Comparative Evaluation of Solar-Powered Drip and Flood Irrigation on Tomato Yield and Water-Use Efficiency in Semi-Arid Damaturu, Nigeria

Efficient irrigation is essential for sustaining vegetable production in semi-arid environments where water availability is limited and conventional surface irrigation can result in substantial water losses. This study compared solar-powered drip irrigation with traditional surface flood irrigation for tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) production at Dikumari irrigation site, Damaturu, Yobe State, Nigeria. The comparison focused on seasonal water applied, tomato yield and water-use efficiency (WUE). Solar-powered drip irrigation applied 158 m³ ha⁻¹ season⁻¹, compared with 1,214 m³ ha⁻¹ season⁻¹ under surface flood irrigation, representing an 87.0% reduction in water applied. Tomato yield under solar-powered drip irrigation was 18.4 t ha⁻¹ compared with 8.2 t ha⁻¹ under flood irrigation, corresponding to a 124.4% yield advantage. Water-use efficiency was 116.5 kg m⁻³ under solar-powered drip irrigation and 6.8 kg m⁻³ under flood irrigation, indicating approximately a 17.1-fold increase. Analysis of variance followed by least significant difference (LSD) mean separation indicated significant differences between irrigation methods at p ≤ 0.05. The results demonstrate that solar-powered drip irrigation can substantially reduce irrigation water requirements while improving tomato productivity and water-use efficiency under the conditions of the study site. The findings support further field evaluation and adoption-oriented assessment of solar-powered irrigation for water-constrained vegetable production in semi-arid northern Nigeria.