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Copyright of Journal of Soil Sciences & Agricultural Engineering is the property of Egyptian National Agricultural Library (ENAL) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Smart cropland management practices can mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while safeguarding food security. However, the integrated effects on net greenhouse gas budget (NGHGB) and grain yield from different management practices remain poorly defined and vary with environmental and application conditions. Here, we conducted a global meta‐analysis on 347 observation sets of non‐CO2 GHG (CH4 and N2O) emissions and grain yield, and 412 observations of soil organic carbon sequestration rate (SOCSR). Our results show that for paddy rice, replacing synthetic nitrogen at the rate of 30%–59% with organic fertilizer significantly decreased net GHG emissions (NGHGB: −15.3 ± 3.4 [standard error], SOCSR: −15.8 ± 3.8, non‐CO2 GHGs: 0.6 ± 0.1 in Mg CO2 eq ha−1 year−1) and improved rice yield (0.4 ± 0.1 in Mg ha−1 year−1). In contrast, intermittent irrigation significantly increased net GHG emissions by 11.2 ± 3.1 and decreased rice yield by 0.4 ± 0.1. The reduction in SOC sequestration by intermittent irrigation (15.5 ± 3.3), which was most severe (>20) in alkaline soils (pH > 7.5), completely offset the mitigation in CH4 emissions. Straw return for paddy rice also led to a net increase in GHG emissions (NGHGB: 4.8 ± 1.4) in silt‐loam soils, where CH4 emissions (6.3 ± 1.3) were greatly stimulated. For upland cropping systems, mostly by enhancing SOC sequestration, straw return (NGHGB: −3.4 ± 0.8, yield: −0.5 ± 0.6) and no‐tillage (NGHGB: −2.9 ± 0.7, yield: −0.1 ± 0.3) were more effective in warm climates. This study highlights the importance of carefully managing croplands to sequester SOC without sacrifice in yield while limiting CH4 emissions from rice paddies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Misr Journal of Agricultural Engineering is the property of Egyptian National Agricultural Library (ENAL) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this paper, we deal with the renowned problem of plastic pollution caused by food consumption and its conservation. Specifically, we consider the producer/reseller decision problem of industrial organizations in conditions of perfect competition within small oligopoly clusters. Indeed, very often, one major sustainability problem is that the presence of direct competitors in the same market determines entrepreneurship choices which lower production costs and packaging costs at the expense of the environment and public health. For this purpose, in order to show economic scenarios in which the respect and preservation of the environment and natural resources are quantitatively compatible with profits and economic growth, we present a provisional coopetitive model of the strategic interaction of two food enterprises, in direct duopoly competition, through investments in sustainable-packaging technologies. The macroeconomic goal is to propose possible actions to reduce carbon footprints and the inflow of plastics to the marine environment, following the environmental targets established by the United Nations, also in the presence of direct perfect oligopolistic competition in the same market. From a microeconomic point of view, we assume the existence of two competitors selling a very similar type of food in the same market; therefore, within a competitive interaction, we adopt a classic “Cournot duopoly” core upon which we define a parametric game, namely, a coopetitive game, together with its possible dynamical scenarios and solutions. We should notice that beyond the parameter arising from the cooperation construct, we introduce a matrix of stochastic variables, which we can also consider as the state of the world. Moreover, we numerically examine one possible state of the world to exemplify our model proposal. We determine, analytically and graphically, the optimal investment in the cooperative strategy, the purely coopetitive solution and some super-cooperative solutions. The cooperative strategy represents the common investment chosen to acquire advanced green technologies for innovative packaging, while the fourth component of any solution in the strategy space represents the state of the world at the end of the coopetitive process in which, finally, we can see the profits and costs deriving from the adoption of the green technologies.

Micro-sprinkling irrigation is a small-flow irrigation technology that uses the grouped outlets on the micro-sprinkling hoses to spray the pressure water evenly in the field. Plants’ barriers during the middle to late growth period of winter wheat significantly reduce the irrigation quality of the micro-spray system. It is still unclear whether soil border width in wheat fields can alleviate the negative effect. In this study, a popularly-used variety (c.v. ZM 369) was adopted to test the mitigation effect of soil borders on irrigation quality, as well as soil moisture distribution, in wheat fields. Two irrigation quotas (i.e., 75 mm and 45 mm per time) and three border widths (i.e., 2.3 m, 3.3 m, and 5.3 m) were arranged in a randomized block design in the experimental years of 2020–2022. Soil moisture distribution and irrigation quality during the middle to late growth period of winter wheat (i.e., jointing to heading stage and grain filling stage) were investigated, as well as the effects on grain yield and water use efficiency (WUE). The results showed that irrigation water distribution in the direction perpendicular to micro-spray tapes generally decreased with the distance from tapes increasing. The maximum difference between the irrigation amount and water collected under the canopy was 134 mm. The uniformity coefficient of soil moisture distribution was increased by 25.8% with a 5.3 m border width compared to a 2.3 m width. Although an irrigation quota of 75 mm was beneficial for ensuring better irrigation uniformity and more stable grain yield, grain yield and WUE were produced with an irrigation quota of 45 mm. In conclusion, it is appropriate to increase border width and adopt a small quota for the micro-spray system in the North China Plain for wheat crops.

Cleaner Production (CP) has been studied mainly in the productive sector, ignoring that in drinking water treatment plants (DWTP) a better environmental performance can be achieved. The objective of this study was to evaluate the processes in a DWTP in order to improve production, reduce environmental impact and generate economic savings, for which a cleaner production plan was implementing. The methodology recommended by UNIDO was used. Three CP opportunities were evaluated and identified. After, each CP opportunity, a technical, environmental and economic feasibility analysis was carried out. The results indicated that by implementing the first opportunity of CP (Good housekeeping), it will save water by reducing the number of filter washes by 29400 m3/year, without any investment, so the gains will be immediate. With the second chance of CP, a water-saving of 23256 m3/year will be achieved by recirculating the water from the filters to the decanters. The investment is small, and the recovery period will be 2.4 months. The third CP option, which is based on the coagulant change, would have an annual financial savings of 5361.12 USD, with an immediate payback period. The results showed that the CP applications proposed in this study can significantly reduce water consumption in a WDTP, being able to be implemented in the short and medium-term, without large investments, allowing to address water scarcity today and in the future.

Increasing pressure on water resources is driving the development of technology to improve water-use efficiency in irrigation. Uptake of these technological advances are essential to ensure long-term water security in catchments, particularly in water-scarce regions and where agricultural activities and urban centres compete for the same resources. Research suggests that uptake of technology lags far behind the development of new products. The study presented in this paper interviewed 29 commercial farmers from the water-scarce Central Breede River Valley in South Africa to investigate their reasons behind the use or non-use of irrigation technology for scheduling, and in particular the uptake of a free, government-funded remote-sensing service called FruitLook. Evaluating the uptake of a free service eliminates monetary cost as one key barrier to uptake. In-depth interviews revealed a high uptake of technology (83%), but use of only one type – soil water measurement. Among the farmers that use water-use efficiency technology, 78% use the same probe service provider. Perceived accuracy and ease of use, as well as personalised after-sales service are the key reasons for this probe's popularity. While 86% of the farmers have heard about FruitLook, only one farmer uses it for irrigation purposes. The non-use of the free service can mainly be attributed to the time cost associated with the product's initial set-up, use, and interpretation of information. The study revealed that the integration of information from various products is essential for farmers – too much information in different formats is too time-costly. Developers of new technology should focus on these latter two findings to improve the likelihood of new product uptake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water deficit is a major factor limiting plant water productivity and fruit quantity and quality, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions of the world. The total yield, fruit physical characteristics, and nutritional value of four drought tolerant tomato genotypes (KSU-TOM-102, KSU-TOM-106, KSU-TOM-107 and TL-01860) were evaluated in response to deficit irrigation (DI) under field conditions. Three levels of crop Evapo-Ttranspiration (ETc; 50, 75, and 100%) were applied at three different growth stages (vegetative, flowering, and fruiting) to the four tomato genotypes. Tomato genotypes differed in their responses to water deficit. Among different genotypes, KSU-TOM-102 recorded the highest average total yield (89.54 t ha-1) under irrigation treatment with 100% of ETc during all stages as well as 75% of ETc during the fruiting stage. However, in general, total yield decreased under water deficit. Fruits quality characteristics were significantly (P≤ 0.05) affected by irrigation water treatments, tomato genotypes, and their interactions. Irrigation with water at 50% ETc at all growth stages significantly (P≤ 0.05) increased vitamin C, titratable acidity, total soluble solids and total sugar contents for tomato 'KSU-TOM-107' followed by 'KSU-TOM-102'. However, this increase in nutritional value was accompanied with decrease in total yields by nearly 40-50%. KSU-TOM-102 irrigated at 75% ETc at fruiting stage or vegetative stage recorded 0 and 12% reduction of the total yield, respectively, while maintaining good nutritional value as compared with 100% ETc during all stages. Therefore, these treatments can be recommended as irrigation management strategy for tomato 'KSU-TOM-102' production under field conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study proposes a new approach to employ the hydrology-based predictions of the water fate, rather than empirical ones, to estimate crop water requirements (CWRs) in artificially-drained agricultural lands. The study area comprises a 12 ha-wheat-land that locates in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, China, for the growing season of 2018–2019. Despite there was almost no need for irrigation in the study area due to the amble rainfall; the empirical prediction of the water fate caused overestimations in CWRs (30840 m3). Under the same data of evapotranspiration and precipitation, the new approach enhanced CWRs estimates (12750 m3), and this is due to the well-known accuracy of hydrology-based approaches in predicting the water fate. In addition, the water fate in the study area was hydrological simulated and predicted under some scenarios of field conditions and management practices, and the new approach was applied to estimate CWRs under these scenarios. It was revealed that changes in the water fate affected much CWRs and caused an increase (up to 80%), compared to the estimated value under baseline conditions. Therefore, the accurate prediction of the water fate is indispensable for better CWRs estimates along with better utilization of available water resources. In addition, the new approach presented in this study can be applied to estimate future CWRs in artificially drained lands, along with the assessment of various impacts of many field conditions and management practices on CWRs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, yield and water productivity response of rice to various irrigation levels applied with subsurface and surface drip systems in 2019 and 2020 in the Mediterranean Region of Turkey was evaluated in comparison with conventional flooding (CF). The treatments consisted of two irrigation methods namely surface drip (DI) and subsurface drip systems (SDI), three irrigation levels designated as plant pan coefficients (I1.00: Evaporation from Class A pan (Ep) × 1.00; I1.25: Ep × 1.25 and I1.50: Ep × 1.50) and CF as control. The effects of drip systems and coefficients on yield and yield components were statistically significant (P < 0.01). DI produced higher yield than SDI. CF produced significantly greater yield than both DI and SDI systems. With two drip systems, average water savings of 60.5% in I1.00, 54.5% in I1.25 and 49% in I1.50 were achieved as compared to CF. However, yield reductions of 15% in I1.50, 20% in I1.25, 29% in I1.00 were observed for DI; corresponding values for SDI were 20, 28 and 44%, respectively. Drip irrigation in aerobic rice production system had almost twice the water productivity based on total irrigation water applied (WPI) or total water input (irrigation + rainfall) (WPI+P) compared with CF. During the study years, the highest WPI and WPI+P values were found in DI-I1.00 (0.81–0.73 kg/m3) and (0.85 and 0.74 kg/m3), respectively. In conclusion, DI-I1.50 treatment is recommended for sustainable aerobic rice production since DI-I1.50 resulted in water saving of 49% but yield decrease of 15% as compared to CF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Informacion Tecnica Economica Agraria is the property of Asociacion Interprofesional para el Desarrollo Agrario (AIDA) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Technical alternatives offering high water efficiency are being developed to complement existing centralized water and wastewater conveyance and treatment systems. Understanding of the negative effects wide‐spread implementation of such alternative systems may have on existing systems is still limited, despite the importance of this inevitable transition. In this study, we present a novel approach to systematically identify these negative impacts. A comprehensive model integrating transport and transformation processes in sewer pipes was set up and simulated for various transition scenarios. A significant finding of this research is that reduced flows and increased chemical oxygen demand (COD) concentrations result in the accumulation of sediments and sulphides in sewer pipes. For the examined sewer system, when reducing the total daily flow by 50%, 30% of the pipes were found to accumulate sediments, and 30% of the pipes experienced effects due to the presence of sulphides in different states depending on the wastewater temperature. It was found that an optimal spatial distribution of these water‐efficient solutions will most likely require compromises between sediment and sulphide accumulation. The product of two design parameters, diameter and bed slope, was found to be a suitable predictor of the potential of a pipe to accumulate sediments. This research provides novel approaches to assessing the feasibility of transition to solutions offering higher water efficiency. The results indicate where the most affected points in the systems are expected to occur and might help in preparing an experimental approach to assess such negative effects, increasing urban water management efficiency. Key Points: A systematic approach for evaluating effects of transition to water‐efficient solutions on sewers is presentedTransition to water‐efficient solutions affects sulphide and sediment accumulation in pipesReduced flows and increased chemical oxygen demand and temperatures affect these accumulations [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Tecno-Lógica is the property of Tecno-Logica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

• Ammonium salt-based Deep Eutectic Solvents are good extractants for textile dyes. • Characteristic functional groups in dyes can be targeted to enhance extraction. • The reuse of the cleaned water and of the extracted dye is possible. • Simulated effluents composed by industrial dyes are treated. Recovery of dyes present in liquid solutions was achieved with efficiencies higher than 99 %, using deep eutectic solvents composed of tetrabutylammonium chloride and decanoic acid. The method produces a totally decolorized water. Both the reuse of the clean water and of the extracted dye is plausible via this treatment, as the colorant can be recovered from the organic phase after the liquid–liquid extraction. The solvent is physically and chemically characterized, in a wide arrange of temperatures, and its behavior in liquid–liquid equilibria with water was also studied. The process works for a broad range of dye concentrations, and with a very low consumption of solvent (optimized volumetric ratio between organic and aqueous phases was 1/16). Optimized processing times set the duration of the treatment at 20 min, including the recovery of the dye from the extracted phase. The capabilities of the solvent were tested against synthetic effluents composed by industrial dyes and auxiliary agents that typically appear on dyeing processes, maintaining efficiencies above 99 %. The deep eutectic solvents also work equally well for extracting mixtures of dyes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and high-water requirements in transplanted rice are critical issues contributing to climate change and the depletion of freshwater reserves. The adoption of water-saving irrigation practices and improved rice cultivars is important for mitigating GHG emissions and addressing water scarcity while maintaining high crop yields. The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of the duration of the rice cultivar and intermittent irrigation scheduling on water productivity, rice yield, net GHG emissions, and greenhouse gas intensity (GHGI). The field experiment was conducted with two rice cultivars (long-duration and short-duration) and three irrigation regimes (continuous flooding, CF; irrigation two days after infiltration of ponded water, 2DAIPW; irrigation three days after infiltration of ponded water, 3DAIPW) during 2019 and 2020. The results revealed that regardless of irrigation regime, the short-duration cultivar saved irrigation water (17%), reduced CH 4 (12%), N 2 O (11%) and net GHG emissions (12%), and had lower grain yield relative to long-duration cultivar. The actual crop water productivity (ACWP), total crop water productivity (TCWP), and greenhouse gas intensity (GHGI) were comparable for both the cultivars. Irrespective of cultivars, the 2DAIPW regime saved 21% of the irrigation water, led to the emission of 24% less CH 4 and 49% higher N 2 O compared to CF. However, the 3DAIPW regime saved 31% of irrigation water, decreased CH 4 emissions by 39% and increased N 2 O emissions by 29%, respectively, over the CF regime. Practicing the 3DAIPW irrigation regime over CF significantly increased ACWP (41%) and TCWP (26%) and reduced net GHG emissions (28%) and GHGI (26%). These findings suggest that the cultivation of short-duration rice cultivar and the 3DAIPW irrigation regime have the potential to mitigate GHG emissions and saving of irrigation water. [Display omitted] • N 2 O and CH 4 emissions were lowest in CF and 3DAIPW, respectively. • Lower net GHG emissions under short-duration cultivar than long-duration cultivar. • CH 4 accounted for 77% and N 2 O for 23% of rice field net GHG emissions. • Improved CWP under intermittent irrigation regimes compared to CF. • Short-duration cultivar requires less irrigation water than long-duration cultivar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing water stress necessitates adopting wastewater reuse for sustainable living in urban environment. Trade-offs exist between different wastewater reuse applications and their environmental impacts. The impacts associated with developing urban water systems (UWSs) are not known, and city scale wastewater reuse in general is not well understood. This study investigates indirect, direct, non-potable and hybrid wastewater reuse scenarios in a real UWS to suggest environmentally sustainable reuse strategy using life cycle approach. The study develops a comprehensive life cycle inventory of actual water and wastewater utilities. Results show that all environmental impacts except eutrophication increases for direct potable and hybrid reuse. The centralized non-potable reuse (NPR) had lowest impact scores related with ecotoxicities while impacts including global warming were equivalent to the baseline. The study recommends adopting centralized NPR in developing UWSs while highlighting the treatment processes and impacts for reuse scenarios favorable in high to extreme water stressed regions. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water-saving irrigation is becoming more important in the upper Yellow River basin (YRB) due to reduced water allocation and growing water scarcity. However, drip irrigation as an efficient irrigation method, has not gained as much acceptance as one might expect. In this study, integrated approaches involving field experiments, agro-ecosystem modeling, and financial analysis were proposed to evaluate the multiple benefits of two irrigation methods. Field experiments on maize irrigated with border irrigation and drip irrigation under plastic mulching (i.e., BI-M and DI-M) were conducted in the Hetao Irrigation District (Hetao) of the upper YRB during 2021 and 2022. The AHC model was calibrated and validated using two-year experimental data, performing well in simulations of soil water-salt-nitrogen (N) dynamics and crop growth. An irrigation scheduling module was newly incorporated into AHC. Then the model was applied to analyze scenarios consisting of three classes of groundwater depth (GWD) and five N application levels. Optimal irrigation and N-fertilization strategies were suggested; and DI-M showed significant advantages over BI-M in terms of water-saving (56–66 mm), labor-saving, environmental benefits (50 kg ha−1 less N fertilizer and 19–25 kg ha−1 less N loss), and crop yields (<4%), both in experimental and scenario cases. However, the financial analysis revealed that the current smallholder BI-M could achieve higher net returns (about 12%) compared to DI-M, since the family labor is often not counted as a cost in smallholder farming. Additionally, the widespread adoption of BI-M is also partly attributed to its easy operation. Lastly, results indicated a trend where the advantages of drip irrigation would become more significant in the future, with the increasing agricultural population aging and rising labor costs in the YRB. • Experiments, surveys and AHC model were combinedly used for irrigation evaluation. • Water-salt-nitrogen fate and economic benefits were evaluated under various scenarios. • Optimal water-nitrogen strategies were suggested for border and drip irrigation. • Smallholder BI-M achieves higher net returns due to exclusion of family labor cost. • Drip irrigation has clear advantages in water, labor and eco-environmental benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data centers consume large amounts of electricity and water specifically for cooling purposes. Integrating free cooling technologies is an essential part of broad efforts to reduce data centers' energy, carbon, and water footprints. Adding a new technique to the existing portfolio of free cooling technologies for data centers, we present how all-day passive radiative cooling can reduce energy and water consumptions of data centers. All-day passive radiative cooling is a free cooling technique, in which sky-facing surfaces with high solar reflectivity and midinfrared emissivity spontaneously reject heat into the sky, without consuming electricity and evaporating water. Using custom-built physics-based models, we simulate three configurations that integrate all-day radiative free cooling into data centers. We show that data center cooling energy and water consumptions differ substantially depending on the integration configuration. Particularly, direct free cooling of data center return air gives the highest energy saving with an annual average of around 20.0% under the tropical climate of Singapore which hosts a large number of data centers, whereas free cooling of compressed refrigerant prior to the chiller condenser gives the highest water saving with an annual average of around 84.0%. These results offer multiple viable options for integrating radiative free cooling into data center cooling systems to simultaneously achieve water and energy savings. • Radiative free cooling is added to the existing portfolio of free cooling technologies for data centers. • Detailed physics-based models of a data center cooling system were built. • The effects of weather and operation conditions on the cooling system performance were investigated. • Direct free cooling of data hall return air yields the most energy saving with an annual average of around 20.0%. • Free cooling of compressed refrigerant of the chiller cycle gives the most water saving with an annual average of 84.0%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of solid lubricants in anhydrous grinding technologies is consistent in reducing the use of water to serve industrial needs, which is one of the leading global environmental dominants. It is proposed to carry out development and research of ecological anhydrous processes of abrasive finishing forming of difficult-to-process materials by the method of diamond-spark grinding, which is the founder of NTU "KPI" and which has proved its high innovative flexibility and efficiency by wide scientific and industrial practice. The technologically competitive environment and some hypotheses and bases for the development of a complex of patentable technical solutions, as well as scientific and practical recommendations on the choice and technological instructions for the implementation of solid lubricants in diamond-spark grinding operations are presented. The article announces the implementation of the project ID: 62437 (3002-5695) with international cooperation under the auspices of the Ministry of Science and Education of Ukraine.

Wheat was the first crop grown in Egypt, and it remains highly important. Egypt is the largest wheat importer in the world and consumes an extensive amount of bread. It is imperative for wheat scientists to decrease the large gap between production and consumption. Wheat yields in Egypt increased 5.8-fold (6.7 billion kg) between 1961 and 2017 due to variety improvement and the use of better planting methods such as the raised bed method, ideal sowing date, surge flow irrigation and farm irrigation systems, laser levelling, fertilizers, and intercropping with raised beds. In this paper, the development of wheat production techniques and variety evolution over more than five decades in Egypt have been analyzed. In particular, we have focused on the technologies, cultural practices and causes for per unit area yield increase. The main purpose was to study the issues that have arisen during wheat production and to make recommendations for smart agricultural practices. In 1981, the yield was 3 300 kg ha–1 and through the improvement of varieties, expansion of agricultural land and the adoption of modern agricultural techniques yield reached 6 500 kg ha–1 by 2017. The production growth rate was 4.1% annually, and the total grain yield increased 4.3-fold, from 1.9 billion kg in 1981 to about 8.1 billion kg in 2017. The use of new improved varieties, new cultivation techniques, and modern irrigation techniques contributed to 97.0% of the increase in yield per unit area and 1.5% of the increase in yield was due to planting area expansion. Therefore, the increase in total yield mainly depended on the increase in yield per unit area. Wheat production in Egypt has been improved through the development of breeding and cultivation techniques. The use of these new techniques, the popularization of new high-quality seed varieties, and the use of the raised bed method instead of the old method of planting in basins have made the largest contributions to increased yield. In the future, wheat yield could be further increased by using the tridimensional uniform sowing mode and the development of wheat varieties that are resistant to rusts, deficit irrigation, and abiotic stress, that are highly adaptable to mechanized operation and have high yields. Based on our analysis, we propose the main technical requirements and measures to increase wheat yield in Egypt in the near future.

Global climate change presents a threat for the environment, and it is aggravated by the mismanagement of water use in the agricultural sector. Since plants are the intermediate component of the soil–plant–atmosphere continuum, and their physiology is directly affected by water availability, plant-based approaches proved to be sensitive and effective in estimating plant water status and can be used as a possible water-saving strategy in crop irrigation scheduling. This work consists of two parts: the first part extensively reviews the plant-based methods and approaches that are most applied to monitor the plant water status (PWS), the different technologies available, the gaps, and the possibility of further improvements in establishing a sustainable irrigation schedule. The various approaches are described, and the differences between conventional and recent improved methods are analyzed. The second part is an extensive dataset survey of 83 publications from 2012 to 2022 that applied the main monitoring methodologies and approaches for water status assessment in fruit and nut tree crops cultivated in a Mediterranean climate. The aim of this work is to serve as a practical reference to deepen reader knowledge on PWS and enhance researchers to identify gaps and potential advances in designing user-friendly monitoring technologies.

In many countries, water supplies are limited and must be managed for different uses. Providing additional resources for irrigation can be an expensive option, with an unsustainable impact on small farms and on the environment. Therefore, the main efforts should concentrate on the optimal management of existing water resources, paying particular attention to the adequate management of water demands. In Italy, the majority of scattered smallholder farmers are not provided with enough information on how to correctly manage water for irrigation. This paper presents the developing of a web-based irrigation decision support system adaptable and scalable to individual farms. The irrigation advisory service has been calibrated and validated for pomegranate trees, aubergine, and zucchini through 2 years of tests, in a farm in Southern Italy (Calabria). The results are very satisfactory, both in terms of water resources management for irrigation, and for the feedback provided by the farmers involved in the project. Future development regarding the application of wireless technology in smart irrigation is also evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some agricultural areas in Haryana and Punjab, India especially at tail ends suffer from lower crop yields in spite of excellent canal networks. This happens mainly due to less canal supply and inefficient usage of water by upstream farmers. Thus to get good crop yield farmers are forced to pump groundwater. But, it has been observed that pumping is always more than required. Similar trend has also been observed in tube well based irrigated area. The excessive pumping lowers groundwater table sharply. Thus, to mitigate this situation, storage of return flow from irrigation and runoff from farm is contemplated in on farm reservoir (OFR) which is used for irrigation at crucial times so that irrigation efficiency and crop yield could be enhanced. To study this field experiments on a half-acre farm in NIT, Kurukshetra, Haryana having sandy loam soil were conducted during two years i.e. 2013 and 2015 in Kharif season for rice crop. The farm was divided into two sub-farms (namely sub-farm A and sub-farm B). Two different irrigation schemes viz. crop of sub – farm A was irrigated from tube well only whereas sub – farm B crop was irrigated from tube-well as well as OFR so that comparison of water utilization by the crop and its yield could be made. The OFR was designed for capacity of 2 time supplemental irrigation demand for rice crop. The study reveals that the grain production of rice in sub-farm B is higher by 51 kg and 45 kg in the years 2013 and 2015 respectively and water saving of 22,799 l and 14,501 l is also achieved in the respective years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With rapid urbanization and the advancement of technology, it causes consumption of natural resources in urban areas and global climate change. The most prominent feature of global climate change is that there are sudden and irregular rains in addition to the dry periods. Irregular and sudden precipitation creates negative results especially on hard and impermeable surfaces. Especially in recent years, scenarios where water resources will be exhausted as a result of drought have to be directed towards the positive side. For this reason, the water resources can be taken under protection by accumulating rain waters that exist today against water shortage in the future. In this study, it was aimed to investigate the potential of using the water used by household residents in several residential areas in the city of Trabzon by using rainwater harvesting method on the roofs. In this context, by calculating the average amount of water used by 120 houses, it was determined how much rainwater collected on the roofs met this amount. In addition, the costs of the rainwater collection system and annual water savings were calculated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the key issues in managing water and energy systems is to incorporate the links between these systems to ensure security of resources. In this research, using system dynamics (SD) approach for simulating water–energy (WE) nexus, SD-WE model was developed for 16 sub-basins of Gavkhuni basin in central Iran. Various water- and energy-saving policies were simulated and their effectiveness in improving resource security was evaluated using water- (WSI) and energy-saving (ESI) indices. The results indicated that the share of water-related energy consumption (20%, 6%, and 2% of total electricity, crude oil, and natural gas consumption) is higher than the energy-related water withdrawal (17% of industrial water withdrawal) in the basin-wide resource usage. The water-saving policies had a significant impact on both the basin's energy and water resources. In contrast, energy-saving policies had a negligible influence on the basin's water resources but a notable impact on the water resources used in the energy sector outside of the basin. In addition, SD-WE model simulations showed that agriculture was the most effective end-user on resource saving, by improving WSI and ESI as much as 22% and 5.7%, respectively. Finally, the results of this study indicated that SD-WE model can be used as a tool to illustrate the inter-linkages, synergies, and trade-offs between water and energy systems, where limited water and energy data are available and also can be used as a platform for water–energy nexus modeling in other basins. Research Highlights: A system dynamics approach for simulating water–energy nexus was introduced. Water-related policies had a significant impact on both energy and water resources of the case study area. Energy-related policies had a negligible influence on water resources of the case study area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rice irrigation by continuous flooding is highly water demanding in comparison with most methods applied in the irrigation of other crops, due to a significant deep percolation and surface drainage of paddies. The pollution of water resources and methane emissions are other environmental problems of rice agroecosystems, which require effective agronomic changes to safeguard its sustainable production. To contribute to this solution, an experimental study of alternate wetting and drying flooding (AWD) was carried out in the Center of Portugal in farmer’s paddies, using the methodology of field irrigation evaluation. The AWD results showed that there is a relevant potential to save about 10% of irrigation water with a reduced yield impact, allowing an additional period of about 10 to 29 days of dry soil. The guidelines to promote the on-farm scale AWD automation were outlined, integrating multiple data sources, to get a safe control of soil water and crop productivity. The conclusions point out the advantages of a significant change in the irrigation procedures, the use of water level sensors to assess the right irrigation scheduling to manage the soil deficit and the mild crop stress during the dry periods, and the development of paddy irrigation supplies, to allow a safe and smart AWD.

The imbalance between precipitation and water evaporation has caused crop yield reduction, drought, and desertification. Furthermore, most parts of the world are short of water, including China. We proposed a low-cost polymer multilayer film to reduce water evaporation by only passing through several sunlight wavelengths necessary for photosynthesis. A series of experiments were conducted to characterize the influence of partial sunlight on the reduction of water evaporation. Evaporation containers and evaporation pans were placed in open-air (CK), under a glass shed (GS), and under a glass-shed covered with multilayer films (GMF). Our results showed a significant reduction in water evaporation under GMF. Cumulative soil surface evaporation of CK, GS and GMF over 45 days was 80.53 mm, 68.12 mm, and 56.79 mm, respectively. Under GMF, cumulative water evaporation from soil and pan surfaces decreased by 29% and 26%. The slope (β1≠0) of simple linear regression showed a significant relationship between evaporation time and cumulative water evaporation (p = 0.000 < α = 0.05 shown in the ANOVA table). The correlation coefficient was more than 0.91 in all treatments, suggesting a strong positive linear relationship. This study may contribute to future drought resistance and agrivoltaic sustainability development.

In order to master the characteristics of water use in dairy farms systematically and comprehensively, and put forward the scientific and reasonable water-saving measures. By means of literature review and field research, the paper outlined the current situation of dairy farming at China and abroad, and systematically summarized the features, changing rules and influencing factors of water use in the link of dairy farming. The results showed that drinking water, clean water and cooling water were the main water structure of dairy farming at home and abroad. The scale of breeding, the proportion of lactating cows, the type of milking parlour and the climate features were the main factors affecting the characteristics of dairy water consumption, and the construction of multi-factor water consumption prediction model was a research hotspot. It was determined that drinking water, milking parlour water and spray water were the key water-saving links in dairy farming, and specific suggestions were presented for the follow-up water-saving research in dairy farming process, for providing technical support for pollution prevention and control in dairy farm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Pia Fantastica toilet flushes with just one cup of water under an angle of 45 degrees and has no water seal. It has the convenience of a pedestal like a conventional ceramic toilet, and, if well installed, has no smell or fly problem. It is a toilet made out of concrete which can be produced for a price of just US$ 6.50 and is therefore attractive to the local sanitation market. The Pia Fantastica was developed as part of the Biological Urban Sanitation Project (2016–2019) where Black Soldier Fly larvae were used for environmental friendly pit emptying. The project has been translated into a social enterprise "Susamati" run by young professionals in Maputo, Mozambique. Setting up an enterprise is about building a team as well as marketing and sales. At this point, making a financially sustainable enterprise remains a challenge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rice (Oryza sativa L.)-wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) system (RWS) grown on 10 m ha in the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP), is essential for food security of India. In IGP soil sodicity is very common and reclamation with gypsum is very expensive, so adoption of salt tolerant varieties of rice and wheat could be a better option. A field experiment was, therefore conducted for three years (2012-2015) in RWS to evaluate the performance of salt tolerant varieties under different dates of transplanting/sowing and irrigation scheduling. In kharif season, three irrigation scheduling, i.e. complete submergence/farmers practice (CS/FP), 3 days after disappearance of ponded water (DAD), and 5 DAD as horizontal factor and four transplanting dates (21 June, 1 July, 11 July, 21 July) as vertical factor conducted in strip plot design replicated thrice. In rabi season, three irrigation schedules, i.e. IW/CPE = 1.0, 0.8, and 0.6 as horizontal factor and four dates of sowing, i.e. 10 November, 20 November, 30 November, 10 December, as vertical factor and two salt tolerant wheat varieties, viz. KRL 210 and KRL 213 in subplots was conducted in strip split plot design, replicated thrice. Results indicated that salt tolerant rice variety Basmati CSR-30 can be transplanted on 1 July to get better yield attributes, highest grain yield (3.63 t/ha) and water saving (32.5%) by adopting irrigation scheduling of 5 DAD with highest irrigation water productivity (0.522 kg/m3). In rabi season, salt tolerant wheat varieties can be sown on 20 November following irrigation schedule of IW/CPE=1.0 (KRL-210: 6.76 t/ha and KRL-213: 6.88 t/ha) to get highest grain yield.

Purpose: to determine the efficiency of mineral fertilizers and the agricultural crops response degree for the main groups (cereals, fodder, legumes and industrial crops, potatoes and vegetables) during irrigation in the aspect of resource saving. Materials and methods: the research was carried out in the Central irrigated zone of Rostov region (FSUE “Semikarakorskoe”). The object of research is different groups of agricultural crops, their reaction to the nutrient status at different levels of moisture supply. The soils of the experimental site are represented by ordinary chernozems. Field observations, research and data processing were carried out according to generally accepted methods: B. A. Dospekhov, A. N. Kostyakov, M. M. Goryanskiy. Results: as a result of the research, it was revealed that regardless the fertilizer status, the calculated water regime contributes to the agricultural crops yield increase by an average of 1.6–3.2 times in comparison with dry conditions. The calculated soil water regime contributed to a significant increase in the efficiency of fertilizers relative to rainfed growing conditions. Under different mineral fertilizers backgrounds, the maximum effect from their use increased: in the group of grain crops (spring barley) by 3.09 times, fodder (alfalfa of previous years) by 2.93 times, legumes (peas) by 2.86 times and potatoes by 4.25 times. Conclusions: the greatest effect from the fertilizers application under irrigation conditions was shown by potatoes, vegetables and grain crops. The highest return on fertilizers by an increase in yield was noted in the cultivation of alfalfa (12.67–13.83 kg) and Sudanese grass (22.00–23.44 kg), as well as potatoes (26.37–24.22 kg) and vegetable crops (22.6–33.4 kg). A severe water regime with a slight decrease in the yield of agricultural crops contributes to the irrigation water saving up to 1050–1580 m3/ha, which is very urgent under conditions of water scarcity.

The pressure of growing urbanization, industrialization and water scarcity resulting from climate change imposes limitations on the amount of water allocated to agriculture.There will need to be an increase in food production of almost 50% by 2030. This will be an enormous challenge, requiring a significant increase in irrigable land area in the forthcoming years. It is necessary to improve water 2 systems based on the knowledge that high efficiency can be achieved with less wateronly by the adoption of more effective water-management plans, especially in agriculture, which is the major consumer of this precious resource. Water management in agriculture has a dual task: improving both water networks and how treated wastewater is used and re-used. Farmer participation in wateradministration will play a key role in agricultural production growth. The paper highlights current concern regarding the management of water supply for irrigation from the River Arda in Piacenza province, Italy. The approach proposed by the Consorzio di Bonifica di Piacenza for the reduction of water loss in the irrigation network is the replacement of the traditional system of open canals with a new underground pipe system, to be available only for irrigation, in such a way that the hydrogeological structure of the territory would not be altered. The project’s technical and economic feasibilitydepend on architectural quality and technical functionality. During the project phase tools and methods were also considered, seeking to involve techniques, materials and equipment that would make the pipe system less invasive and more affordable, efficient and manageable, not only regarding the final results, but also the project’s development and construction stages, as well as its post-construction ordinary maintenance.

The Burana Land-Reclamation Board is an interregional water board operating in three regions and five provinces. The Burana Land-Reclamation Board operates over a land area of about 250,000 hectares between the Rivers Secchia, Panaro and Samoggia, which forms the drainage basin of the River Panaroand part of the Burana-Po di Volano, from the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines to the River Po. Its main tasks are the conservation and safeguarding of the territory, with particular attention to water resources and how they are used, ensuring rainwater drainage from urban centres, avoiding flooding but ensuringwater supply for crop irrigation in the summer to combat drought. Since the last century the Burana Land-Reclamation Board has been using innovative techniques in the planning of water management schemes designed to achieve the above aims, improving the management of water resources while keeping a constant eye on protection of the environment.

To improve the environmental performance of small and medium-sized accommodation enterprises, it is important to understand the factors and motivations that move managers to adopt more efficient technologies and ecologically responsible practices. A sample of 18 independent family-run hotels and campsites were contacted in the mature tourist resort area of the Costa Brava (Spain). The research worked with a combination of surveys and semi-structured interviews directed at top managers. Saving water is revealed as a matter figuring low on the list of priorities of most managers, while competitive advantages and stakeholder pressures appear as less relevant drivers than is posited in most of the scientific literature. We conclude that addressing organizational factors holds more promise in terms of transformative power supporting water conservation than structural or technological changes.

The objectives of the present study were to evaluate the effect of drainage water at different growth stages of quinoa (cv. Titicaca) in the Çukurova region of Turkey in 2014 and 2015 on yield, yield components, water use efficiency and salt accumulation in the plant root zone. The line-source sprinkler lateral was used in order to create gradually varying deficit irrigation treatments (I1 through I5). Drainage water was applied to replenish soil water deficit in the 60 cm depth to the field capacity during four growth stages of quinoa (early vegetation, late vegetation, flowering and grain filling) in treatment plots adjacent to sprinkler lateral (I1). Total amount of drainage water applied to treatment (I1) was 344 and 400 mm; and seasonal water use (ET) was 514, and 459 mm, respectively, for two years. Irrigation levels (I1-I4) influenced significantly quinoa yields and yield components. Maximum yield was obtained from the I1 treatment as 4510-4880 kg ha-1; and the lowest yield was obtained from the rainfed treatment (I5) as 1880 and 1430 kg ha-1, respectively. Significant linear relationships were found between seed yield and ET. The yield response factor (ky) was 1.17 in 2014 and 1.06 in 2015. Soil salinity decreased with increasing depth in all treatments. In conclusion, full irrigation using drainage water (1.6 dS m-1) is recommended for sprinkler irrigated quinoa in order to obtain higher yield in the Çukurova region.

The varied water use in every aspect of life makes its availability extremely important; this beneficiary is strongly influenced by its quantity and quality. Community participation is needed to identify the characteristics and patterns of clean water consumption, especially at the household level, in order to better understand and explore the quantity of clean water consumption and the related behavior of the community of this project. Thereafter, efforts should be made to encourage the conservation of clean water consumption from the aspect of needs control. It can be seen from the results of the project that there is water saving potential from six main activities of household water usage, namely bathing, brushing of teeth, washing of hands and face, dish washing, clothes washing, and floor cleaning. To obtain the best data quality, the data collection method of each activity is divided into secondary and primary data, collected either through other sources or references, or by conducting a direct survey in the field of the target respondents selected. The study measures how much clean water saving potential there was with regard to nine respondents selected through a joint selection process. The greatest water saving potential derived from behavioral changes in washing activities, at 90 liters per activity. The potential water savings that could be achieved in the dish washing activity amounted to 86.4 liters. By undertaking the water saving activities in line with the calculations of the research, the respondents could save between Rp 136.797 (US$ 9,4) to Rp 192.103,- (US$ 13,2) per month.