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Background Proper scheduling gave water to the crop at the right time in the right quantity to optimize production and minimize adverse environmental impact. Therefore, the objective of this study is to quantify the effects of irrigation regimes on yield and yield components of Maize in the Lake Tana basin during 2016–2018. Methods CROPWAT 8.0 model was used to determine the crop water requirement. Almost all parameters were adopted the default value of CROPWAT 8.0. Field data including; field capacity (FC), permanent wilting point (PWP), initial soil moisture depletion (%), available water holding capacity (mm/meter), infiltration rates (mm/day), and local climate data were determined in the study area. The treatments were arranged in factorial combinations with five irrigation depths (50, 75, 100, 125 and 150% of ETc) and two irrigation intervals (14 and 21 days) laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Results The result was analyzed using SAS 9 software and significant treatment means separated using least significant difference at 5%. The result showed that the interaction of irrigation depth and irrigation frequency has no significant effect on the average grain yield and water use efficiency of maize. At koga, the highest grain yield (7.3 t ha− 1) and water use efficiency (0.9 kg m-3) obtained from 100% ETc. while, at Ribb the highest grain yield (10.97 t ha− 1) and water use efficiency (1.9 kg m− 3) obtained from 21 days irrigation interval. Conclusion Therefore, for Koga and similar agro ecologies maize can irrigated with 562 mm net irrigation depth and 21-day irrigation interval and at Rib and similar agro ecologies maize can irrigated with 446.8 mm net irrigation depth and 21- days irrigation interval.

The continuous use of brackish groundwater for irrigation is detrimental for soil and crop attributes. A three-year research study was designed for the wheat crop to assess the effects of brackish groundwater on crop yield and soil health under a surface irrigation system. Three sites were selected in different cropping zones of Pakistan. The treatments comprised of irrigation with moderately brackish water having 0.8, 1.3 & 2.7 dSm−1 of salinity and canal water. The results indicated that EC, SAR, bicarbonates, Ca2+ and Mg2+ levels increased in the soil for consecutive years and this increase was more at site S3 followed by S2 and S1. As soil depth is concerned, the increase was more pronounced in upper layers of soil (0–15 cm) as compared to 15–30 cm depth. Growth and yield were also affected by the consecutive use of this water, the number of plants, plant height, the number of spikes per plant, and yield was reduced at all the three sites. However, the impact was less pronounced at the site S1 whereas S3 was the most affected one. Grain weight and dry matter weight were observed to be maximum at S1. Water productivity was also calculated for all the three sites. Maximum water productivity was observed at S1 followed by S2 & S3. It was concluded that the continuous use of brackish water would have an adverse effect on crop yield and subsequently, soil health is also affected by it significantly.

Quality irrigation water is precious in agriculture under arid conditions. The value addition in agricultural product makes a new commodity outside the traditional frame to achieve higher returns with improved shelf-life and minimizes post-harvest losses. The aim of this study is to evaluate and quantify the improvements possible in water productivity through value addition in date cultivated under arid conditions in Oman. The primary and secondary data were collected through questionnaire surveys from farmers, sellers, factories and ministry extensions. The comparisons were made between the marketing of raw product against those with value-added, which were produced using the same quantity of resources; particularly irrigation water. The productivity was estimated by the ratio of agricultural benefits in kg to the irrigation water use in m3. The net-profit based productivity ratio improvements in Khalas and Fardh dates were 540% and 360% respectively for value-added dates packed with nuts. The lowest productivity ratio was observed in Khalas dates with saffron and other flavors (111%), and Fardh date paste (129%). In Khalas, the best improvement by the value-addition in average water productivity from the base-values of 0.57 kg/m3, or 0.63 OMR/m3 of the raw date were 2.06 kg/m3 or 2.28 OMR/m3 in date with nuts respectively while in Fardh, the same were 1.55 kg/m3 or 1.71 OMR/m3 respectively. The observed potential improvements in equivalent water productivity indicates the benefit of value addition would be vital for achieving agricultural sustainability goals under arid agriculture.

The problem of sewage disposal has received great attention worldwide. The raw sewage contains a variety of high inorganic and organic matters that affect natural water environment. To mitigate such problem, sewage may be recycled through aquaculture practice. Sewage recycling in aquaculture enhances water productivity through nutrients input. Proper loading of sewage ensures viable aquaculture; otherwise, fish mortality occurs due to poor water quality. To optimize sewage application, two different experiments were conducted, each with four treatments. In both experiments, three fish species namely rohu (Labeo rohita Hamilton, 1822), mrigal (Cirrhinus mrigala Hamilton, 1822), and bata (Labeo bata Hamilton, 1822) were tested in triplicate in FRP (Fibre-Reinforced Plastic) tanks. Different sewage concentrations (0, 25%, 50% and 75%) used in first experiment were prepared by mixing freshwater, showing Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) 2.0 ± 0.4 mg/L, 10.8 ± 1.4 mg/L, 19.6 ± 1.5 mg/L and 41.6 ± 2.58 mg/L, respectively. After 30 days rearing, results showed ≥75% fish survival in sewage concentrations up to 50% with BOD level 19.6 ± 1.5 mg/L. Less than 50% fish survived in 75% sewage concentration, with BOD level as 41.6 ± 2.58 mg/L. The second experiment was conducted for 90 days considering 50% sewage concentration as basal dose with BOD level as 19.6 mg/L as an acceptable limit for fish survival. Split doses of sewage were applied in T1, T2 and T3 treatments fortnightly, weekly and semi-weekly intervals, while single dose was used in C (control) treatment. Application of split doses resulted better hydro-biological changes, including nutrients recovery, in T1, T2 and T3 than that of single dose in control. Fish growth plotted with net primary productivity (NPP), phytoplankton and zooplankton densities exhibited positive correlations in T2 (12 doses) and T3 (24 doses), considered as optimal doses to ensure better water productivity for desirable fish production than sewage with single dose or limited doses (6 doses).

Regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) is considered among the best water-saving techniques for supplementing Regulated water to fully achieve the water needs of the plant while maximizing water productivity with little or no substantial decrease in final produce compared to the conventional forms of irrigating crops. The aim of this paper is to review existing RDI approaches used in citrus production as well as plant-water stress indicators. Most of the approaches employed in citrus RDI scheduling require weather data for evapotranspiration calculations which is very technical, laborious and time consuming. Nonetheless, the time domain reflectometer (TDR) offers a simple way of scheduling RDI based on the soil-water status at any given time. This approach will help address the challenges in setting up on-farm synoptic stations to measure weather data to compute evapotranspiration or from using data from weather stations which might be different from the farm conditions. The pros and cons of all the approaches have been discussed and recommended that the TDR can be adopted as an alternative to schedule irrigation in citrus orchards to ensure that plants are supplied with adequate volume of water for maximum water use efficiency. Key words: Partial root-zone drying, plant-water requirement, plant-water stress, regulated deficit irrigation, remote sensing, subsurface irrigation.

The phrase inconvenient truth associated with global warming and climate change has received a great deal of publicity some years back. The objective of this article is to highlight a different kind of inconvenient truth which affects about 29% of the world population. It is about the lack of access to safe drinking water that results in over 1.2 million preventable deaths annually. The first two targets of UN sustainable development goal 6 (SDG6) aim at providing universal, affordable and sustainable access to “water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH)”. Recognizing the right to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation as a basic human right, issues related to this problem as well as possible options to alleviate the problem are discussed.

The experiment was conducted to determine the effect of nirogen levels and irrigation intervals applied with drip system on cotton yield, evapotranspiration and water use efficiency in the East Mediterranean Transitional Zone Agricultural Research of Institute Located in Kahramanmaras, Turkey during 2012 and 2013. In the experiment, 3 different nitrogen levels (N0:0, N15:150, N30: 300 kg ha-1) and 2 different irrigation intervals (I5: 5 and I10:10 days) were investigated on Erşan-92 cotton variety. The amount of irrigation water was estimated by replenishment of soil water deficit in 60 cm root-zone depth to the field capacity in the irrigation intervals of 5 and 10 days. The experimental design was split-plots with three replications. The amount of irrigation water applied to treatments in the research years varied between 511.9-633.8 and 498-611 mm respectively. Cotton yield values in the research years for irrigation and nitrogen applications ranged between 2520-3360 and 2360-3540 kg ha-1 respectively. Higher yields were obtained with 5-day irrigation frequency compared with irrigation every 10 days. The effects of different irrigation intervals and nitrogen application of interaction on yield, Water use efficiency (WP) and Irrigation water use efficiency (IWP) were found to be statistically significant at 1% level. I5 N15 generated the highest net income and the lowest income was found in I10 N0. As a result of the experiment, 150 kg ha-1 nitrogen dose in 5 days irrigation interval was recommended for cotton production in the region.

Decline in soil fertility is one of the major constraints to sustainable crop production and profitability. To meet the increasing demand for the growing population the issue of low soil fertility needs to be addressed moreover, excessive pumping of groundwater over the years to meet the high irrigation water requirement of rice-wheat system has resulted in over exploitation of groundwater in the Indo-Gangetic plains (IGP) of India. Replacement of traditional wheat cultivation practices under conservation agriculture (CA) based management (tillage, and crop establishment management) practices are required to promote sustainable agriculture. Furthermore, inefficient nutrient management practices are responsible for low crop yields and nutrient use efficiencies in wheat under rice-wheat cropping system (RWCS). A field experiment was conducted at Crop Research Centre of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel University of Agriculture & Technology, Meerut (U.P.), India to evaluate the effects of tillage and crop establishment (TCE) methods, and nutrient management practices on crop yields, water productivity and profitability of wheat under RWCS. The main plot treatments included four combinations of TCE [Furrow irrigated raised beds (FIRB), Roto tillage (RT), Reduced tillage (RTW) and conventional tillage (CT), with six nutrient management practices [N1 Control, N2 100% Recommend Dose of Fertilizer, N3 100% RDF + NPK consortia + Bio-stimulant, N4 75% RDF + NPK consortia + Bio-stimulant, N5 100% RDF + NPK consortia + Bio-stimulant + NPK (18:18:18) spray after II irrigation, and N6 and 75% RDF + NPK consortia + Bio-stimulant + NPK (18:18:18) spray after II irrigation]. Crop water productivity and net returns under FIRB were significantly increased by 11.7% and 13.8% compared to CT respectively, during year of experimentation. Study showed that conservation agriculture based sustainable practices (FIRB) and nutrient strategies 100% RDF + NPK consortia + Bio-stimulant + NPK (18:18:18) spray after II irrigation approach provided opportunities for enhancing crop and water productivity, and profitability of wheat crop in North-West IGP of India. Treatments with N and conservation agriculture were the most profitable. A combined use of conservation agriculture and organic and chemical fertilizers is the best bet for increasing, wheat crop yield and associated return on investment.

Field experiments were carried out during rabi seasons of 2015-16 and 2016-17 at the Research Farm, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana. Wheat variety PBW 621 was sown on three dates (D1: 4th week of October, D2: 2nd week of November and D3: 4th week of November) with two irrigation levels (I1: IW/ CPE = 0.9, I2: At CRI, 5-6 weeks after 1st irrigation, 3-4/5-6 weeks after 2nd irrigation, 2/4 weeks after 3rd irrigation as per dates of sowing) and mulch application (M1: without mulch, M2: straw mulch @ 5 t ha-1). Earlier sown mulch applied crop with four post-sowing irrigations produced highest (5312.5 kg ha-1) and late sown without mulch application crop with irrigation @IW/CPE = 0.9 produced lowest grain yield (3900.5 kg ha-1). Simulation results depicted -1.1 to 16.8 per cent deviation in crop yield, -1.4 to -21.0 per cent in water use and 12.7 to 45.5 per cent in water productivity. Increase in temperature from 1oC to 3oC decreased wheat yield by 6.3 to 27.0 per cent under D1 and 3.3 to 17.6 per cent under D2, however, it increased from 8.1 to 16.2 per cent under D3, indicating D3 as most appropriate under future warming scenarios. Increase in CO2 concentration decreased water use and increased yield and water productivity.

In the present investigation the effect of drip lateral installation depths and emitter spacing on sugarcane crop water productivity and yield was studied by installing laterals at 15, 20 and 30 cm depths from surface, while the emitters were spaced at 50, 60 and 75 cm. A factorial experiment in the form of randomized complete block design was carried out at the Sugarcane Research and Training Institute of Khuzestan in South-West of Iran. Sugarcane quantity specifications results showed there was significant difference between treatments in terms of drip emitter spacing and lateral installation depths and their interactions at 1% probability level. Similar trends were also observed in case of quality traits of sugarcane. Investigating the water productivity index for sugarcane and sugar yield it showed that treatments were significant in terms of the space between emitters at 1% probability level. The maximum sugarcane yield was observed in the treatment with a space between emitters of 50 cm, and 20 cm of installation depth. At 60 cm space the emitters of 60 cm and the installation depth of application of 20 cm, the highest water productivity was obtained, reaching 7.18 and 0.87 kg/m3 for produced sugarcane and sugar respectively.

Aim: To ameliorate the inland saline water through biochar for enhancing the pond water productivity and utilize the vast resources of salt affteced land and ground saline water efficiently for aquaculture. Methodology: A 50 days incubation study was conducted to understand the ameliorating effects of sugarcane bagasse biochar on the inland saline sediment and water. Biochar was applied at the rate of 100 g and 200 g in both sediment and water, respectively. Results: Significant (P≤ 0.05) increase in pH, available-N, potassium, available-Pand decrease in total alkalinity was observed in all the treatments. The primary productivity significantly increased (P≤ 0.05) in all the treatments, and the maximum was observed in T4 treatment (0.173 mg m-3). Interpretation: The sediment mixing and water application differ in their effect on the primary productivity and physico-chemical properties of inland saline pond water. The study will help in developing protocol for the application of agro-waste-derived biochar in the inland saline pond aquaculture system.

Crop production has a correlation with the applied water in moderate semi-arid conditions. Due to temperature and rainfall changes enhancing water productivity in crop production are needed for a limited resource conditions. In this study, maize (Zea mays L.) yields measured in fields during 11 years from 2005-2006 to 2015-2016 were compared with those simulated by the Agro-ecological Zone method under moderate semi-arid environment located at the north west of Iran with a soil texture of loamy-clay. Different research scenarios involving actual evapotranspirationc (ETa) to potential (ETm) value (ETa/ETm= 100%, 90%, 80%, 70%, 60%, 50% and 40%) under different water application efficiencies (Ea) of 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90% and 100% were considered in the present study. Research scenarios affected yield and water productivity of maize. To produce potential yield of maize of 10084 kg ha-1 under water application efficiency of 100, 90, 80, 70, 60, 50 and 40%, irrigation water requirements were respectively 4683, 5203, 5854, 6690, 7805, 9366, 11708 m3 ha-1 and water productivity were respectively 2.15, 1.94, 1.72, 1.51, 1.29, 1.08, 0.86 kg m-3. Results confirmed that water productivity of maize was from 1.22 to 1.52 kg m-3 with an average of 1.38 kg m-3 during 11 years under water application efficiency of 68%. Because measured yield ranged from 3800 to 6971 kg ha-1 with an average of 5345 kg ha-1 and water applied was from 3125 to 4584 and averaged 3836 m3 ha-1. It is suggested that limited irrigation could be applied to enhance water productivity in maize production under such moderate semi-arid environment.

An experimental study was carried out with medium duration rice variety (IR 36) during kharif and rabi seasons of 2015/16 and 2016/17 to investigate the effect of alternate wetting and drying (AWD) practice on water use efficiency, productivity, and consumptive water footprints of rice. The performance of AWD practice was compared with the conventionally (CON) irrigated rice using non-weighing lysimeters. The study resulted that by managing the alternate wetting and drying up to 15 cm below the ground level, a significant reduction in water input (26–29% in kharif and 22–27% in rabi season) could be achieved under AWD. A reduction in evapotranspiration (about 6% in both kharif and rabi seasons) was also observed under AWD. Reduction in consumptive water footprint (about 2–3% in kharif and 2–5% in rabi) was obtained under AWD. Reductions in blue water footprints (7% in kharif and 4–5% in rabi) was also observed under AWD. On average, crop water use efficiency was significantly enhanced by 27–33% and 20–29% in the respective kharif and rabi seasons under AWD practice. Significant improvement in total water productivity by 29–37% and 23–35% in the respective two seasons exhibited the superiority of AWD over CON during the two years of field experiments. HIGHLIGHTS Substantial reduction (22–29%) in water input was under AWD.; Rice evapotranspiration decreased by 6% under AWD.; AWD reduced rice consumptive water footprint by 2–5%.; A substantial increase (20–33%) in crop water use efficiency was under AWD.; AWD improved total water productivity considerably by 23–37%.

The experiment on cucumber was conducted in naturally ventilated polyhouse at Horticulture garden, College of Agriculture, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad, Telangana during rabi 2020-2021. The experiment was laid out in a split plot design with 12 treatments consist of three irrigation regimes viz.,drip irrigation scheduled at 0.8 Epan (I1), 1.0 Epan (I2) and 1.2 Epan (I3) as main plots and four NK fertigation levels of 75% recommended dose of NK (F1- N112.5 K75), 100% recommended dose of NK (F2- N150 K100), 125% recommended dose of NK (F3- N187.5 K125) and 150% recommended dose of NK (F4- N225 K150) as sub plot and replicated thrice. yield attributes were significantly higher in irrigation scheduled at 1.2 Epan than 1.0 and 0.8 Epan. Fruit yield was significantly higher in drip irrigation scheduled at 1.2 Epan (83.90 t ha-1) than 1.0 Epan (68.80 t ha-1) and 0.8 Epan (59.50 t ha-1). Yield attributes were significantly higher at 150% recommended dose of NK than 75% recommended dose of NK. Fruit yield was significantly higher at 150 % recommended dose of NK (76.70 t ha-1) than 75% recommended dose of NK (60.30 t ha-1) and onpar with both 125% and 100% recommended dose of NK. Water use efficiency was higher in drip irrigation scheduled at 0.8 Epan (28.6 kg m-3) followed by 1.2 Epan (27.2 kg m-3) and 1.0 Epan (26.6 kg m-3). 150 % recommended dose of NK registered significantly higher water use efficiency (30.1 kg m-3) than 75% recommended dose of NK (23.5 kg m-3). It was recommended that application of 1.2 Epan irrigation and 150 kg N, 100 kg K2O ha-1 by fertigation for maximization of yield.

Purpose This study aims to investigate the effect of porous material (clay pots) and it is facing on the productivity performance of a pyramid type solar still. The clay pots are placed in the basin facing up and facing down. The numbers of clay pots considered were 9 and 25, and its performance was compared with normal (0 clay pots) solar still. Design/methodology/approach The pyramid solar water distillation system has been designed, fabricated and tested under the actual environmental conditions of Kanchikacherla (16.6834 0N, 80.3904 0E), Andhra Pradesh, India. The solar still is used to produce the fresh water and hot water simultaneously from the brackish (i.e. containing dissolved salts) feed water for domestic applications. From open literature, it was established that the rate of evaporation is higher when the flowing water is held for a longer duration on the black color absorber plate, thereby leading to an increase in productivity of freshwater. Therefore, the pyramid solar still has been tested for smooth absorber plate and the absorber plate with porous heat storage material. Findings The porous material increases the production rate of freshwater compared to a base plate. However, the pyramid still with clay pots has higher productivity at a lower temperature because of the porosity effect. Originality/value The total dissolved solids, electrical conductivity and pH of the distilled water and the saline water have also been measured and compared.

Surge irrigation is the intermittent application of water to surface irrigated furrows or borders in a series of relatively short on and off time periods during the irrigation which may be between 20 minutes to two hours. In this technique, water is usually applied intermittently rather than with a continuous stream, as in conventional surface irrigation..Water productivity and water saving of six crops viz. wheat, cotton, maize, capsicum, onion and fennel under surge irrigation were compared with traditional method for the crops grown in different environmental conditions at different location of the world.It is concluded that surge flow irrigation performs better than continuous flow irrigation in terms of water saving and yield resulting in enhancement of water productivity. In case of wheat crop, surge irrigation saved and decreased irrigation water by 27, 33.4 and 37.4 % and increased yield by 15.1, 17.7 and 12.7 % under slope of 0.0, 0.1 and 0.2 % respectively compared with continuous flow irrigation for the same discharge. It had the maximum water use efficiency values of 1.39, 1.56 and 1.59 kg/m3 for surge flow irrigation under slopes of 0.0, 0.1 and 0.2 %, respectively.Surge irrigation system for maize obtained the highest value of WUE (1.63 kg/m3) with 40 m furrow length under 12.24 l/min inflow rate, while the lowest value of WUE obtained by continuous irrigation system, with 20 m furrow length under 44.4 l/min inflow rate (1.05 kg/m3). It can be applied by farmers in areas where irrigation water is limiting factor in crop production and farmers cannot afford costly micro-irrigation system.

Aim: To study the effect of deficit irrigation on yield and water productivity of sunflower in East and South eastern coastal plains of Odisha. Methodology: The present study on water productivity was undertaken using hybrid sunflower (Swathi: NSFH-145) with application of deficit irrigation having Management Allowable Deficit level of 20%, 40%, 60% and one farmers’ practice of 70% MAD level of irrigation. Growth attributes like leaf area Index, plant height, and head diameter were recorded at 20, 45, 65 and 80 days after sowing. Yield attributes like 1000 seed weight (test weight), above ground biomass and grain yield, were recorded after threshing. Results: The growth, yield and water productivity of sunflower were significantly influenced by different irrigation levels. Irrigation scheduling at 20% MAD level showed the highest grain yield, while the lowest yield was obtained from the farmers’ practice. Irrigation at 60% MAD level showed the highest water productivity when compared with farmer’s practice as it produced the highest yield per unit quantity of water application of 0.85 kg m-3 and also produced the highest average benefit to cost ratio of 2.08. Interpretation: Taking the yield, water productivity and benefit-cost ratio into account, irrigation at 60% MAD level was found to be the best. However, irrigation at 50% to 60% MAD level may be suggested for growing sunflower under water scarce conditions in sandy loam soil for increasing water productivity.

Assessment of consumptive water use (CWU) and water productivity at the regional scale is important to diagnose vulnerable zones to improve water use efficiencies in cropland to achieve the sustain...

This research aims at assessing the impact of drought (in the form of original and modified reconnaissance drought indices (ORDI and MRDI)) on water productivity of rainfed winter wheat in some arid and semi-arid regions of Iran. It focuses on different timescales of drought to determine which period of the year had the greatest significant impact. RDI was modified using the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nation method (FAO) (MRDI-1), US Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) (MRDI-2), the Simplified version of Soil Conservation Service of the US Department of Agriculture method (USDA-SCS-simplified) (MRDI-3), and the CROPWAT version of USDA-SCS method (USDA-SCS CROPWAT) (MRDI-4). Results showed that in Tabriz and Zanjan stations, 3-month scale of MRDI-2; in Ghazvin, Arak, and Kerman stations, 6-month scale of MRDI-4; in Sanandaj station, 12-month timescale of MRDI-3; and in Shiraz stations, 1-month timescale of MRDI-1 resulted in the highest values of correlation coefficients. According to the goodness-of-fit parameters, in Tabriz and Zanjan stations, MRDI-1; in Ghazvin, Arak and Kerman stations, MRDI-2; in Shiraz station, MRDI-3; and in Sanandaj station, ORDI resulted in the best generalized estimating equation model. These results can be useful to plann for the management of cultivation in impressive timescales. HIGHLIGHTS Investigate the impacts of drought on wheat water productivity.; Considering different timescales of drought.; Modified reconnaissance drought index was used, which considers the effective precipitation.; Water productivity of winter wheat was simulated using the AquaCrop model.; Generalized estimating equation models were used to address the impact of drought on water productivity.

Climate changes could affect the meteorological parameters and which directly lead to changes in irrigation requirements (IR) and water productivity (WP) of fruit crops. The objective of the current study was to investigate the impacts of potential climate change on irrigation requirements and water productivity of citrus and olive in four governorates of Egypt (El-Bihera, Al-Dakahlia, Matruh and North of Sinai) using a CROPWAT 8.0 model in conjunction with the climate change scenarios A1F1 and B1.The crop irrigation requirements of two crops in all future periods (2020s, 2050s and 2100s) were increased as compared to current period 1990-2019. While, the water productivity values for citrus and olive crops in all future periods (2020s, 2050s and 2100s) were decreased as compared to current period 1990-2019. The IR for citrus and olive were increased by 21.80% and 27.51% respectively. The WP values for citrus and olive were decreased by 43.21% and 17.99%, respectively. [Fundam Appl Agric 2021; 6(2.000): 144-154]

Seed priming is a vital seed enhancement tool used for mitigating various biotic and abiotic stresses, improving seedling growth and enhancing crop productivity. Alternate wetting and drying (AWD),...

In areas with high rainfall distribution, proper irrigation management, including complementary irrigation, is one of the effective strategies to increase crop production. In order to investigate the effect of supplementary irrigation in different growth stages on the yield and water productivity of Autumn rapeseed, an experiment in the form of a complete randomized block design with five irrigation management treatments including rainfed (I1), single irrigation at flowering stage (I2), single Irrigation at pod filling stage (I3), two irrigation at pod filling stage and flowering (I4), three irrigation at flowering, and pod filling and grain Filling stages (I5) was carried out at Lorestan University Research Field. Results showed that there was a significant difference between the effects of different irrigation treatments at 1% level. The lowest grain yield, biological yield and oil yield were obtained in I1 treatment with 44.62%, 50.95% and 53.58% decrease, as compared to I5 treatment. The results also showed that by applying irrigation at pod filling stage, grain yield and oil yield were increased by 13.22% and 20.23%, as compared to I1 treatment. The highest total productivity for the grain yield and oil yield was obtained in I5 treatment with 0.252 and 0.073 kg / m3. In general, due to the fact that drought stress in rapeseed calving stages reduces yield, the higher the number of irrigations in rapeseed calving stages, the more the yield.

Adoption of a system of rice intensification (SRI) practice for rice production needs thorough investigation on the amount of water utilized in rice fields as water flow involves interaction of ver...

Urban agglomerations are a primary spatial focus of socioeconomic activity and inherently include large volumes of embodied water. We have applied the concept of water metabolism health to comprehensively evaluate the overall operation of water systems in urban agglomerations and propose an innovative assessment framework. In particular, we constructed a water metabolism network (WMN) model to simulate a water system in which different cities and sectors are integrated, combining a newly compiled multiregional input-output (MRIO) table of water flow with ecological network analysis (ENA). A case study considering the Pearl River Delta (PRD) urban agglomeration in 2015 demonstrates that its network is well synergic but highly dependent, with considerable negative effects. Highly developed cities in southeastern of the PRD exhibit higher embodied water productivity and robustness but impose considerable negative effects on the water system. We found the agricultural sector to be a dominant controller of the network; the construction and service sectors represent the primary beneficiaries with strong competition. We suggest measures at various scales to improve water utilization efficiency and promote positive interactions between components, thus improving water metabolism system health for urban agglomerations.

This paper proposes scenarios to achieve more crop per drop and irrigation for all in water-scarce irrigation systems, with a particular reference to India. It uses economic water productivity (EWP) and water cost curve for EWP as tools to reallocate irrigation consumptive water use (CWU) and identify economically viable cropping patterns. Assessed in the water-scarce Sina irrigation system in Maharashtra, India, the method shows that drought-tolerant annual crops such as fruits and/or fodder should be the preferred option in irrigated cropping patterns. Cropping patterns with orchard or fodder as permanent fixtures will provide sustainable income in low rainfall years. Orchards in combination with other crops will increase EWP and value of output in moderate to good rainfall years. Governments should create an enabling environment for conjunctive water use and allocation of CWU to achieve a gradual shift to high-value annual/perennial crops as permanent fixtures in cropping patterns. Highlights Economic water productivity is a critical performance indicator when water has an opportunity cost.; Water cost curve assesses the financial trade-off of different cropping patterns.; Adapting to weather variability is imperative for water-scarce irrigation systems.; Drought-tolerant annual crops should be a permanent feature in cropping patterns.; Enabling a policy environment for conjunctive water use is necessary for change.

Water scarcity negatively affects maize yield, whereas biochar could enhance soil physical properties and improve the growth and water productivity (WP) of maize. Thus, field experiments were condu...

This p aper presents a theoretical and experimental investigation on the optimization of a solar still. The theoretical approach is based on the simulation of the solar desalination system, the influenced parameters were isolated and their corresponding effects were numerically evaluated. According to these results, the optimization methodology is based on the concept of recuperation of the condensed heat. Two solar stills having the same dimensions were constructed. A descending film of salt water cools the glass cover of the first still. The cooling water is then recycled and fed into the supply of the solar still. The other still is simple and conventional, it is used only for comparison and reference purpose. Both stills are similar in geometry, and inclination angle. The theoretical and experimental results show that the productivity increase with cooling the glass cover. The experimental results show important increment in productivity, reaches in some cases 60%. The influence of cooling water flow rate was also investigated. The experimental investigation has shown the non-linear behavior of the flow rate on the performance. The objective of the present research work is to reach an optimum system configuration in order to provide a simple and high effect solar distillation unit.

Aim: To assess the influence of nutrient management practices on crop and water productivity, grain quality, energy productivity and profitability in promising rice genotypes of Eastern Himalayas. Methodology: An experiment was conducted at ‘Lowland Research Block’ of ICAR–RC–NEHR, Barapani, Meghalaya to assess the influence of different nutrient management practices [Organic nutrient management (through FYM + remaining P through rock phosphate); integrated nutrient management (INM) (50% NPK through fertilizers + 50% N through FYM + remaining P through rock phosphate); inorganic nutrient management (fertilizers); and absolute control] and rice varieties [Shahsarang–1, Lumpnah and Megha semi-aromatic–2] on productivity, quality, energetic and profitability replicated thrice in a split-plot design. Results: Rice grain yield was significantly higher in INM practice (4.18 t ha-1) followed by inorganic (4.02 t ha-1) and organic practice (3.74 t ha-1). INM practice exhibited highest hulling (68.6%), milling (59.9%), head-rice recovery (53.6%), protein content (7.56%) and protein yield (329 kg ha-1) followed by inorganic, organic practice and control, respectively. However, gross and net returns and B: C ratio were significantly greater in inorganic practice followed by INM practice. Highest TWUE (3.17 kg ha-1 mm-1), water productivity (47.6 INR ha-1 mm-1), energy output (140342 MJ ha-1) as well as net energy (130813 MJ ha-1) were recorded in INM practice. Interpretation: INM practice and rice variety ‘Shahsarang–1’ can be recommended to farmers for enhancing the rice productivity, profitability, resource-use efficiency and soil health in eastern Himalayan region of India. Key words: Energetics, Grain quality, Integrated nutrient management, Rice varieties, Water-use efficiency

Aims: Cactus pear cultivation for fruit production is under rainfed conditions, mainly. Hence, irrigation uses for this purpose is expensive in arid and semi-arid agricultural lands. The objective of this study was to derive agro-economic indicators associated with supplemental irrigation to improve fruit yield of commercial cactus pear cultivars grown in a semiarid agroecosystem of Mexico. Study Design: The irrigation treatments tested were fully irrigated (FI) and supplemental irrigation (SI), with non-irrigated as a control (NI). Place and Duration of Study: The experiment was set up at the Campo Experimental Zacatecas, Calera, Zacatecas, Mexico from 2011 to 2013. Methodology: Five-year-old cactus pear plants of ‘Cristalina’ (O. albicarpa Scheinvar; white-pulped fruit) and ‘Roja Lisa’ [O. ficus-indica (L.) Mill.; red-pulped fruit] were included. The experiment was conducted in a split-block design. There were three blocks; each included both cultivars, randomly allocated to each irrigation treatment. The response variables were: fruit yield (FY), cultivation costs (CC), gross return (GR), net return (NR), benefit-cost ratio (BC), irrigation use efficiency (IUE), gross water productivity (GWP), net water productivity (NWP), labor productivity (LP), break-even-point (BEP), and credit vulnerability (CV). Results: In all years but 2013, FI ‘Cristalina’ plants had the highest CC, reflected in their greater GR and NR; however, BC values were similar between SI and FI plants or greater in SI plants for 2013. Therefore, SI plants had the highest IUE, GWP, NWP, LP, EP, and equal or greater credit vulnerability than FI plants. The NI plants produced positive values for BEP and CV. The economic indices for ‘Roja Lisa’ were similar to those of ‘Cristalina’. Conclusion: The SI treatment produced the best agricultural economic indices and it is also a feasible water-saving irrigation strategy for cactus pear cultivation in semiarid agroecosystems worldwide.

Optimal use of water resources seem to be necessary due to climate change and the recent drought conditions. One of the most important and effective management strategies is increasing water productivity in agriculture. Irrigation method and the use of different levels of nitrogen fertilizer are the effective factors in increasing the water productivity. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the effect of the irrigation method and nitrogen fertilizer on the harvest index and water productivity of two wheat cultivars with 36 treatments as a split-split plot based on a completely randomized design with three replications in the research farm of Natural Resources and Agricultural Research Center of Kashmar, during the 2018-2019 time period. The treatments were two irrigation methods including end blocked border and drip irrigation (tape) as the main plots, three levels of the nitrogen fertilizer from urea source including 0, 50 and 100 kg/ha as the sub plots and two cultivars of wheat including Pishgam and Sirvan as the sub-sub plots. The results showed that by changing the border irrigation method to the drip irrigation (tape) method, the harvest index and water productivity were increasesignificantly. The results also showed that grain yield and its components, including harvest index and water productivity, had no significant difference in 50 and 100 kg/ha nitrogen levels. On the other hand, grain yield and its components, harvest index and water productivity, were significantly higher in the Sirvan cultivar rather than the Pishgam one (P

The general perception of canal irrigation systems in India is one of built infrastructure with low service performance. This paper presents an analytical framework, applied to the Sina medium irrigation system in Maharashtra state of India, to study the performance of an expanded water influence zone (WIZ) including a buffer zone outside the canal command area (CCA) influenced by the irrigation system's water resources. The framework used satellite-based estimates of land-use and cropping patterns. The results indicate that there is hardly any gap between the irrigation potential created (IPC) and the irrigation potential utilized (IPU) in the CCA. The fraction of consumptive water use (CWU) of irrigation is low in the CCA, but almost one in the WIZ, due to the reuse of return flows in the WIZ. Future investments should focus on increasing economic water productivity ($/m3) in order to enhance the resilience of the farming community in the WIZ, which is frequently affected by water scarcity. Highlights An expanded water influence zone shows a holistic approach to performance assessment of canal irrigation systems.; The satellite-based estimate shows the underestimation of the cropped area.; The consumptive fraction of water is high in the WIZ.; The assessment of an irrigated area and water-use efficiency requires a new direction.; Increasing economic water productivity is the way forward for water-scarce canal command systems.

The improvement of saline and sodic soils aims to reduce the dissolved salts in the soil solution. In this context, an integrated management approach is required, which not only improves its effectiveness in improving soil properties but also increases water productivity and yields. To mitigate the negative effects of soil salinity, improvement of soil properties and yield –water productivity of rice plant, a field trial was carried out at El-Hamoul region, Kafer El-Sheikh, Egypt, during the summer seasons of 2019 and 2020. The experiments were conducted in split plot design, with three replicates. The main plots were assigned to soil amendments (control, compost (C) 10.0 Mg ha-1, gypsum (G) 100% from gypsum requirement 13.512 Mg ha-1 and G+C).Sub main plots were assigned to foliar application (control (tap water), compost tea (50 L ha-1), proline (3.6 g ha-1), and combination of compost tea + proilne). Generally, results showed that the impacts of main plots were in the following order: compost + gypsum ˃ gypsum ˃ compost ˃ control in both growing seasons. Also, soil amendments had a significant effect on decreasing some soil chemical properties i.e. pH, EC, ESP and increasing of CEC compared control treatment. The treatment compost +gypsum more pronounced the other treatment on soil bulk density and total porosity. Soil basic infiltration rate (IR) and hydraulic conductivity (K) high significantly increased by application of compost, gypsum and gypsum + compost and recorded the highest value by application of compost + gypsum. Chlorophyll, proline content, 1000-grain weight, straw and grain yield of rice were significant increased and recorded the highest values due to the interaction between compost + gypsum and foliar of compost tea and proline during two growing seasons. Water productivity (WP) and productivity of irrigation water (PIW) for grain yield of rice were high significantly increased and recorded the highest values due to the interaction between soil amendments, compost tea and proline. Total return, net return, benefit cost ratio and total return from water unit for rice yield were significant increased with treatment and recorded highest values due the interaction compost + gypsum and foliar application of compost tea and proline.

This study evaluated the yield and water productiivty response of quinoa to regulated deficit irrigation (RDI), partial root-zone drying (PRD) and conventional deficit irrigation (DI) and full irrigation (FI) using surface (SD) and subsurface drip (SSD) systems in 2016 and 2017 in the eastern Mediterranean region of Turkey. The treatments consisted of RDI, PRD50, DI50, DI75 and FI. A rainfed treatment (RF) was also included in the study. The experimental design was split plots with four replications. DI75 and DI50 received 75 and 50% of FI, respectively. PRD50 received 50% of FI, but from alternative laterals. RDI received 50% of FI during vegetative stage until flowering, and then received 100% of water requirement. The results showed that quinoa under SD used slightly more water than SSD due to reduced surface evaporation. RDI resulted in water saving of 23 and 21% for SD and SSD, respectively, compared to FI; and RDI produced statistically similar grain yields to FI. DI75 treatment resulted in water savings of 16% for both drip methods in the first year and 10 and 25% for SD and SSD systems, respectively, in the second year. PRD50 produced greater yield than DI50 eventhough they received the same amount of irrigation water. RF and PRD50 treatments resulted in significantly greater water productivity (WP) values than other treatments. There was no significant difference between SD and SSD regarding the grain and dry matter yields and WP values. Thus, RDI and DI75 appear to be good alternatives to FI for sustainable quinoa production in the Mediterranean region.

Nowadays more than 70% of the fresh water available worldwide is used for agriculture. In Argentina, extensive crops are not usually irrigated, so the cropping production depends mostly on rainfall water. In order to know how many liters of water are needed to produce a ton of soybeans, wheat and maize in the Pergamino district, Province of Buenos Aires, its Water Footprint was estimated by the Hoekstra method. Evaporation and rainfall data was obtained from SIGA INTA platform and production data was obtained from the Ministry of Agriculture. The results indicated that the average annual total water footprint values for soybean, corn and wheat crops for the period 2013-2018 in the Pergamino district, province of Buenos Aires, are 1,388 l∙kg−1, 693 l∙kg−1 and 1,249 l∙kg−1 respectively. These were lower than the global average reference values. The obtained results allowed future analysis advancing in the knowledge of the use of water productivity in grain production.

Water resources are becoming scarce and must be preserved. The significant use of water is linked to agriculture in general and to livestock in particular. Very little research in semi-arid regions has been devoted to assessing the contribution of ruminants to water scarcity. This contribution explores the relationships between dairy farming and the various water resources available in an ecosystem with climatic constraints. To meet future food demand while sustainably managing the available land and water resources, dairy farm systems in semi-arid regions must adapt in response to climate and socio-economic change. In this study, we focus on the south Mediterranean region to analyze the key factors influencing water productivity in dairy farming, especially in context characterized by water scarcity. In order to characterize the relationship between dairy cattle breeding and water resources, a monitoring of 40 dairy cattle stables has been carried out in a semi-arid region. The technical and economic parameters of each farm were evaluated: the use of water according to their origins to the production of fodder by source, the contribution of virtual water off the farm, the total fodder biomass, feeding system practiced on the farms and the performances achieved. Analysis of the data indicates that productivity of fodder in dry matter differ between the two systems with values of the order of 12520 to 17188 kg/ha (p

A field experiment comprised of four different levels of management allowable depletion (MAD) of soil moisture for next irrigation to potato crop under drip irrigation was conducted during 2017-18 and repeated during 2018-19 at Water Management Research Farm, Renala Khurd, Okara, Pakistan. Cropwat 8.0 program was used to determine the interval and depth of next irrigation at 15, 30, 45 and 60% MAD of soil moisture. The experiments during both the years were organized in RCBD fashion with four replications. Irrigation to potato crop at 30% MAD level depicted the highest water productivity (17.28 kg/m3), followed by 60%, 15% and 45% MAD levels with water productivity values of 16.90, 16.63 and 14.60 kg/m3, respectively. The highest tuber yield was obtained when potato crop was irrigated at 60% MAD level (28.411 tons ha-1), followed by 30% MAD level (27.998 tons ha-1), 15% MAD level (26.736 tons ha-1) and 45% MAD level (24.081 tons ha-1). The maximum %age of medium sized tubers was achieved by applying irrigation to potato crop at 60% MAD level (65.70), followed by 30% MAD level (65.50), 45% MAD level (64.00) and 15% MAD level (60.50). The incidence of scab was found 2.50%, 2.75%, 3.25% and 3.75% in potato tubers at 15, 30, 45 and 60% MAD level, respectively indicating that the incidence of disease increased slightly with increase in MAD level.

An environmental friendly superabsorbent composite (SAC) based on rice, (Oriza sativa L.), husk was created by the scientific group at Faculty of Science, Tanta University, and City of Scientific R...