Zeolite (Z) has been widely used for improving rice production, but there is a lack of information on how nitrogen (N) accumulation and translocation affect yield performance of paddy field in the alternate wetting and drying irrigation (AWD) amended with zeolite. In this study, a 2-year field experiment with installed lysimeters was carried out to determine the influence of Z application (0, 5 and

Optimizing nitrogen (N) fertilization is an integral component of maximizing crop yields while minimizing environmental harm. Aerated irrigation (AI) significantly improves the soil permeability and water productivity, and is increasing in popularity. However, little information is available on the effects of AI on soil characteristics, crop yield and N use efficiency (NUE). The objectives of this

Surface water infiltration is an important process to meet plant water needs and an important part of the hydrological cycle via groundwater recharge, with special relevance in semi-arid regions. This study evaluated the relationships between grassland plant root morphological characteristics and soil water infiltration rates (IR: initial, steady and average). For this purpose, five artificial homogeneous

In achieving water resource management goals such as irrigation scheduling, an accurate estimate of reference evapotranspiration (ET0) is critical. Support vector regression (SVR) was applied to the modeling of daily ET0 at three meteorological stations in Iran subject to different climates: Isfahan (arid), Urmia (semi-arid), and Yazd (hyper-arid). Different pre-processing approaches [relief (RL),

Climate change and population growth generates a decrease in water availability around the world which can compromise the maintenance of sustainable agriculture. Thus, treated wastewater (TWW) became an alternative to minimize water shortage. However, this may indirectly affect the soil’s microbial properties. In this study different soils irrigated for 0, 1, 8 and 20 years with TWW were sampled and

A proper prediction of the water table (WT) depth in hydrological models highly depends on the accuracy of evapotranspiration (ET) estimation. In this study, the response of WT fluctuations to changes in ET was investigated involving the DRAINMOD water management model. The WT depth data were measured during three canola growing seasons (2011-12, 2015-16 and 2016-17) in a paddy field with two subsurface

It is imperative that there be consistent and unambiguous terminology when reporting on irrigation water use, and that the metrics of water productivity and economic benefits be clearly defined. We encourage our readers to study closely the following paper by our colleagues on the definitions and uses of various water-use indicators, along with their use in economic analyses.

The analysis of the electrophysiological activity of plants permits a real-time information of the plant status (e.g. light availability and water stress). However, even though it is clear that the role of the electrical signals in plant is crucial, especially in processes involving the propagation of rapid signals, a systematic approach for the interpretation of the electrical patterns is still missing

Irrigation contributes to enhance and sustain agricultural production in the U.S. across all aridity regimes, via mitigation against interannual environmental variability. Currently, a quantitative understanding of the role of irrigation in stabilizing agricultural yields is lacking, limiting the realization of irrigation-adoption impacts. Here we use >220,000 historical (1950–2015) county-year irrigated

Ridge-furrow cultivation (RF) is a popular dryland agricultural technique in China, but its effects on maize yield, total water consumption during crop growing stage (ET), and water use efficiency (WUE) have not been systematically analyzed. Here we conducted a meta-analysis of the RF effects on maize yield, ET and WUE based on the data collected from peer-reviewed literature. Yield, ET and WUE varied

Irrigated agriculture in the Arizona low desert faces multiple threats, including drought in the Colorado River basin, depletion of reservoirs supplying water to irrigation districts, competition from growing municipal and industrial sectors, and climate uncertainty. Improving irrigation water productivity is imperative for sustaining agricultural production in the region. The objective of the study

Seepage losses from unlined channels are a major contributor to water loss in the agricultural sector. Quantification of seepage losses can improve water conveyance efficiency and provide solutions to water scarcity. In this study, a numerical simulation method is applied to investigate the factors that affect seepage from earthen channels. SEEP/W software was used to generate finite element method

Mulched drip irrigation is a common water-saving irrigation technology that can improve water resource utilization efficiency in arid areas. The change of irrigation method affects the growth of crop root system and then regulates the growth of aboveground organs. However, there have been limited comparative studies on how mulched drip irrigation affects the cotton root growth and regulates the relationship

Agroforestry of fruit tree-crops are widely used in the ecological construction of returning farmland to forestry in the Loess Plateau area, but disagreement persists over the water relationship between fruit tree and crops. To explore the rationality of fruit tree and crop intercropping, the stable isotopes were used to investigate the water sources of apple trees and corn in apple tree monoculture

Agricultural water markets play a crucial role in arid and semi-arid regions by reallocating water and transferring it from low-value uses to high-value uses. Several markets for surface water and groundwater are functioning all over the world to increase economic well-being of farmers and meet environmental flow requirements. However, there is not a consensus on precisely which market mechanism may

Optimizing irrigation scheduling through a Decision Support System has shown promise to improve crop yield and water productivity in irrigated agriculture in an arid climate. The effects of an irrigation scheduling method on cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) yield and water productivity were investigated in Qira Oasis, China from 2016–2018. The Decision Support System for Irrigation Scheduling (DSSIS)

Increasing the efficiency of on-farm water use requires wise decisions on the irrigation system, the irrigation strategy and the method to schedule irrigation, among other factors related to water management. Since the early 2000s, the water productivity approach has been widely used to address this issue. It provides useful indicators to both the biophysical water productivity and the economic performance

This study evaluated the performance of deep learning (DL), artificial neural network (ANN) and k-nearest neighbour (kNN) models to estimate field capacity (FC) and permanent wilting point (PWP) using four combinations of soil data. The DL, ANN and kNN models are compared with the previous published pedotransfer functions (PTF). The data consist of 256 calcareous soil samples collected from Konya-Çumra

In stone fruits, the pit hardening period is usually one of slow fruit growth that is considered relatively insensitive to an imposed moderate water stress. For this reason, this period is commonly employed for a first phase of reduced water input in regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) strategies. However, in previous studies with the Japanese plum cv. 'Angeleno', the identification of a period of slow

Under conditions of water shortage, utilizing unconventional waters, such as treated urban wastewater and/or seawater, in combination with soil amendments such as zeolite, can reduce the harmful effects of drought stress on crop yield. To investigate the agronomic and physiological effects of a mix of water qualities and soil treatments on sorghum, a randomized split-plot research was conducted at

Understanding water productivity (WP) on a regional scale is useful for identifying and managing inefficiencies in irrigated crop production systems. However, relevant WP analyses are not available for maize production systems in China. A meta-analysis was conducted of maize WP in Northern China that included 2354 observations from 282 articles published between January 2000 and March 2018. Our goal

Disposal of human excreta derived materials (HEDM), particularly domestic wastewater, presents a challenge in areas served with on-site sanitation systems, most particular in informal settlements. The use of HEDM for agricultural food production represents a couple of opportunities such as improved sanitation, household food security as well as the generation of informal income. In this study, tomato

The effects of water stress on plant growth, yield, primary metabolites (sugars, organic acids, ascorbic acid) and secondary metabolites (total phenolic content, capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin) accumulation, were evaluated for greenhouse production. A pot experiment was conducted on two species of chilies Capsicum annuum L. var 'Chili-AS Rot' and Capsicum chinense Jacq. var 'Naga Morich'. Plants were

The effective management of irrigation water consumption is one of the main countermeasures to combat water shortages. This paper introduced an integrated approach to determine the major factors influencing irrigation water consumption in China. It combined multiple linear regression and principal component analysis to analyze the relationship between irrigation water consumption and influencing factors

Water productivity benchmarks for irrigated and rainfed agriculture will provide relevant information to manage scarce water resources and control groundwater level decline. We analyse the temporal and spatial variation of the water productivity (WP) of maize and soybean in Nebraska, with WP defined as harvested crop weight per total evapotraspiration. The results show that WP of both maize and soybean

The Jarvis canopy resistance sub-model is commonly used in transpiration modelling, although its optimal structure is rarely studied. It is still not fully clear that to what extent transpiration modeling may differ if using different constraint function forms for key environmental variable in Jarvis sub-model. In this study, various Jarvis canopy resistance sub-model configurations were embedded in

Soil salinization in agricultural environments is a major soil degradation process, particularly in dry regions. Soil salinization puts at risk the natural ecosystem and the agricultural crops, which are usually sensitive to elevated salinities. In this work, a conceptual model is proposed and tested experimentally, to examine the impact of root system dimension and distribution on solute transport

The microclimate under the drip and furrow irrigation systems inside a solar greenhouse located in the arid regions of northwestern China was evaluated during the two consecutive tomato growth cycles. Influence of soil hydrothermal conditions and the energy partitioning process were also analyzed. The results showed that when adopting the same water management measures, the irrigation amount, evapotranspiration

Determining the best management practices (BMPs) under different initial soil mineral N (ISMN) levels is helpful to improve water and N use efficiencies (WUE, NUE) and protect the environment. In this study, a two-year field experiment of spring maize was conducted from 2014 to 2015 in northwest China. Five treatments were designed, including one local farmer practice (I480-4N280, 280 kg N ha−1 fertilizer

Computation of reference evapotranspiration (ETo) poses a challenge under limited meteorological data availability. However, even in this case, hourly data may be available since low-cost sensors can report hourly measurements. This study evaluates, for the first time, in regional and local scenarios, the use of limited hourly meteorological data (temperature and relative humidity or only temperature)

Applying saline water resources for irrigating croplands requires serious attentions when sustainable agriculture is considered. A two-year field investigation was carried out in a drip-irrigated sunflower field under six irrigation treatments, including (i) full freshwater irrigation (FI), full irrigation with diluted seawater (DS) (SI), alternate DS-freshwater irrigation (FSI), freshwater-PRD (partial

Soil moisture dynamics in response to rainfall and irrigation events were examined using data obtained from continuous point measurements carried out under rice and wheat crops for an agricultural plot located within the Ganga Basin, India. Soil moisture data were collected using SM100 and SMEC300 sensors at 18 subplots and at four different depths (0−80 cm) during the period from 5 August 2018 to

Potential health risks associated with water used to irrigate fresh produce are increasingly recognized worldwide, leading to the implementation of water quality standards as part of many food safety programs. These standards are generally based on the presence of the fecal indicator bacterium (FIB), generic Escherichia coli; however, the persistence and potential growth of this species in the environment

Soil water is a major limitation to high crop production on the Loess Plateau of China. Straw incorporation is often suggested to promote soil water retention and grain production. Despite the rising number of studies on straw application to soil, the demonstrated merits for straw with lower C: N ratios and varying lengths remain unknown. A five-year field experiment was conducted to explore the effect

The FAO-56 crop coefficient (Kc) approach is widely used for making irrigation decisions. Allen and Pereira (2009) extended this approach by developing a method for estimating Kc using a density coefficient (Kd), which is estimated from the fraction of ground covered by vegetation and plant height. In this study we evaluated this method using detailed measurements of transpiration (T), evapotranspiration

The advances achieved during the last 30 years demonstrate the aptitude of the remote sensing-based vegetation indices (VI) for the assessment of crop evapotranspiration (ETc) and irrigation requirements in a simple, robust and operative manner. The foundation of these methodologies is the well-established relationship between the VIs and the basal crop coefficient (Kcb), resulting from the ability

Accurate quantification of consumptive water requirements (ETc, evapotranspiration) of cropping systems is a critical prerequisite for sustainable irrigation water management applications. For applying the ETc for irrigation scheduling across soils and climates other than the location in which it was measured, it is also critical to develop crop coefficients (Kc) that link a reference crop evapotranspiration

Although agricultural irrigation technology in China has been steadily improved for decades, the realized water conservation in the agricultural sector is not as good as expected. This paper examines whether water rights trading can encourage agricultural water conservation through technology improvement. Our fixed effects model specification confirms that water rights trading has a moderation effect

Water shortage, caused by large variations in the amount, frequency and timing of rainfall during the crop cycle, is one of the major abiotic stresses limiting crop production. In this context, environmental variability represents a significant challenge for farmers as optimal management practices vary from season to season. The aim of this study was to optimize wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) management

This article analyses the drivers of adoption of irrigation systems by orange growers in the State of São Paulo, Brazil. Given the scarcity of similar studies focusing on the Brazilian orange sector, the starting point of our article is the estimation of a translog production function to assess the impact of irrigation on the production of a sample of 98 São Paulo’s orange growers. The results showed

Emitter clogging is one of the most important limiting factors affecting the promotion of drip irrigation. To examine the impact of the irrigation time on the lateral environment and to develop an optimal way to mitigate the emitter clogging risk, 4 different irrigation times (3, 7, 10 and 30 times) were examined with each irrigation period lasting 2 daily hours. Then, the lateral inner environment

Irrigation and fertilization play key roles in crop production. Scarcity of available water resources and low nutrient use efficiency calls for a need to improve water and nitrogen (N) use efficiency. This study aimed to investigate the effects of different irrigation and nitrogen treatments on the growth, yield, irrigation water-use efficiency (IWUE) and fertilizer-N utilization of tomato plants by

A risk-based interval-stochastic optimization modelling approach is developed for agricultural water allocation in response to the complexity arising from uncertainties and risk in agricultural water management systems. The approach comprises conditional-value-at-risk (CVaR) model, inexact two-stage stochastic programming (ITSP) model with imprecise probabilities (IPs), and random-boundary intervals

Agriculture is one of most important economic activities that requires large amounts of water, which, in addition to changes in climate, presents a major impact on the water availability. Excess of salt and nutrient concentrations build up damages to soil such as reduced drainage and increase in anoxic conditions in the root zone, as well as decreasing productivity and usable farm lands. The objective

The relationship between irrigation water availability and crop revenue is multifaceted. However, most of the previous studies focused only on the direct effect of irrigation water on crop revenue or considered that the indirect effect passes only through the farmers’ improved farm inputs usage. Nevertheless, unlike previous studies, this study argues that a one-sided argument that irrigation water

In the southern USA, low soil water holding capacity and erratic rainfall patterns create scenarios where plant water stress may occur, reducing early peach tree growth. Therefore, irrigation management is a key component to ensure adequate water supply during early tree growth stages. The objective of this study was to determine water requirements and crop coefficient (Kc) of young peach trees grown

Green water is a central resource for global agricultural production. Understanding its role is fundamental to design strategies to increase global food and feed production while avoiding further land conversion, and obtaining more crop per drop. Brazil is a country with high water availability, and a major exporter of agricultural goods and virtual water. We assess here water use and water productivity

The Simple Algorithm for Evapotranspiration Retrieving (SAFER) can be used to estimate surface evapotranspiration. In the process of SAFER parameterization, the reference evapotranspiration (ETo) calculated by the Penman-Monteith (PM) method was included. However, methodologies for estimating ETo that use fewer meteorological variables should be sought, mainly to increase the applicability of the method

Integrated groundwater management is a major challenge for industrial, agricultural and domestic activities. In some agricultural production systems, optimized water table management represents a significant factor to improve crop yields and water use. Therefore, predicting water table depth (WTD) becomes an important means to enable real-time planning and management of groundwater resources. This

Leaf temperature (TL) is tightly coupled with the rate of transpirational water loss from the leaf. The temperatures of wet and dry reference leaf surfaces (Twet and Tdry, respectively) are commonly used to normalize temperature measurements for current environmental conditions and then calculate a crop water stress index (CWSI). Since it is often impractical to directly measure Tdry and Twet, the

Many agricultural communities depend on groundwater irrigation as a supplemental or primary water source. However, groundwater resources are finite, and depletion can make continued irrigation inviable. When modeling the economic impacts of future aquifer decline, studies often assume that irrigated cropland will transition uniformly to dryland crop production. In reality, irrigation has allowed crops

Rainfall characteristics can be a major factor influencing the ability of best management practices to reduce nutrient loss from agricultural lands to receiving waterbodies. The goal of this study was to examine how rainfall characteristics impacted NO3 – N concentrations in a tailwater recovery (TWR) ditch implemented at a farm within the Porter Bayou watershed in Mississippi, USA. We used a methodology

The increasing demands of the population and the need for development obliged the optimal use and adaptive management of the watershed resources. Accordingly, it is necessary to adopt comprehensive measures to reach sustainable development goals. This objective can be achieved by the application of interdisciplinary and professional approaches through establishing dynamic and optimal balance in supply

This study describes the evolution of the Spanish irrigated sector and focuses on water abstraction, water consumption, and energy use in the period 1950–2017. The analysis shows evidence of the basins reaching closure state and the impact on energy use from irrigation supply. The response in the context of an increasing water demand with a limited supply has been investment in water-saving and conservation

Researchers are challenged to design research that can generate credible claims regarding cross-scale impact and adoption. However, the context in which new knowledge or innovation is developed and tested may differ from that for the uptake and use of those findings. This paper reports insight into the problem of designing impactful research and proposes a model to assist bio-physical researchers in