Effects of organic fertilizers and irrigation regimes on soil moisture content and beetroot (Beta vulgaris L.) performance in Northern Ghana

Introduction

Beetroot (Beta vulgaris L.) is a root vegetable valued for its high nutritional content, natural pigments, and medicinal properties (Akan et al., 2021; Thiruvengadam et al., 2022) [2,41] . It is rich in essential nutrients such as folate, iron, potassium, and antioxidants that contribute to its importance in both local diets and agro-industrial applications (Chen et al., 2021) [10] . Despite its potential, beetroot production in many tropical and semi-arid regions is often limited by poor soil fertility, nutrient depletion, and inadequate water management (Tayyab et al 2023; Naorem et al., 2023) [40,21] . These constraints collectively affect root development, yield, and quality (Tayyab et al., 2023) [40] .

The use of organic fertilizers has gained attention as an environmentally friendly alternative to synthetic fertilizers for sustainable crop production (Khan et al., 2024) [17] . Organic soil amendments such as cow dung, sheep droppings, and compost enhance soil structure, increase microbial activity, and improve water retention and nutrient availability (Singh et al., 2022) [37] . Several studies have reported that organic fertilizers not only improve soil health but also contribute to gradual nutrient release, which promotes sustained plant growth and development (Singh et al., 2015; Shaji et al., 2021) [36,34] . Crucially, the incorporation of organic matter plays a significant role in regulating soil moisture content. By improving soil bulk density and porosity, organic amendments increase the soil's hydraulic conductivity and water-holding capacity, ensuring that moisture remains available to the root zone for longer periods (Veettil et al., 2024) [42] . Water availability remains a critical factor in crop production and beetroot production is not an exception (Liliane et al., 2020; Mancosu et al., 2015) [19,24] , particularly in semi-arid environments where rainfall is inconsistent and evapotranspiration rates are high (Allakonon et al., 2022) [4] . Efficient irrigation management is therefore essential to achieve optimal crop performance (Bwambale et al., 2022) [9] . When used properly, deficit irrigation can save a significant amount of water while having little effect on the yield's quantity and quality (Tari, 2016) [39] . Various field crops, such as sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.), are particularly suited to deficit irrigation techniques (Mansuri et al., 2018) [26] . Sugar beet has a highwater requirement (Kiymaz et al., 2015) [18] ; it is reported that sugar beet is a crop with deep roots and is not very resistant to water stress (Bodner, 2023) [8] due to the root system's structural and physiological characteristics (Wasaya et al., 2018) [43] . However, excessive irrigation can lead to nutrient leaching and root rot, while water deficit conditions can restrict root expansion and yield (Bhattacharya et al., 2021) [7] . Therefore, monitoring soil moisture levels is vital to understanding the exact water status of the soil profile and preventing moisture stress before it visibly impacts plant turgor (Loconsole et al., 2025) [20] . Determining the appropriate irrigation regime for beetroot under organic soil management can help optimize soil moisture, growth, and water use efficiency (Ali, Al Hasir 2021; Addo et al., 2021) [3,1] .

Integrating organic fertilizers and appropriate irrigation schedules provides a practical route to sustainable beet production (Azevedo et al., 2025; Shanmugam et al., 2022) [6, 35] . This combined approach not only enhances soil fertility but also ensures efficient water utilization and maintains optimal soil moisture levels, contributing to improved yield and resilience against climatic stress (Karri et al., 2024; Ndegwa et al., 2023) [16,29] . Previous research on similar vegetable crops such as okra and lettuce has demonstrated the effectiveness of this approach in improving growth performance and water use efficiency under controlled irrigation (Farhan et al., 2023; Olaniyan et al., 2025) [13,30] . Thus, the purpose of this study was to assess how irrigation schedules and organic fertilizers affected soil moisture retention, the development, and yield performance of beets (Beta vulgaris L.) in pot experiments. Specifically, this study aimed to determine how various organic fertilizers and irrigation levels affect soil moisture content, root production components, plant development characteristics, and water use efficiency in a semi-arid environment during both wet and dry seasons.

Materials and Methods

Location and experimental design

The pot experiment was conducted at the WACWISA Research Field, Nyankpala Campus of the University for Development Studies, Ghana (Latitude 9°24′N, Longitude 0°59′W). The experiment was carried out during two growing seasons, the wet season (19 th July -20 th October 2022) and the dry season (24 th October -26 th January 2023). The 36 pots were arranged in a 3 × 4 factorial Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. Treatments consisted of three irrigation regimes: 50% Crop Water Requirement (CWR), 75% CWR, and 100% CWR, combined with three organic fertilizers; Cow Dung (CWD), Sheep Droppings (SHD), and organic compost (CMT) and a control without fertilizer (CTR). Each pot contained 12 kg of soil whose physical and chemical properties are presented in Table 1. Weather parameters recorded during the experimental periods are summarized in Table 2. Standard agronomic practices including weeding, pest, and disease management were carried out throughout the growing period. 1).

Organic fertilizer preparation and application

Three organic fertilizers were used: Cow Dung (CWD), Sheep Droppings (SHD), and organic compost (CMT). These materials were air-dried, crushed, and applied uniformly into the soil in each pot at a rate equivalent to 60 t/ha (Mojeremane et al., 2015) [27] , three days before sowing. The fertilizers' chemical compositions (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and organic carbon contents) are presented in Table 3. 4). Routine management practices such as manual weeding, insect-pest control, and removal of senescent leaves were conducted uniformly across treatments.

Data collection and analysis

Plant growth parameters and agronomic data were measured throughout the experimental period. Weekly assessments included leaf chlorophyll intensity using a SPAD chlorophyll meter (SPAD-502 plus, Konica Minolta), Plant height using a meter rule, number of leave by manual count. At harvest, data on leaf area, leaf area index, dry bulb weight, fresh bulb weight, blub diameter, and crop water use efficiency. Data were prepared using Microsoft Excel (2019) and subjected to Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) using Minitab 21 at a 5% significance level.

Results and Discussion

Soil moisture variation

Figure 1 shows the variation in soil moisture content during beetroot growth in the wet season experiment. The sheep droppings added soils had the highest average soil moisture content of 38.3%, while the cow dung and compost amended soils had the lowest soil moisture content of 21.5% each. In the dry season experiment, the soil moisture content for beetroot irrigated at 100% CWR was reported in soils modified with sheep droppings, which also had the highest moisture retention capacity (Figure 2). Soils modified with sheep droppings had the highest moisture content for beetroot irrigation at 75% CWR (Figure 3). As shown in Figure 3, soils modified with sheep droppings had the maximum soil moisture content for beetroot irrigation at 50% CWR. Descriptive statistics (mean values) were utilized to show soil moisture content because the goal of this section was to demonstrate temporal variance and treatment trends. Soil moisture content was frequently measured over time, and the results were largely utilized to explain moisture retention patterns under various organic additions and irrigation regimes. As a result, mean values were deemed adequate for clearly displaying these trends. 5). Similarly, the ANOVA findings revealed a significant difference (p=0.002) between irrigation regimes and plant height of beetroot at harvest. The tallest plant measured 31.17 cm in the 100% CWR irrigation regime, followed by 31 cm in the 75% CWR irrigation regime, and the shortest, 26.67 cm, in the 50% CWR irrigation regime (Figure 4). The interaction between irrigation regimes and organic fertilizer remained statistically insignificant throughout the second experiment. At harvest, the tallest plants in the pots treated with compost were 33 cm tall; at 75% irrigation, the tallest plant was 34 cm tall; and at 50% irrigation, the tallest plant was 27.33 cm tall.

Number of leaves

The use of organic fertilizers on beets resulted in no significant difference (p>0.05) in the number of leaves throughout the wet season. However, at harvest, the average number of leaves ranged from 7.24 to 7.78, with the lowest reported in pots treated with cow dung and the greatest recorded in pots treated with compost. During the dry season experiment, ANOVA findings revealed no significant difference (p>0.05) in the influence of organic soil amendment on the number of beetroot leaves. At harvest, the average number of leaves ranged from 9.67 to 10.78, with the lowest number reported in the pot treated with cow dung and the greatest in the pot treated with compost. However, ANOVA findings demonstrated a significant difference (p<0.001) at harvest due to the effect of irrigation regimens on the quantity of beetroot leaves.

The largest number of leaves (12.17) was reported at 100% CWR irrigation regime, followed by 9.67 at 75% CWR irrigation regime, and the lowest (9.33) at 50% CWR irrigation regime (Figure 4). ANOVA revealed a significant difference at 5 WATP (p=0.039) and harvest (p=0.01) due to the interaction of irrigation regimes and organic soil amendment at 5 WATP. The pots with no organic soil amendment treatment had the highest number of leaves (9.67) at 100% irrigation, while the pots treated with sheep droppings had the highest number of leaves (8.67) at 75% CWR irrigation. At harvest, 14 leaves were found in pots treated with compost at 100% CWR irrigation, 11 leaves in pots treated with cow dung at 75% CWR irrigation, and 11.79 leaves in pots treated with sheep droppings at 50% CWR irrigation (Table 6).

Chlorophyll content

There was no significant difference (p>0.05) between the effect of organic soil amendment on beetroot chlorophyll content during the wet season. The average chlorophyll content at harvest ranged from 38.00 to 49.38 spad, with the lowest levels obtained in pots treated with cow dung and the highest in pots treated with sheep dropping. In the dry season, the ANOVA results of chlorophyll content recorded significant difference relating to the effect of organic soil amendment at 4 WATP (p=0.015), 6 WATP (p<0.001) and at harvest (p=0.033). At 4 WATP, chlorophyll content ranged from 35.31 to 44.04 spad, with the lowest levels found in pots treated with cow dung and the highest in pots treated with sheep dropping. At 6 WATP, chlorophyll content ranged from 41.55 to 54.38 spad, with cow dung adjusted pots having the lowest chlorophyll content and sheep dropping producing the greatest. The chlorophyll content at harvest ranged from 50.21 to 62.84 spad, with the lowest measured in pots treated with sheep droppings and the highest in compost-treated pots (Table 7). ANOVA revealed no significant difference (p>0.05) at harvest between irrigation regimes and beetroot chlorophyll concentration. The maximum chlorophyll content (57.53 spad) was obtained at 100% CWR irrigation, followed by 57.32 spad at 75% CWR irrigation and 54.58 spad at 50% CWR irrigation. The ANOVA findings revealed no significant difference (p>0.05) in the interaction between irrigation regimes and organic soil amendment during the dry season. At harvest the pots treated with compost recorded the highest chlorophyll content of 64.07, 64.53 and 59.93 spad in the three irrigation regimes of 100%, 75% and 50% CWR respectively. The observed variation in chlorophyll content between seasons, particularly the reversal in performance of sheep droppings, may be attributed to seasonal differences in nutrient mineralization and environmental conditions. During the rainy season, higher soil moisture likely enhanced microbial activity, leading to increased mineralization of nitrogen from sheep droppings, thereby promoting chlorophyll synthesis, as nitrogen is a key component of chlorophyll (Mondal, 2023) [28] . In contrast, during the dry season, reduced soil moisture and higher temperatures may have limited microbial activity and slowed nutrient mineralization (Maslov, et al, 2021; Dietterich et al., 2022) [25,11] . Consequently, nitrogen release from sheep droppings may have been insufficient at later growth stages, resulting in lower chlorophyll content at harvest. Furthermore, differences in decomposition rates among organic materials may explain the improved performance of compost under dry conditions, as compost tends to provide a more stable and gradual nutrient release (Fan et al., 2019; Sun et al., 2021) [12,38] .

Leaf area

ANOVA revealed no significant difference (p>0.05) between the effects of organic fertilizer on leaf area at the end of the rainy season. At harvest, the leaf area ranged from 40.3 to 76 cm2, with the pot with no organic soil addition having the smallest area and the pots with compost having the largest leaf area. In the dry season, there was no significant difference (p>0.05) in the effect of organic fertilizer on leaf area, and at harvest, the leaf area ranged from 68.7 to 78.96 cm2, with the pots treated with sheep dropping having the smallest area and the pots treated with compost having the largest area. ANOVA revealed a statistically significant difference (p=0.033) in the effect of irrigation regimes on the leaf area of beetroot at harvest, with the broadest leaf area of 89.1 cm2 observed at 100% CWR irrigation regimes, followed by 72.2 cm2 at 75% CWR and the smallest leaf area of 60.5 cm2 at 50% CWR (Figure 5). At the end of the dry season, there was no significant difference (p>0.05) between irrigation regimes and organic soil amendment, with pots treated with sheep droppings having a leaf area of 98.2 cm2, control pots with no treatment having a leaf area of 85.7 cm2, and plants in pots treated with compost having a leaf area of 84.0 cm2.

Leaf area index

The study's ANOVA results revealed that there was no significant difference (p>0.05) in the effect of organic soil amendment on leaf area index during the rainy season, but at harvest, the leaf area index ranged from 0.34 to 0.81, with the lowest recorded in pots with no organic soil amendment and the highest recorded in pots treated with compost. During the dry season, there was no significant difference (p>0.05) in the effect of organic soil amendment on beetroot leaf area index. However, at harvest, the leaf area index ranged from 0.951 to 1.15, with the lowest recorded in the plant pot with organic soil amendment and the application of compost. ANOVA revealed a statistically significant difference (p=0.001) in the effect of irrigation regimes on the leaf area index of beetroot harvested during the dry season. The maximum leaf area index of 1.41 was found at 100% CWR irrigation regimes, followed by 0.945 LAI at 75% CWR and 0.73 LAI at 50% CWR (Figure 5). At the end of the dry season, the interaction between irrigation regimes and organic soil amendment showed no significant difference (p>0.05). The highest LAI of 1.66 was achieved in compost-treated potted plants under a 100% CWR irrigation regime. At a 75% CWR irrigation regime, LAI was 1.25 in control pots and 0.97 in plant pots treated with compost at 50% CWR.

(Means that do not share a letter are significantly different) The effect of organic soil amendment on beetroot growth characteristics was beneficial, as the plants treated with compost, sheep droppings, and cow dung had the highest plant height and the lowest performance during the rainy season. In the dry season, the experimental setup did not show a significant difference between 4 and 5 WATP for the interactive effect of organic soil amendment and plant height, though plant pots treated with sheep droppings had the highest plant height, followed by compost soil amendment and cow dung. Dlamini et al. (2020) [45] obtained similar results for cow dung fertilizer applied at a rate of 60 tonnes per hectare. During the dry season, the plant height of beetroot was affected by irrigation regime. The plant height was highest at 100% CWR irrigation regime and lowest at 50% CWR irrigation regime. Topak et al. (2011) [45] , who found that increasing the rate of manure application increased the chlorophyll content of chili leaves. However, the findings differed from those of Dlamini et al. (2020) [45] , who found that control plants with no soil amendment had the maximum chlorophyll concentration. Chlorophyll is related with nitrogen levels, hence increasing nitrogen application can enhance the chlorophyll content of sugar beets and boost plant photosynthetic rate (Tsialtas and Maslaris, 2012) [48] . The higher chlorophyll content in some plants can be related to an increase in soil nutrients, particularly nitrogen. In the wet season experiment, plants treated with compost and sheep droppings for soil amendment had the highest leaf area and leaf area index values. During the dry season, the compost and sheep droppings had the maximum leaf area. The 100% CWR irrigation regime was found to have the highest leaf area and leaf area index, indicating that the interaction of irrigation regimes and organic fertilizer application on leaf area and leaf area index resulted in plants treated with sheep droppings having a high leaf area.

Effect of organic fertilizers and irrigation regime on beetroot yield parameters 3.3.1 Root development

In the wet season experimental period, beetroot root length ranged from 9.67 to 11.7 cm, with the shortest measured in control pots with no soil amendment and the longest in pots supplemented with sheep droppings. ANOVA revealed no significant difference (p>0.05) between the addition of organic soil amendment and beet root length. Furthermore, the ANOVA findings revealed no significant difference (p>0.05) between the influence of organic soil amendment on beet root length during the dry season. Beetroot lengths varied from 10 to 11.06 cm, with the shortest measured in compost-treated pots and the longest in soil modified with sheep droppings. The irrigation regime had a statistically significant effect (p=0.047) on beetroot length, with the 100% CWR irrigation regime producing the largest root length of 11.69 cm, followed by 10.48 cm at 75% CWR and the shortest length of 9.67 cm from 50% CWR. The interactive effect of organic soil amendment and crop water requirements on the beetroot length was not statistically significant (p>0.05). At 100% CWR irrigation regime the longest root length of 12.27 cm was recorded in pots treated with sheep droppings, at 75% CWR irrigation regime the longest beetroot length of 10.67 cm was recorded in pots treated with sheep droppings while at 50% CWR irrigation regime the longest root length of 11.67 cm was recorded in the pots treated with cow dung The interaction between organic soil amendment and crop water requirements on beetroot length was not statistically significant (p>0.05). At 100% CWR irrigation, the longest root length of 12.27 cm was recorded in pots treated with sheep droppings; at 75% CWR irrigation, the longest beetroot length of 10.67 cm was recorded in pots treated with sheep droppings; and at 50% CWR irrigation, the longest root length of 11.67 cm was recorded in pots treated with cow dung (Table 8).

Bulb weight

Beetroot bulb weight varied from 19.95 to 40.72 g throughout the rainy season, with the lowest recorded in pots treated with cow dung and the greatest recorded in pots treated with compost. ANOVA revealed no significant difference (p>0.05) between the effects of organic soil amendment on beetroot bulb weight. In the dry season, ANOVA revealed a significant difference (p=0.007) between the influence of organic soil amendment on beetroot bulb weight, which ranged from 31.33 to 65.30 g. The pots treated with cow dung had the lowest bulb weight, while those treated with compost had the highest (Figure 6). Similarly, irrigation regime was significantly different (p=0.017) on beetroot bulb weight, with 100% CWR recording the highest bulb weight of 59.32 g, followed by 37.35 g at 75% CWR, and the lowest weight of 36.30 g at 50% CWR, as shown in Figure 7. The interaction between organic soil amendment and irrigation regime on beetroot bulb weight was significant (p=0.035). At 100% CWR irrigation, the pots treated with compost had the maximum bulb weight of 107.48 g, while the control pots had the highest bulb weight of 57.53 g. At 50% CWR irrigation regime the highest bulb weight of 53.16 g was recorded in the plants treated with compost (Figure 8). soils. There was no significant difference (p>0.05) in organic supplemented soils during the wet season, but a significant difference (p=0.004) was seen in the dry season for beetroot dry bulb weight. Figure 6 represents the dry bulb for treatments applied as soil amendments. The effect of irrigation strategy on dry bulb weight of beetroot was significantly different (p=0.009) across the experimental setting, as shown in Figure 7. The combined effect of organic soil amendment and irrigation regime on dry bulb weight of beetroot was not significant (p>0.05). At 100% CWR, compost enhanced soils had the maximum dry bulb weight of 17.8 g, followed by control pots at 75% CWR and 10.85 g for treatments with 50% CWR and compost amendments.

Bulb diameter

During the wet season, beetroot bulb diameters ranged from 34.9 to 42.7 mm, with the lowest and greatest values obtained in pots with no organic soil amendment (control) and compost. ANOVA for dry season findings revealed no significant difference at p>0.05, however at p=0.001, soil amendment had a significant effect on beetroot bulb diameter. Bulb diameter in the dry season ranged from 29.0 to 36.3 mm, with the smallest in pots with no organic soil amendment and the largest in pots treated with cow dung (Figure 9). Similarly, the interaction between organic soil amendment and irrigation regime had no significant influence (p>0.05) on beetroot bulb diameter. Zhao et al. (2019) [49] observed similar results, stating that applying organic fertilizer promotes soil aeration, allows for root growth development, and results in higher root development in the organically treated plant than the control. In addition, Dlamini et al. (2020) [45] found that cow manure application increased the fresh weight of beetroot compared to the control. ANOVA revealed no significant difference (p>0.05) in the influence of organic soil amendments on beetroot output during the wet season, however organic soil amendment caused a significant difference (p=0.004) during the dry season (Figure 10). This is consistent with the findings of Piskin (2019) [32] , who observed enhanced sugar beet yield with the application of sheep dung.

The irrigation regime had a significant influence (p=0.011) on beetroot output, with 100% CWR producing the maximum yield (4.45 t/ha), followed by 75% CWR (2.80 t/ha) and 50% CWR (2.46 t/ha) (Figure 11). This suggests that adequate water supply is critical for increasing beetroot productivity, as soil moisture improves nutrient availability, root development, and assimilate accumulation (Fereres and Soriano, 2017) [14] . The influence of organic soil amendment and irrigation scheme on beetroot yield was not statistically significant (p>0.05). However, numerical differences were found between treatments, with 8.06 t/ha documented in compost-amended soils at 100% CWR, 4.32 t/ha in the control at 75% CWR, and 3.99 t/ha in compost-amended soils at 50% CWR. These variations indicate that, while the overall impacts were not statistically significant, certain treatment combinations may nevertheless influence yield performance.

Overall, the yields achieved in this investigation were lower than the usual values published in the literature. This could be attributable mostly to the high temperatures encountered during the experiment. Beetroot is a cool-season crop with ideal growth temperatures ranging from 15 to 25 °C, and higher temperatures can have a negative impact on physiological activities as photosynthesis and assimilate partitioning (Khan et al., 2024; Yadav et al., 2023) [17,44] . The maximum temperature of 41.2 °C observed in the research location most likely caused heat stress, limiting carbohydrate buildup in storage roots and hence diminishing yield. High temperature stress has been shown to diminish production by increasing respiration and decreasing photosynthetic efficiency (Sarker and Oba, 2020) [33] . Furthermore, the usage of pots containing around 12 kg of soil may limit root expansion, which is crucial for root crops like beetroot. Limited rooting capacity can limit water and nutrient uptake and inhibit store root formation, decreasing yield potential. Container-based experiments have been demonstrated to underestimate yield due to limited root growth and changed soil-plant interactions when compared to field conditions (Poorter et al., 2019) [31] .

Crop water use efficiency

The average amount of water utilized for beetroot irrigation under 50%, 75%, and 100% CWR irrigation regimes was 811.5 L, 1217.25 L, and 1,836.75 L, respectively (equation 1). The average crop water usage efficiency of beetroot ranged from 1.19 to 2.671 kg/m3, with the lowest measured in pots treated with sheep dropping and the greatest in pots treated with compost. ANOVA findings revealed a significant difference (p=0.004) due to the effect of organic soil amendments on crop water usage efficiency in beetroot (Figure 10). Similarly, the results revealed a significant difference (p=0.011) in the influence of irrigation regime on the crop water use efficiency of beetroot. Crop water consumption efficiency was best at 100% CWR (2.42 kg/m3), followed by 1.53 kg/m3 at 75% CWR and 1.34 kg/m3 at 50% CWR. There was no significant difference (p>0.05) in the interplay of irrigation regimes and organic soil amendment on beetroot water use efficiency. At 100% CWR, greater WUE was found in plants treated with compost at 4.39 kg/m3. At 75% CWR, compost augmented soils had the greatest value of 2.35 kg/m3, whereas compost-treated pots had the maximum WUE of 2.17 kg/m3. Water supply is a major limitation on crop productivity in modern agriculture, particularly in water-scarce locations, therefore efficient water usage through irrigation is becoming increasingly crucial (Abd El-Kader et al., 2010) [50] . Pots treated with sheep dropping had the highest WUE in terms of organic soil amendment. Ye et al.

(2020) [51] showed a similar large rise in WUE for pear jujube treated with sheep droppings. The results could also be attributed to the potential of organic soil amendments to improve aeration and moisture conservation. The tendency of a plant to retain moisture would result in increased water consumption and yield per unit applied (Beheshti & Behboodi, 2010) [53] . Subhan et al. (2017) [52] found that plants fed with organic fertilizer had higher water use efficiency than control plants in wheat farming.

Effect of irrigation and organic fertilizer on yield and water use efficiency 4. Conclusion

This study has contributed to sustainable agriculture by examining the interaction between irrigation regimes and organic fertilizers in vegetable production. Regarding soil moisture dynamics, the results demonstrated that organic amendments significantly improved water retention. Sheep droppings consistently recorded the highest soil moisture content across both rainy and dry seasons, outperforming cow dung and compost at all irrigation levels (100%, 75%, and 50% CWR). This indicates that sheep droppings are the most effective amendment for improving the water-holding capacity of soils in this semi-arid environment. However, superior moisture retention did not directly translate to the highest yield. Compost proved to be the most effective fertilizer for crop performance, resulting in the highest leaf area, bulb diameter, fresh bulb weight, and overall yield (t/ha), particularly during the dry season. While sheep droppings improved vegetative height, compost appeared to provide a better nutrient balance for bulb development. In terms of water management, the 100% Crop Water Requirement (CWR) regime produced the highest plant height, chlorophyll content, and yield (4.45 t/ha). Implementing deficit irrigation (75% and 50% CWR) resulted in significant yield reductions (2.80 t/ha and 2.46 t/ha, respectively), suggesting that beetroot is sensitive to water stress in this region, likely aggravated by the recorded high ambient temperatures (up to 41.2°C). Furthermore, the interaction of 100% CWR and Compost yielded the highest Water Use Efficiency (WUE) and maximum yield (8.06 t/ha). Therefore, these findings highlight that while sheep droppings are recommended for maximizing soil moisture retention, the application of compost combined with 100% CWR irrigation is recommended for maximizing beetroot yield and water use efficiency in the ecological conditions of Northern Ghana. Future research may focus on optimizing the nutrient release of sheep droppings or exploring a mixture of sheep droppings (for moisture) and compost (for yield) to harness the benefits of both amendments and across diverse locations in controlled environments to improve agricultural sustainability in waterscarce regions.

Acknowledgement

AcknowledgementWe extend our sincere appreciation to the West African Centre for Water, Irrigation, and Sustainable Agriculture (WACWISA) for their financial support of this study and the University for Development Studies for providing the requisite research environment. Additionally, we would like to express our gratitude to the anonymous reviewers whose contributions were invaluable in ensuring the publication of this paper.

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