Water is the most limiting factor for agricultural production in dry land areas. supplying of adequate water is very crucial in stablizing crop yields and increasing their production. Therefore, the experiment was conducted for two cropping seasons (2014 to 2015) at Aybra on farmer’s plot in Sekota district of Wag-Himra Zone, Eastern Amhara. The objective of the experiment was to determine the net irrigation requirement and schedule of supplementary water application during moisture stress period and to improve crop water productivity of sorghum yield. The design of the experiment was random complete block design and seven treatments (C1, C2, FMSO, S1, S2, S3 and S4) with three replications were tested. The statistical analysis indicated that a significant difference in head weight, grain yield, stem diameter, and water productivity of sorghum among treatments. The analysis of variance for both years showed that there was a significant interaction effect between treatments across years on head weight, grain yield, and water productivity. Supplementing the crop with S3 and S1 treatments the application of 219.4mm and 328.4mm of irrigation water respectively at eight days interval at moisture stress time was obtained better head weight, grain yield, water productivity, and stem diameter. Therefore, this research recommended that supplementing rain-fed for sorghum production starting from the development stage (20 days after sowing down to harvesting). However, water is a limiting factor for crop production supplementing during development and mid-season stage only at eight days interval at moisture stress or rainfall is ceased.

In northern Ethiopia, potatoes are frequently cultivated with excessive irrigation water. Water is a scarce and expensive resource in semi-arid environments, so it is critical to create irrigation technology that enhances water efficiency and availability, as well as to implement better irrigation management methods. A field experiment was conducted for the years in 2018/19 and 2019/20 to investigate the effects of water deficit on potato yield, water productivity, and net income. Deficit irrigation treatments affected yield and yield-related components, but were not statistically different in all cases. Each treatment had important effects on tuber yield, water productivity, and plant height. Tuber yield was best in the non-deficit treatments (T1). In most cases, the variations in tuber production and plant height between initial, late season (25% deficit), other stages with full demand, and non-deficit treatments were small and statistically insignificant. The highest water productivity and irrigation water productivity were obtained at 25% deficit treatment (T3) in the initial and late-season stages. Under limited land and water, the 25% deficit treatment (T3) offered the best net financial benefits in initial and late season stages of potato production. These findings are valuable for making policy decisions about appropriate irrigation and water management under water-stressed conditions that maximize net economic benefits from limited land and water resources.

The most severe constraints for agriculture are water shortages in semi-arid areas of Northern Ethiopia. Rainfall is extremely variable; therefore, it is necessary to harvest rainwater to safeguard improved crop production. The objective of the study is to characterize, identifying problems and evaluating the performance of existing RWH systems in the Wag-Lasta areas. Tweleve RWH ponds were selected from six kebeles in the study area. Primary and secondary data were collected and evaluated using descriptive statistics to assess the technical performance of water harvesting ponds by field observation, direct measurements, and interviews with zone, woreda, kebele experts, and owners. The technical performance assessment showed that the collected runoff and system efficiency were negligible for the total rainwater catchment area. The problems in a portion of the non-functional ponds had found to be poor site selection, lack of maintenance, and standardization of techniques, and some of them were efficient with low performance.

The variables that most significantly affect bulb yield in Ethiopia’s irrigated agricultural onion production systems are the amount of irrigation water and the irrigated fertilizer application rates. North Ethiopia has gradually adopted drip irrigation for onion farming due to significant water savings and improved water and fertilizer use efficiencies. However, the optimal irrigation water (I) and fertilizer application rates (F) for drip irrigation are still unknown; field experiments using a random complete block design in factorial arrangement were conducted during summer season of 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 to explore the effects of irrigation water and fertilizer application rates on onion production and productivity. The trials were carried out at four recommended microdose fertilizer rates for nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P ₂ O ₅ ; F ₁ -125%, F ₂ -100%, F ₃ -75%, and F ₄ -50%) and three different irrigation water levels (I ₁ -100%, I ₂ -75%, and I ₃ -50%). The interaction effect of water amount and microdose fertilizer application rate significantly ( p ⩽ .05) affected onion yield, yield-related components, and water productivity. A combined analysis of variance using SAS software 9.0 revealed that the interaction between irrigation depth and fertilizer rate had a significant ( p ⩽ .05) impact on yield, yield-related components, and water productivity. Onion production and water use efficiency (WUE) increased significantly with increasing irrigation water and microdose fertilizer application rates. However, irrigation water less than 100% were not beneficial to the above parameters. In the two-season study, a maximum onion yield of 39.22 t ha ⁻¹ was obtained at F ₁ I ₁ , with a WUE of 8.20 kg m ⁻³ . All the factors related to growth, yield, and yield-related components, the combination of a microdosing fertilizer application of 172.5 N and 86.25 P ₂ O ₅ kg ha ⁻¹ and 100% water per irrigation was the best drip irrigation pattern for onion. These findings provide a scientific basis for drip irrigation and microdosing fertilizer management of onions in northern Ethiopia.

Water scarcity severely limits horticultural productivity in semi-arid regions of Ethiopia, making improved irrigation efficiency critical for sustaining crop yields. This study evaluated the effects of bed and furrow width configurations on onion ( Allium cepa L. ) yield and water productivity (WP) under surface irrigation at the Woleh irrigation scheme during two consecutive growing seasons (2022–2024). A randomized complete block design with ten selected furrow–bed treatment combinations and three replications was employed, chosen from a total of 18 possible configurations derived from the factorial combination of three furrow widths (20, 30, and 40 cm) and six bed widths (20, 30, 45, 60, 75, and 90 cm). The selection of the ten treatments was based on agronomic feasibility, farmer practice, and field layout constraints. Soil and crop parameters were measured to quantify bulb yield and WP, while crop water requirements were estimated using the FAO CROPWAT model to support irrigation scheduling. Partial budget analysis assessed economic performance. Treatment effects were highly significant ( p < 0.001) for plant height, bulb diameter, bulb yield, and WP, while year and treatment × year interaction effects were not significant, indicating stable performance across seasons. The 30 cm furrow × 45 cm bed configuration ( T ₅ ) produced the highest bulb yield (24.51 t ha ⁻¹ ) and WP (4.10 kg m ⁻³ ), corresponding to approximately 39.42% and 39.00% increases in bulb yield and WP, respectively, compared with the conventional 20 × 20 cm used as the control. This configuration was associated with improved yield and WP; however, the underlying mechanisms were not directly measured in this study and are therefore inferred from evidence reported in previous studies. Economic analysis confirmed its superiority, yielding the highest net benefit (USD 5606.61 ha ⁻¹ ) and marginal rate of return (483.74%). The findings indicate that the 30 cm furrow × 45 cm bed configuration can improve onion productivity, WP, and economic returns under semi-arid conditions. Adoption of the 30 cm furrow × 45 cm bed design provides a practical, low-cost approach for smallholder farmers to improve WP and farm profitability under water-limited conditions.