Water Use Efficiency in Rice Production: Implications for Climate Change Adaptation in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta

SUMMARYRice production in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam is threatened by future water scarcity caused by changing rainfall patterns and increasing irrigation costs. To improve resilience of the triple rice farming system to future climate-related stresses, profitability needs to be increased through water use efficiency, fertilizer management and planting methods.During four cropping seasons in 2011–13, alternate wetting and drying (AWD) irrigation was applied in the triple rice production area within An Giang Province, Vietnam. An issue with the application of AWD is the prevalence of acid sulphate soils in the Mekong Delta. Three types of irrigation management were tested; continuously flooded (CF) where the water in the paddy was maintained at 5 cm; AWD where the water level was allowed to fall to 15 cm below the ground surface, at which point the field was irrigated until the water level was at 1 cm above the ground surface (designated −15 cm); AWD where the water level was allowed to fall to 30 cm below the ground surface before irrigation until the water level was at 1 cm above the ground surface (designated −30 cm). Two further experiments were also undertaken which examined the planting method (transplant v. direct sowing) and phosphorus rate on rice yield. There was no effect on yield caused by P fertilizer rate and irrigation management in any year, and there was no significant effect on soil pH or salinity caused by irrigation management. Overall net profitability was greatest for the AWD treatments because of the reduction in pumping and labour costs in the dry season. Transplanted rice improved yields, but the labour cost reduced overall profitability. The study shows that AWD (−15 cm) can be safely applied in acid sulphate soil areas within the triple rice areas of An Giang Mekong Delta and saved at least 0·27 of total irrigated water quantity used during three of the six cropping seasons. The increased profitability of the AWD rice production system will help to improve the resilience of triple rice cropping systems to future water scarcity.

Download Full-text

Open Intellectual Property Models for Plant Innovations in the Context of New Breeding Technologies

Agronomy ◽

10.3390/agronomy11061218 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (6) ◽

pp. 1218

Author(s):

Michael A. Kock

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Food Security ◽

Intellectual Property ◽

Water Use Efficiency ◽

Water Use ◽

Open Innovation ◽

Climate Resilience ◽

Use Efficiency ◽

Mitigate Climate Change ◽

New Breeding Technologies

Plant related innovations are critical to enable of food security and mitigate climate change. New breeding technologies (NBTs) based on emerging genome editing technologies like CRISPR/Cas will facilitate “breeding-by-editing” and enable complex breeding targets—like climate resilience or water use efficiency—in shorter time and at lower costs. However, NBTs will also lead to an unprecedented patent complexity. This paper discusses implications and potential solutions for open innovation models.

Download Full-text

Effects of climate change and local environmental factors on long-term tree water-use efficiency and growth of Pseudolarix amabilis and Cryptomeria japonica in subtropical China

Journal of Soils and Sediments ◽

10.1007/s11368-020-02829-3 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Tengjiao Liu ◽

Yan Xu ◽

Zhihong Xu ◽

Hongbing Deng

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Environmental Factors ◽

Water Use Efficiency ◽

Water Use ◽

Cryptomeria Japonica ◽

Subtropical China ◽

Tree Water Use ◽

Use Efficiency

Download Full-text

Calcium and Potassium Nutrition Increases the Water Use Efficiency in Coffee: A Promising Strategy to Adapt to Climate Change

Hydrology ◽

10.3390/hydrology8020075 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. 75

Author(s):

Victor Hugo Ramírez-Builes ◽

Jürgen Küsters

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Climate Variability ◽

Water Use Efficiency ◽

Water Use ◽

Agricultural Sector ◽

Regional Scale ◽

Adaptation Strategies ◽

Caribbean Region ◽

Coffee Production ◽

Use Efficiency

Coffee (Coffea spp.) represents one of the most important sources of income and goods for the agricultural sector in Central America, Colombia, and the Caribbean region. The sustainability of coffee production at the global and regional scale is under threat by climate change, with a major risk of losing near to 50% of today’s suitable area for coffee by 2050. Rain-fed coffee production dominates in the region, and under increasing climate variability and climate change impacts, these production areas are under threat due to air temperature increase and changes in rainfall patterns and volumes. Identification, evaluation, and implementation of adaptation strategies for growers to cope with climate variability and change impacts are relevant and high priority. Incremental adaptation strategies, including proper soil and water management, contribute to improved water use efficiency (WUE) and should be the first line of action to adapt the coffee crop to the changing growing conditions. This research’s objective was to evaluate at field level over five years the influence of fertilization with calcium (Ca+2) and potassium (K+) on WUE in two coffee arabica varieties: cv. Castillo and cv. Caturra. Castillo has resistance against coffee leaf rust (CLR) (Hemileia vastatrix Verkeley and Brome), while Caturra is not CLR-resistant. WUE was influenced by yield changes during the years by climate variability due to El Niño–ENSO conditions and CLR incidence. Application of Ca+2 and K+ improved the WUE under such variable conditions. The highest WUE values were obtained with an application of 100 kg CaO ha−1 year−1 and between 180 to 230 kg K2O ha−1 year−1. The results indicate that adequate nutrition with Ca+2 and K+ can improve WUE in the long-term, even underwater deficit conditions and after the substantial incidence. Hence, an optimum application of Ca+2 and K+ in rain-fed coffee plantations can be regarded as an effective strategy to adapt to climate variability and climate change.

Download Full-text