water-saving irrigation

Crop evapotranspiration is a key parameter influencing water-saving irrigation and water resources management of agriculture. However, current models for estimating maize evapotranspiration primarily rely on meteorological data and empirical coefficients, and the estimated evapotranspiration contains uncertainties. In this study, the evapotranspiration data of summer maize were collected from typical stations in Northern China (Yucheng Station), and a back-propagation neural network (BP) model for predicting maize evapotranspiration was constructed based on meteorological data, soil data, and crop data...

Water shortages, exacerbated by climate change, are posing a major global challenge, particularly impacting the agricultural sector. A growing interest is raised towards reclaimed wastewater (RWW) as an alternative irrigation source, capable of exploiting also the nutrient content through the fertigation practice. However, a prioritization methodology for selecting the most appropriate wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) for implementing direct RWW reuse is currently missing. Such prioritization would benefit water utilities, often managing several WWTPs, and policymakers in optimizing economic asset allocation...

Biochar is widely recognized as a soil amendment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance soil carbon storage in agroecosystems; however, the systematic focus on carbon balance and ecological benefits in cropping systems remains unclear in saline-alkali areas under water-saving irrigation. Here, a 2-yr field experiment with carbon footprint method was conducted to determine soil carbon budgets, biochar carbon efficiency performance, and the economic and ecological benefits of mulched drip-irrigated sorghum production, in an arid salinized region of Inner Mongolia, China...

Brackish water stands as a promising alternative to mitigate freshwater scarcity in arid regions. However, its application poses potential threats to agricultural sustainability. There is a need to establish a clear understanding of the economic and ecological benefits. We conducted a two-year (2021-2022) field experiment to investigate the effects of four different irrigation water salinity levels on soil electrical conductivity, cotton yield, water use efficiency, CO2 emissions, and carbon sequestration. The salinity levels were designated as CK (0...

As a market-based water resource management, the water rights reform (WRR) will allocate water rights to water users and allow water users to trade water rights, which can realize the reallocation across water users. In this context, the adoption of water-saving irrigation (WSI) is an important technical form to adapt to the reform. Based on this, this paper studies the impacts of the WRR on WSI using the difference-in-differences (DID) strategy. The results show that the WRR could increase the land area for WSI by an average of 13...

Improved fertilizer management, with a combination of organic and inorganic inputs, has the potential to enhance rice yield while maintaining soil health. However, studies on the effects of broadcast prilled urea (PU) and urea deep placement (UDP) applied in combination with organic inputs (poultry litter [PL] and vermicompost [VC]), as integrated plant nutrition systems (IPNSs), on rice yields and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) under alternate wetting and drying (AWD) irrigation are limited. We conducted field experiments during the dry and wet seasons of 2018, 2019, and 2020 to investigate the effects of fertilizer treatments, including control (no nitrogen), UDP, PU, and IPNSs (PU + VC, PU + PL, and UDP + PL) on rice yield and NUE under two irrigation regimes - AWD and continuous flooding (CF)...

Regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) strategies aim to improve water usage without reducing yield. Generally, irrigation strategy effectiveness is measured as fruit yield, with little consideration of fruit quality. As water deficit and increased plant cell sclerification are often associated, this study explored the effect of RDI on pear fruit stone cells, a crucial trait affecting flesh texture. The presence, distribution, and development of pear fruit stone cells under RDI and full irrigation were compared using Pyrus communis L...

Drip irrigation is a water-saving and fertilizer-saving application technology used in recent years, with which the frequency of drip irrigation nitrogen application has not yet been determined. In order to investigate the effects of different drip irrigation nitrogen application frequencies on the processing quality of medium-gluten wheat (Jimai22) and strong-gluten wheat (Jimai20 and Shiluan02-1), a two-year field experiment was carried out. Two frequencies of water and N application were set under the same conditions of total N application (210 kg·ha-1 ) and total irrigation (120 mm): DIF4, consisting of four equal applications of water and N (each of 30 kg·ha-1 of N application and 30 mm of irrigation) and DIF2, consisting of two equal applications of water and N (each of 60 kg·ha-1 of N application and 60 mm of irrigation)...

Watermelon productivity in the Arba Minch irrigation scheme has been hampered by water scarcity, with only the Lady Bells watermelon variety being cultivated in the area. This challenge can be mitigated by adopting water-saving irrigation techniques and selecting water stress-resistant varieties. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the combined impact of soil mulching and deficit irrigation on the productivity of various watermelon varieties and validate the AquaCrop model. The experiment employed a randomized complete block design with two levels of water application (100 % SMD and 50 % SMD), two mulching practices (non-mulching and mulching), and four watermelon varieties: Lady Bells (V1), Green Pearl (V2), Kaolack (V3), and Koloss (V4)...

The addition of biochar in paddies under the condition of water-saving irrigation can simultaneously achieve soil improvement and water conservation, but little is known about the role of these two regulations in mediating the fate of antibiotic resistome in paddy soils. Here, metagenomic analysis was conducted to investigate the effects and intrinsic mechanisms of biochar application and irrigation patterns on propagation of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in paddy soils. The addition of biochar in paddy soil resulted in a reduction of approximately 1...

Roots play an important role in adaptive plasticity of rice under dry/direct-sown conditions. However, hypomethylation of genes in leaves (resulting in up-regulated expression) complements the adaptive plasticity of Nagina-22 under DSR conditions. Rice is generally cultivated by transplanting which requires plenty of water for irrigation. Such a practice makes rice cultivation a challenging task under global climate change and reducing water availability. However, dry-seeded/direct-sown rice (DSR) has emerged as a resource-saving alternative to transplanted rice (TPR)...

Biotrickling filters (BTF) have been applied to treat waste air. Controlling the water content (WC) of BTFs is fundamental to ensure an adequate interfacial mass transfer and the support of the biofilm activity. A sensor system based on electrical conductance measurement was developed for the online assessment of the WC in a bench scale polyurethane foam (PUF) packed bed. ON/OFF and rule-based control algorithms were applied to keep the water content in a biofilm-free PUF-packed bed within the optimal range of 70-90% through the activation of a hydraulic pump...

Access to water for irrigating amenity landscape and public gardens is under intense pressure due to the rising competition for water between different sectors, exacerbated by increased drought risk and climate change. Rainwater harvesting (RWH) has the potential to reduce the economic impacts of restrictions on irrigation abstraction in dry years and to build resilience to future water shortages. This study investigated the hydrological viability of RWH for the landscape and public garden sector based on an analysis of five Royal Horticultural Society gardens...

To explore the effect of biochar on greenhouse gas emissions and the carbon footprint of a corn farmland ecosystem under drip irrigation with film in an arid region, biochar treatments with different application rates[0 (CK), 15 (C15), 30 (C30), and 45 t·hm-2 (C45)] were established. The seasonal changes in soil greenhouse gases (CO2 , N2 O, and CH4 ) and their comprehensive warming potential in the maize farmland ecosystem were monitored for two consecutive years after a one-time application of biochar...

The main challenge facing agriculture today is water scarcity. At present, agriculture consumes around 70 % of the planet's freshwater, much of which is lost through evaporation, leaching and runoff. This wastage, combined with the increased frequency and severity of droughts linked to climate change, is having a considerable negative impact on crops. As a result, the food security of people living in regions with limited water resources is threatened. In this regard, efficient water management using water-saving materials and soil additives such as superabsorbent polymers (SAPs) are recognized as an effective strategy to boost water use efficiency by plants and improve agricultural productivity...

Water deficit (WD) irrigation techniques to improve water use efficiency have been rapidly developed. However, the effect of WD irrigation on tomato quality has not been sufficiently studied. Here, we investigated the effects of varying water irrigation levels [T1-T4: 80%, 65%, 55%, and 45% of maximum field moisture capacity (FMC)] and full irrigation (CK: 90% of maximum FMC) on tomato fruits from the mature-green to red-ripening stages, to compare the nutritional and flavour qualities of the resulting tomatoes...

To explore the key factors and specific thresholds of water resources limiting economic development, and to provide technical support for water resources management in cities dominated by agriculture similar to Zhangjiakou. We used the Tapio elastic decoupling method to quantitatively evaluate the decoupling relationship between the water resources ecological footprint (WEF) and economic growth. Then the logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI) and mathematical statistics are used to identify the key factors and threshold effects...

Salicylic acid (SA) application is a promising agronomic tool. However, studies under field conditions are required, to confirm the potential benefits of SA. Thus, SA application was evaluated under field conditions for its effect on abscisic acid levels, antioxidant related-parameters, fruit quality, and yield in Aristotelia chilensis subjected to different levels of irrigation. During two growing seasons, three-year-old plants under field conditions were subjected to full irrigation (FI: 100% of reference evapotranspiration (ETo), and deficit irrigation (DI: 60% ETo)...

Pomegranate ( Punica granatum L.) is a fruit tree that is globally distributed, especially in warm areas with low annual rainfall and limited water availability. This species exemplifies the critical role of water in agriculture and the need for efficient irrigation practices due to its characteristics, cultivation requirements, and geographic diffusion. In this study, we investigated the effects of drip irrigation and mulching on the vegetative growth, yield, and fruit quality attributes of pomegranate. The experiment involved three irrigation regimes (100% of evapotranspiration, 80%, and 60%) and three mulching treatments (no mulch, plastic mulch, and organic mulch) in a factorial combination...

Irrigation is limited by water scarcity. Here, we show how a drip irrigation system inspired by the leaf of the fig tree Ficus religiosa (also known as the bodhi tree) can improve irrigation efficiency. The reverse curvature of the leaf regulates the convergence process of multiple water streams, while its long-tail apex allows for fast water drainage with the droplet separation centroid beyond the leaf apex. We explain why drip frequency increases after the break-up of contact line pinning at the apex tip by using scaling laws for drip volume and analyzing drainage dynamics...