SEDAGHAT R.
Abstract
Iran stood first both in production and export of Pistachio in the world. Availability of quality water has been basically
reported as a chief hindrance in Iran's agriculture. This study was aimed to overview, the agricultural water
availability, water salinity, irrigation sources and irrigation systems .The study was performed by interviewing 200
sample respondents which were selected through a multi-stage random sampling technique in Kerman Province
(Iran) in 2003–2004.The results revealed that 70 percent of farmers had agricultural water limitation, 82 percent
were utilizing the non-quality water with salinity degree above 5 Milimoss. For 94 percent of the sample farms,
water were extracted from Deep-bore wells and lastly 97 percent of farms were managing under traditional irrigation
systems, popularly called flood irrigation. All the above mentioned results show that pistachio farming is running
under an un-sustainable environment This is a serious alarming not only now but also in years to come, for
both Pistachio orchard owners and the government as well.
Key words:
institutions, irrigation systems, productivity, sustainability, use efficiency, water extraction