*3.1. Weather Parameters*

There was higher than normal rainfall between November 2019 and March 2020 (Figure 2 and Table 1). Total precipitation was 105 mm over these five months. This precipitation amount was more than a long-term annual rainfall of the study area. The average daily air temperature, dew point temperature, solar radiation, and wind speed for the 2019 season (January 2019–December 2019) were approximately 21.0 ◦C, 234.8 W m−2, 7.5 ◦C, and 2.3 m s−1, respectively. However, peak daily temperatures of 30 ◦C to 42 ◦C during the late summer months when deficit treatments were imposed were common for this desert environment (Figure 2). More windy days were observed during the first half of the 2019 season, when compared with the 2020 season. The average daily wind speed was nearly 9% higher from January–June 2019 than the same season in 2020, although maximum average wind speed for the 2020 season, as recorded on 4th of February 2020 was 6.7 m s<sup>−</sup>1. During the 2019 season, the month of June had the highest average daily solar radiation of 334.1 W m<sup>−</sup>2, followed by May (324 W m<sup>−</sup>2) and July (310 W m−2).
