachela S, Orgaz F, Thompson RB, López JC, Granados MR, Gallardo M, Fereres E (2011) Erratum to: Measurement and estimation of plastic greenhouse reference evapotranspiration in a Mediterranean climate. Irrig Sci 29(1):91–92

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guo JH, Liu XJ, Zhang Y, Shen JL, Han WX, Zhang WF, Christie P, Goulding KWT, Vitousek PM, Zhang FS (2010) Significant acidification in major Chinese croplands. (Author abstract)(Report). Science 327(5968):1008

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Han J, Luo Y, Yang L, Liu X, Wu L, Xu J (2014) Acidification and salinization of soils with different initial pH under greenhouse vegetable cultivation. J Soils Sediments 14(10):1683–1692

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hashem FA, Medany MA, El-Moniem EMA, Abdallah MMF (2011) Influence of green-house cover on potential evapotranspiration and cucumber water requirements. Ann Agric Sci 56(1):49

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heidari MD, Omid M, Mohammadi A (2012) Measuring productive efficiency of horticultural greenhouses in Iran: a data envelopment analysis approach. Expert Syst Appl 39(1):1040–1045

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hodge C, Rogers M, Handeen D, Schweser G (2019) Yield of leafy greens and microclimate in deep winter greenhouse production in Minnesota. Sustainability 11(1):1–11

    Google Scholar 

  • Hossain SAAM, Wang L, Liu H (2018) Improved greenhouse cucumber production under deficit water and fertilization in Northern China. Int J Agric Biol Eng 11(4):58–64

    Google Scholar 

  • Kitta E, Katsoulas N, Savvas D (2012) Shading effects on greenhouse microclimate and crop transpiration in a cucumber crop grown under Mediterranean conditions. Appl Eng Agric 28(1):129–140

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li J (2020) Microirrigation in China: history, current situation and future. Irrig Drain 69(2):88–96

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li Y-J, Yuan B-Z, Bie Z-L, Kang Y (2012) Effect of drip irrigation criteria on yield and quality of muskmelon grown in greenhouse conditions. Agric Water Manage 109:30–35

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li A, Huang L, Zhang T (2017) Field test and analysis of microclimate in naturally ventilated single-sloped greenhouses. Energ Buildings 138:479–489

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li Y, Xue X, Guo W, Wang L, Duan M, Chen H, Chen F (2019) Soil moisture and nitrate-nitrogen dynamics and economic yield in the greenhouse cultivation of tomato and cucumber under negative pressure irrigation in the North China Plain. Sci Rep 9(1):4439

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Li B, Shi B, Yao Z, Kumar Shukla M, Du T (2020a) Energy partitioning and microclimate of solar greenhouse under drip and furrow irrigation systems. Agric Water Manage 234:106096

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li Y, Huang G, Zhang L, Gu H, Lou C, Zhang H, Liu H (2020b) Phthalate esters (PAEs) in soil and vegetables in solar greenhouses irrigated with reclaimed water. Environ Sci Pollut Res 27:22658–22669

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li B, Wim V, Shukla MK, Du T (2021) Drip irrigation provides a trade-off between yield and nutritional quality of tomato in the solar greenhouse. Agric Water Manage 249:106777

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu H, Cohen S, Hugo LJ, Yair I, Josef T (2015) Sap flow, canopy conductance and microclimate in a banana screenhouse. Agric Forest Meteorol 201:165–175

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lv H, Lin S, Wang Y, Lian X, Zhao Y, Li Y, Du J, Wang Z, Wang J, Butterbach-Bahl K (2019) Drip fertigation significantly reduces nitrogen leaching in solar greenhouse vegetable production system. Environ Pollut 245:694–701

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Medrano E, Lorenzo P, Sánchez-Guerrero MC, Montero JI (2005) Evaluation and modelling of greenhouse cucumber-crop transpiration under high and low radiation conditions. Sci Hortic 105(2):163–175

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ni M, Lan D, Jahan M, Wang J, Guo S (2019) A pilot study on the microclimate of a multi-span solar energy greenhouse. Appl Eng Agric 35(4):601–616

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ntinas GK, Koukounaras A, Kotsopoulos T (2015) Effect of energy saving solar sleeves on characteristics of hydroponic tomatoes grown in a greenhouse. Sci Hortic 194:126–133

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Panwar NL, Kaushik SC, Kothari S (2011) Solar greenhouse an option for renewable and sustainable farming. Renew Sust Energ Rev 15(8):3934–3945

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Qiu R, Du T, Kang S (2017) Root length density distribution and associated soil water dynamics for tomato plants under furrow irrigation in a solar greenhouse. J Arid Land 9(5):637–650

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rahil MH, Qanadillo A (2015) Effects of different irrigation regimes on yield and water use efficiency of cucumber crop. Agric Water Manage 148:10–15

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reynolds S, Guerrero B, Golden B, Amosson S, Marek T, Bell JM (2020) Economic feasibility of conversion to mobile drip irrigation in the Central Ogallala region. Irrig Sci 38(5-6):569-575

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sanchez-Molina J, Ming L, Rodriguez F, Guzman J, Hui W, Xinting Y (2017) Development and test verification of air temperature model for Chinese solar and Spainish Almeria-type greenhouses. Int J Agric Biol Eng 10(4):66–76

    Google Scholar 

  • Shock CC, Wang F-X (2011) Soil water tension, a powerful measurement for productivity and stewardship. HortScience 46(2):178–185

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Statistics, CNBo (2019) China National Statistical Yearbook. China Statistics Press, Beijing

    Google Scholar 

  • Sun Y, Hu K, Fan Z, Wei Y, Lin S, Wang J (2013) Simulating the fate of nitrogen and optimizing water and nitrogen management of greenhouse tomato in North China using the EU-Rotate_N model. Agric Water Manage 128:72–84

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sun Y, Zhang J, Wang H, Wang L, Li H (2019) Identifying optimal water and nitrogen inputs for high efficiency and low environment impacts of a greenhouse summer cucumber with a model method. Agric Water Manage 212:23–34

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tapani H, Pauliina P, Antti T, Jukka A (2015) Effects of different paper mulches on soil temperature and yield of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) in the temperate zone. Agric Food Sci 24(1):52–58

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wan S, Kang Y, Wang D, Liu S-P (2010) Effect of saline water on cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) yield and water use under drip irrigation in North China. Agric Water Manage 98(1):105–113

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang A, Gallardo M, Zhao W, Zhang Z, Miao M (2019) Yield, nitrogen uptake and nitrogen leaching of tunnel greenhouse grown cucumber in a shallow groundwater region. Agric Water Manage 217:73–80

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yan Q-Y, Duan Z-Q, Mao J-D, Li X, Dong F (2013) Low root zone temperature limits nutrient effects on cucumber seedling growth and induces adversity physiological response. J Integr Agric 12(8):1450–1460

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yan Q, Dong F, Yang F, Duan Z, Wang A, Tang Y, Li X (2017) Effect of soil temperature and organic manure on grwoth, nutrient uptake and utilization pf cucumber. Acta Agriculturae Boreali-Sinica 32(6):222–228

    Google Scholar 

  • Yang L, Huang B, Mao M, Yao L, Niedermann S, Hu W, Chen Y (2016) Sustainability assessment of greenhouse vegetable farming practices from environmental, economic, and socio-institutional perspectives in China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 23(17):17287–17297

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yang H, Du T, Qiu R, Chen J, Wang F, Li Y, Wang C, Gao L, Kang S (2017) Improved water use efficiency and fruit quality of greenhouse crops under regulated deficit irrigation in northwest China. Agric Water Manage 179:193–204

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yuan B-Z, Sun J, Kang Y, Nishiyama S (2006) Response of cucumber to drip irrigation water under a rainshelter. Agric Water Manage 81(1):145–158

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang X (2020) Progress of mechanised agriculture in China. Agric Mech Inform 2020(1):1–16

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang L, Gao L, Zhang L, Wang S, Sui X, Zhang Z (2012) Alternate furrow irrigation and nitrogen level effects on migration of water and nitrate-nitrogen in soil and root growth of cucumber in solar-greenhouse. (Report). Sci Hortic 138:43–49

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao Q, Zhang B, Yao Y, Wu W, Meng G, Chen Q (2019) Geodetic and hydrological measurements reveal the recent acceleration of groundwater depletion in North China Plain. J Hydrol 575:1065–1072

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhu Q, de Vries W, Liu X, Hao T, Zeng M, Shen J, Zhang F (2018) Enhanced acidification in Chinese croplands as derived from element budgets in the period 1980–2010. Sci Total Environ 618:1497–1505

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors greatly appreciate the field support of Chaoyang Sun, the owner of the sunken solar greenhouse, and Li Yang for her help in preparing figures, data and word corrections in the revision process.

Funding

This work was financially supported by the National Nature Science Foundation of China (NO. 91479004, 51939005) and the 111 Project (B18006).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Beijing Key Laboratory of Urban Hydrological Cycle and Sponge City Technology, College of Water Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China

    Haijun Liu

  2. College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China

    Baozhong Yuan & Xiaodong Hu

  3. School of Water Resources and Environment, China University of Geosciences (Beijing), Beijing, 100083, China

    Congyan Yin

Authors
  1. Haijun Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Baozhong Yuan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Xiaodong Hu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Congyan Yin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

Conceptualization: HL; methodology: HL and BY; formal analysis: HL, XT and CY; investigation and data curation: XH, and CY; writing—original draft preparation: HL; writing—review and editing: HL and BY. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Haijun Liu.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Liu, H., Yuan, B., Hu, X. et al. Drip irrigation enhances water use efficiency without losses in cucumber yield and economic benefits in greenhouses in North China. Irrig Sci 40, 135–149 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00271-021-00756-w

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00271-021-00756-w

Search

Navigation