Cropping systems and crop complementarity in dryland agriculture to increase soil water use efficiency: a review

ABSTRACT: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of different irrigation depths on the yield, water use efficiency (WUE), and yield response factor (Ky) of carrot (cv. 'Brasília') in the edaphoclimatic conditions of Baixada Fluminense, RJ, Brazil. Field trials were conducted in a Red-Yellow Argisol in the 2010-2011period. A randomized block design was used, with 5 treatments (depths) and 4 replicates. Depths were applied by drippers with different flow rates, and the irrigation was managed by time domain reflectometry (TDR) technique. The reference (ETo) and crop (ETc) evapotranspiration depths reached 286.3 and 264.1mm in 2010, and 336.0 and 329.9mm in 2011, respectively. The root yield varied from 30.4 to 68.9t ha-1 as a response to treatments without irrigation and 100% replacement of the soil water depth, respectively. Values for WUE in the carrot crop varied from 15 to 31kg m-3 and the mean Ky value was 0.82. The mean values for Kc were obtained in the initial (0.76), intermediate (1.02), and final (0.96) stages. Carrot crop was influenced by different water depths (treatments) applied, and the highest value for WUE was obtained for 63.4% of soil water replacement.

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Soil water dynamics, herbage production and water use efficiency of three tropical grasses: Implications for use in a variable summer-dominant rainfall environment, Australia

Grass and Forage Science ◽

10.1111/gfs.12392 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 74 (1) ◽

pp. 141-159 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Sean R. Murphy ◽

Suzanne P. Boschma ◽

Steven Harden

Keyword(s):

Water Use Efficiency ◽

Soil Water ◽

Water Use ◽

Water Dynamics ◽

Soil Water Dynamics ◽

Tropical Grasses ◽

Use Efficiency

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Water Deficit Modulates the CO2 Fertilization Effect on Plant Gas Exchange and Leaf-Level Water Use Efficiency: A Meta-Analysis

Frontiers in Plant Science ◽

10.3389/fpls.2021.775477 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Fei Li ◽

Dagang Guo ◽

Xiaodong Gao ◽

Xining Zhao

Keyword(s):

Gas Exchange ◽

Water Use Efficiency ◽

Soil Water ◽

Water Deficit ◽

Water Use ◽

Future Climate Change ◽

Leaf Level ◽

Fertilization Effect ◽

Use Efficiency ◽

Stimulation Of

Elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations ([eCO2]) and soil water deficits significantly influence gas exchange in plant leaves, affecting the carbon-water cycle in terrestrial ecosystems. However, it remains unclear how the soil water deficit modulates the plant CO2 fertilization effect, especially for gas exchange and leaf-level water use efficiency (WUE). Here, we synthesized a comprehensive dataset including 554 observations from 54 individual studies and quantified the responses for leaf gas exchange induced by e[CO2] under water deficit. Moreover, we investigated the contribution of plant net photosynthesis rate (Pn) and transpiration rates (Tr) toward WUE in water deficit conditions and e[CO2] using graphical vector analysis (GVA). In summary, e[CO2] significantly increased Pn and WUE by 11.9 and 29.3% under well-watered conditions, respectively, whereas the interaction of water deficit and e[CO2] slightly decreased Pn by 8.3%. Plants grown under light in an open environment were stimulated to a greater degree compared with plants grown under a lamp in a closed environment. Meanwhile, water deficit reduced Pn by 40.5 and 37.8%, while increasing WUE by 24.5 and 21.5% under ambient CO2 concentration (a[CO2]) and e[CO2], respectively. The e[CO2]-induced stimulation of WUE was attributed to the common effect of Pn and Tr, whereas a water deficit induced increase in WUE was linked to the decrease in Tr. These results suggested that water deficit lowered the stimulation of e[CO2] induced in plants. Therefore, fumigation conditions that closely mimic field conditions and multi-factorial experiments such as water availability are needed to predict the response of plants to future climate change.

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RELATIVE PRODUCTIVITY, PROFITABILITY AND WATER USE EFFICIENCY OF CROPPING SYSTEMS IN HOT ARID INDIA

Experimental Agriculture ◽

10.1017/s0014479714000052 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 50 (4) ◽

pp. 549-572 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

V. S. RATHORE ◽

N. S. NATHAWAT ◽

B. MEEL ◽

B. M. YADAV ◽

J. P. SINGH

Keyword(s):

Water Use Efficiency ◽

Water Use ◽

Mung Bean ◽

Crop Production ◽

Cropping Systems ◽

Cropping System ◽

Arid Environment ◽

Application Rate ◽

Cluster Bean ◽

Use Efficiency

SUMMARYThe choice of an appropriate cropping system is critical to maintaining or enhancing agricultural sustainability. Yield, profitability and water use efficiency are important factors for determining suitability of cropping systems in hot arid region. In a two-year field experiment (2009/10–2010/11) on loam sandy soils of Bikaner, India, the production potential, profitability and water use efficiency (WUE) of five cropping systems (groundnut–wheat, groundnut–isabgol, groundnut–chickpea, cluster bean–wheat and mung bean–wheat) each at six nutrient application rate (NAR) i.e. 0, 25, 50, 75, 100% recommended dose of N and P (NP) and 100% NP + S were evaluated. The cropping systems varied significantly in terms of productivity, profitability and WUEs. Averaged across nutrient application regimes, groundnut–wheat rotation gave 300–1620 kg ha−1 and 957–3365 kg ha−1 higher grain and biomass yields, respectively, than other cropping systems. The mean annual net returns were highest for the mung bean–wheat system, which returned 32–57% higher net return than other cropping systems. The mung bean–wheat and cluster bean–wheat systems had higher WUE in terms of yields than other cropping systems. The mung bean–wheat system recorded 35–63% higher WUE in monetary terms compared with other systems. Nutrients application improved yields, profit and WUEs of cropping systems. Averaged across years and cropping systems, the application of 100% NP improved grain yields, returns and WUE by 1.7, 3.9 and 1.6 times than no application of nutrients. The results suggest that the profitability and WUEs of crop production in this hot arid environment can be improved, compared with groundnut–wheat cropping, by substituting groundnut by mung bean and nutrients application.

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Interannual and Seasonal Variations in Ecosystem Transpiration and Water Use Efficiency in a Tropical Rainforest

Forests ◽

10.3390/f10010014 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 14 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Maricar Aguilos ◽

Clément Stahl ◽

Benoit Burban ◽

Bruno Hérault ◽

Elodie Courtois ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Water Use Efficiency ◽

Soil Water ◽

Water Use ◽

Seasonal Variations ◽

Radiation Effects ◽

Global Radiation ◽

Climate Conditions ◽

Carbon Cycles ◽

Use Efficiency ◽

The Impact

Warmer and drier climates over Amazonia have been predicted for the next century with expected changes in regional water and carbon cycles. We examined the impact of interannual and seasonal variations in climate conditions on ecosystem-level evapotranspiration (ET) and water use efficiency (WUE) to determine key climatic drivers and anticipate the response of these ecosystems to climate change. We used daily climate and eddyflux data recorded at the Guyaflux site in French Guiana from 2004 to 2014. ET and WUE exhibited weak interannual variability. The main climatic driver of ET and WUE was global radiation (Rg), but relative extractable water (REW) and soil temperature (Ts) did also contribute. At the seasonal scale, ET and WUE showed a modal pattern driven by Rg, with maximum values for ET in July and August and for WUE at the beginning of the year. By removing radiation effects during water depleted periods, we showed that soil water stress strongly reduced ET. In contrast, drought conditions enhanced radiation-normalized WUE in almost all the years, suggesting that the lack of soil water had a more severe effect on ecosystem evapotranspiration than on photosynthesis. Our results are of major concern for tropical ecosystem modeling because they suggest that under future climate conditions, tropical forest ecosystems will be able to simultaneously adjust CO2 and H2O fluxes. Yet, for tropical forests under future conditions, the direction of change in WUE at the ecosystem scale is hard to predict, since the impact of radiation on WUE is counterbalanced by adjustments to soil water limitations. Developing mechanistic models that fully integrate the processes associated with CO2 and H2O flux control should help researchers understand and simulate future functional adjustments in these ecosystems.

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Growth, yield, water use efficiency and competitive functions of intercropping system of maize (Zea mays L.) and mungbean (Vigna radiata L.) as influenced by irrigation

SAARC Journal of Agriculture ◽

10.3329/sja.v13i2.26571 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 13 (2) ◽

pp. 94-107 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

S Roy ◽

M Barman ◽

AM Puste ◽

SK Gunri ◽

K Jana

Keyword(s):

Water Use Efficiency ◽

Water Use ◽

Cropping Systems ◽

Growth Yield ◽

Land Equivalent Ratio ◽

Sole Crop ◽

Maximum Value ◽

Main Plot ◽

Use Efficiency ◽

Plot Design

Field experiment was conducted at Instructional Farm, Jaguli (Mohanpur), Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, West Bengal, India during two consecutive summer seasons of 2010-11, and 2011-12. The experiment was laid out in split-plot design having 4 levels of irrigation rainfed without mulch, rainfed with mulch, irrigation at IW (depth of irrigation water) / CPE (Cumulative pan evaporation) ratios of 0.5 and 0.75 in main-plot and 4 inter cropping systems, sole maize, sole mungbean, maize + mungbean (1:1 row ratio) and maize + mungbean (3:2 row ratio) considered as sub-plot treatments replicated thrice. Results revealed that application of irrigation and intercropping systems markedly influenced the growth, yield and yield components (number of cobs/plant, number of grains/cob in case of maize and number of pods/plant and number of seeds/pod in case of mungbean) where the maximum value of these components were recorded with the application of irrigation at IW/CPE ratio 0.75 in sole crop. Maize-mungbean in 3:2 row ratio yielded higher than that of 1:1 intercropping system which might be due to less light interception and more competition for water and nutrition between both the crops. CU of water increased with the increasing levels of irrigation and the maximum value (17.75 kg ha-1 mm- 1) of WUE (water use efficiency) was observed with irrigation at IW: CPE ratio 0.75 under intercropping system of maize : mungbean in 3:2 row ratio followed by IW: CPE ratio 0.50. Among the sole crop, maximum WUE was with IW/CPE ratio 0.75 might be due to more consumption of water corresponding to production potential of maize, while, it was more under rainfed with mulch in mungbean. The relative crowding coefficient (RCC) also revealed both the intercropping systems were advantageous and the land equivalent ratio (LER) increased with the level of irrigation.Thus, maize grown in association with mungbean (3:2 row ratio) were found to be more profitable (B:C ratio of 2.58) with higher monetary advantage as compared to sole crop of maize (B:C ratio of 1.98) with the application of irrigation at IW: CPE ratio of 0.75 in new alluvial zone of West Bengal.SAARC J. Agri., 13(2): 94-107 (2015)

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Soil water cycle and crop water use efficiency after long-term nitrogen fertilization in Loess Plateau

Plant Soil and Environment ◽

10.17221/207/2012-pse ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 59 (No. 1) ◽

pp. 1-7 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

B. Wang ◽

W. Liu ◽

Q. Xue ◽

T. Dang ◽

C. Gao ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Water Use Efficiency ◽

Soil Water ◽

Water Use ◽

Water Cycle ◽

Triticum Aestivum L ◽

Growing Seasons ◽

Water Recharge ◽

Use Efficiency ◽

N Management

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of nitrogen (N) management on soil water recharge, available soil water at sowing (ASWS), soil water depletion, and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) yield and water use efficiency (WUE) after long-term fertilization. We collected data from 2 experiments in 2 growing seasons. Treatments varied from no fertilization (CK), single N or phosphorus (P), N and P (NP), to NP plus manure (NPM). Comparing to CK and single N or P treatments, NP and NPM reduced rainfall infiltration depth by 20–60 cm, increased water recharge by 16–21 mm, and decreased ASWS by 89–133 mm in 0–300 cm profile. However, crop yield and WUE continuously increased in NP and NPM treatments after 22 years of fertilization. Yield ranged from 3458 to 3782 kg/ha in NP or NPM but was 1246–1531 kg/ha in CK and single N or P. WUE in CK and single N or P treatments was < 6 kg/ha/mm but increased to 12.1 kg/ha/mm in a NP treatment. The NP and NPM fertilization provided benefits for increased yield and WUE but resulted in lower ASWS. Increasing ASWS may be important for sustainable yield after long-term fertilization.

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High-Throughput Phenotyping of Crop Water Use Efficiency via Multispectral Drone Imagery and a Daily Soil Water Balance Model

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs10111682 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 10 (11) ◽

pp. 1682 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Kelly Thorp ◽

Alison Thompson ◽

Sara Harders ◽

Andrew French ◽

Richard Ward

Keyword(s):

Water Balance ◽

Water Use Efficiency ◽

Soil Water ◽

Water Use ◽

High Throughput ◽

Soil Water Balance ◽

Balance Model ◽

Crop Water ◽

Crop Water Use ◽

Use Efficiency

Improvement of crop water use efficiency (CWUE), defined as crop yield per volume of water used, is an important goal for both crop management and breeding. While many technologies have been developed for measuring crop water use in crop management studies, rarely have these techniques been applied at the scale of breeding plots. The objective was to develop a high-throughput methodology for quantifying water use in a cotton breeding trial at Maricopa, AZ, USA in 2016 and 2017, using evapotranspiration (ET) measurements from a co-located irrigation management trial to evaluate the approach. Approximately weekly overflights with an unmanned aerial system provided multispectral imagery from which plot-level fractional vegetation cover ( f c ) was computed. The f c data were used to drive a daily ET-based soil water balance model for seasonal crop water use quantification. A mixed model statistical analysis demonstrated that differences in ET and CWUE could be discriminated among eight cotton varieties ( p < 0 . 05 ), which were sown at two planting dates and managed with four irrigation levels. The results permitted breeders to identify cotton varieties with more favorable water use characteristics and higher CWUE, indicating that the methodology could become a useful tool for breeding selection.

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