A field study was carried out to determine the effect of irrigation scheduling on growth parameters and Water Use Efficiency (WUE) of barley and faba bean crops for optimum production during the winter seasons of 2001-02 and 2002-03. Four irrigation treatments T 1 (application of water at field capacity soil moisture), T 2, T 3 and T 4 irrigation at 15, 30 and 45% soil moisture depletion of the available water at field capacity of soil, respectively were tested on a loamy-sand soil. Plant growth parameters of both the crops were significantly affected by the different irrigation treatments. Mean barley grain yield ranged from 4.52-6.72 Mg ha -1 and the faba bean seed yield from 0.86-1.45 Mg ha -1 in different irrigation treatments. The WUE, based on total grain/seed yield ranged between 0.90-148 kg m -3 of water for barley and 0.17-0.30 kg m -3 of water for faba bean in different irrigation treatments. There was no significant difference in WUE of barley and faba bean crops between T 1 and T 2 treatments. The WUE was slightly higher in T 2 (irrigation at 15% soil moisture depletion) than T 1 (irrigation at soil moisture of field capacity level). In conclusion, appreciable grain yield of barley and faba bean seed can be achieved if irrigated at 15% soil moisture depletion. The study provided useful information for scheduling irrigation of barley and faba bean crops under arid environment for efficient water use and management.
