Journal of Water and Soil https://jsw.um.ac.ir Research Article Vol. 37, No. 4, Sep.-Oct. 2023, p. 503-517 Evaluation of Irrigation Water Application and Water Footprint of Major Agricultural and Horticultural Crops in the Markazi Province M. Goodarzi 1 *, F. Abbasi 2 , A. Hedayatipour 3 Received: 15-02-2023 Revised: 17-06-2023 Accepted: 26-06-2023 Available Online: 27-06-2023 How to cite this article: Goodarzi, M., Abbasi, F., & Hedayatipour, A. (2023). Evaluation of irrigation water application and water footprint of major agricultural and horticultural crops in the Markazi Province. Journal of Water and Soil, 37(4), 503-517. (In Persian with English abstract). https://doi.org/10.22067/jsw.2023.81144.1253 Introduction The lack of water resources and increase in water demand are among the effective factors in the imbalance of the water resources in each region, and it is necessary to manage the proper use of available water resources in all activities. Water in the agricultural sector is one of the main factors of production, which should be conveyed by irrigation systems to the field level and made available for the plant roots. The necessity of macro-planning in water management and consumption imposes a comprehensive study of the amount of water consumed in the agricultural sector. Hence, this study was conducted with the objective of directly measuring and field-assessing the applied water, water productivity, and water footprint associated with the primary crops cultivated in Markazi Province, all managed by local farmers. Methodology For this purpose, 141 farms were selected in the major production areas of the main agricultural and horticultural crops of Markazi province with the coordination of the Agricultural Jihad centers. Then, the volume of water applied was measured without interfering in the irrigation scheduling of the users. To do so, first, the flow rate of the water source (canal, well, aqueduct or spring) was measured with a suitable device (flume and meter) in each of the selected farms. Then, by carefully monitoring the irrigation schedule of the farm, including the time of each irrigation, the number of irrigation throughout the year, as well as measuring the area under crop cultivation, the amount of water used by the crop was measured for each of the selected farms during the season. Also, based on the measured data, the amounts of blue, green and gray water footprints were determined for each of the examined crops. For this purpose, the blue, green and gray water footprints of different crops were calculated using the framework provided by Hoekstra and Chapagain (2008), and Hoekstra et al., (2011). Results and Discussion The irrigation intervals in the studied fields varied between 3 and 15 days with an average of 8 days and the average irrigation depth varied between 26.2 and 99 mm with an average of 67.8 mm in different crops. The results showed that the average volume of applied water for the studied crops in Markazi province was 10782 cubic meters per hectare. Also, the minimum and maximum amount of applied water for the evaluated crops was as follows: barley 3783 and 7232, alfalfa 10382 and 19797, beans 8280 and 17840, watermelon 5333 and 7174, walnuts 4420 and 29600, almonds 3850 and 13932, peaches 6872 and 17727, cherries 7050 and 14645, pomegranates 7156 and 20790, and grapes 5937 and 18168 cubic meters per hectare. Furthermore, the average value of irrigation water efficiency index and water footprint was as follows: barley 0.46 and 1642, alfalfa 0.92 and 700, bean 2924 and 1 and 3- Assistant Professor and Scientific Member, Agricultural Engineering Research Department, Markazi Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, AREEO, Arak, Iran, respectively. (* Corresponding Author Email: m.godarzi@areeo.ac.ir ) 2- Professor, Irrigation and Drainage Department, Agricultural Engineering Research Institute, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization, AREEO, Karaj, Iran DOI: 10.22067/jsw.2023.79946.1233