Irrigation Recommendation for Water Saving and Salinity Control in Horticulture in the Semi-arid Lower Cheliff Plain (Algeria)

Salinity and water deficit are two major issues for agricultural development in Algeria. The Lower Cheliff plain, northwestern Algeria, is, furthermore, characterised by semi-arid Mediterranean climate, and soils with high clay content. Our study area was a 4 ha farm located in Oued Rhiou and another 1 ha farm located in Ouarizane, both upstream in the Lower Cheliff plain, and irrigated with waters of different salinities: 1.8 and 5.5 dS m-1, respectively. The plots were equipped with drip irrigation and subsurface drainage systems. Farmer’s irrigation management of artichoke and melon were observed during the respective cropping seasons from September 2010 till June 2011, and from April till July 2011. The total irrigation amounts were, respectively, 364 mm and 240 mm, while the precipitations were 367 mm and 67 mm. The soil properties were determined in the entire rooting depths down to 80 cm for artichoke and 60 cm for melon. In addition to these, irrigation water composition, and crop development parameters were used to simulate soil salinity using the SALTIRSOIL_M model. Simulations and observations of soil pH, main ion concentrations and ECe showed reasonable agreements for June 2011. Next, the irrigation schedules that would have met the water needs of both crops, while simultaneously keeping soil salinity below harmful levels were estimated using the model. For the artichoke plot, a lower irrigation rate (290 mm yr-1) could have kept water deficit and soil salinity below their respective harmful thresholds. For the melon plot, on the contrary, a higher irrigation rate (480 mm yr-1) is able to neutralise the water deficit, though not completely the salinity stress would have been adequate. Farmers’ irrigation practices in the context of the climate, water quality and soil properties of the Lower Cheliff plain can be analysed and improved with the aid of soil salinity modelling.

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SOIL PROPERTIES OF THE EASTERN TOPOSEQUENCE OF MOUNT KELIMUTU, FLORES ISLAND, EAST NUSA TENGGARA AND THEIR POTENTIAL FOR AGRICULTURAL USE

Indonesian Journal of Agricultural Science ◽

10.21082/ijas.v4n1.2003.p1-11 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

pp. 1 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Hikmatullah Hikmatullah ◽

H. Subagyo ◽

B.H. Prasetyo

Keyword(s):

Soil Properties ◽

Agricultural Development ◽

Amorphous Material ◽

Ammonium Oxalate ◽

Clay Content ◽

Limiting Factors ◽

Positive Correlation ◽

Phosphate Retention ◽

Exchangeable Ca ◽

P Retention

Kelimutu stratovolcano is one of the young volcanoes extensively found in Flores island. Studies on volcanic soil properties and their suitability for agricultural development in the whole island are lacking. The research was conducted to evaluate the relationship of elevation and soil properties, and suitability for agricultural development. Five representative pedons at elevation of 550, 1,000, 1,200, 1,400, and 1,600 m above sea level (asl), respectively, were studied in the field, and 22 soil samples were analyzed in the laboratory. The results indicated that elevation significantly affected soil properties and degree of soil weathering. With decreasing elevation, sand content, amorphous material content, and phosphate retention decreased. Concomitantly, clay content, H2O-pH, exchangeable Ca and Mg, base saturation, and soil-CEC increased. A highly positive correlation was shown between P retention and NaFpH, Al, and (Al+0.5 Fe) contents extracted by acid ammonium oxalate. Soil-CEC also showed significant positive correlation with clay and silt contents, organic carbon, and exchangeable Ca and Mg. Degree of weathering increased with decreasing elevation as reflected by decreasing silt/clay ratio. Soils developed from Entisols (Lithic Udorthents) at 1,600 m asl, to Andisols (Typic Hapludands) at 1,000-1,400 m asl, and Mollisols (Typic Hapludolls) at lower elevation down to 550 m asl. Soils at 1,400-1,600 m asl are unsuitable for agriculture. Soils at 1,000-1,200 m are moderately suitable for food crops, horticulture, and estate crops. Dominant limiting factors are steep slopes and P retention. Soils at 550 m asl are suitable for food and estate crops, and also lowland horticulture.

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SOIL PROPERTIES OF THE EASTERN TOPOSEQUENCE OF MOUNT KELIMUTU, FLORES ISLAND, EAST NUSA TENGGARA AND THEIR POTENTIAL FOR AGRICULTURAL USE

Indonesian Journal of Agricultural Science ◽

10.21082/ijas.v4n1.2003.1-11 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

pp. 1

Author(s):

Hikmatullah Hikmatullah ◽

H. Subagyo ◽

B.H. Prasetyo

Keyword(s):

Soil Properties ◽

Agricultural Development ◽

Amorphous Material ◽

Ammonium Oxalate ◽

Clay Content ◽

Limiting Factors ◽

Positive Correlation ◽

Phosphate Retention ◽

Exchangeable Ca ◽

P Retention

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DISSEMINATION AND USE OF INFORMATION ON CLIMATE CHANGE AND VARIABILITY: A CASE STUDY OF FARMERS IN MALUGA AND CHIBELA VILLAGES IN SEMI-ARID CENTRAL TANZANIA

Mousaion ◽

10.25159/0027-2639/157 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 33 (3) ◽

pp. 1-24

Author(s):

Emmanuel Elia ◽

Stephen Mutula ◽

Christine Stilwell

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Data Collection ◽

Diffusion Of Innovations ◽

Agricultural Development ◽

Agricultural Sector ◽

Policy Framework ◽

Accurate Information ◽

Adaptation To Climate Change ◽

Climate Change And Variability ◽

Semi Arid

This study was part of broader PhD research which investigated how access to, and use of, information enhances adaptation to climate change and variability in the agricultural sector in semi-arid Central Tanzania. The research was carried out in two villages using Rogersâ€™ Diffusion of Innovations theory and model to assess the dissemination of this information and its use by farmers in their adaptation of their farming practices to climate change and variability. This predominantly qualitative study employed a post-positivist paradigm. Some elements of a quantitative approach were also deployed in the data collection and analysis. The principal data collection methods were interviews and focus group discussions. The study population comprised farmers, agricultural extension officers and the Climate Change Adaptation in Africa project manager. Qualitative data were subjected to content analysis whereas quantitative data were analysed to generate mostly descriptive statistics using SPSS. Â Key findings of the study show that farmers perceive a problem in the dissemination and use of climate information for agricultural development. They found access to agricultural inputs to be expensive, unreliable and untimely. To mitigate the adverse effects of climate change and variability on farming effectively, the study recommends the repackaging of current and accurate information on climate change and variability, farmer education and training, and collaboration between researchers, meteorology experts, and extension officers and farmers. Moreover, a clear policy framework for disseminating information related to climate change and variability is required.

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The Effect of Irrigation Rate on the Water Relations of Young Citrus Trees in High-Density Planting

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13041759 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (4) ◽

pp. 1759

Author(s):

Said A. Hamido ◽

Kelly T. Morgan

Keyword(s):

Water Potential ◽

Soil Water ◽

Soil Salinity ◽

Planting Density ◽

Stem Water Potential ◽

Irrigation Rate ◽

Biological Stress ◽

Stem Water ◽

Water Contents ◽

Soil Water Contents

The availability and proper irrigation scheduling of water are some of the most significant limitations on citrus production in Florida. The proper volume of citrus water demand is vital in evaluating sustainable irrigation approaches. The current study aims to determine the amount of irrigation required to grow citrus trees at higher planting densities without detrimental impacts on trees’ water relation parameters. The study was conducted between November 2017 and September 2020 on young sweet orange (Citrus sinensis) trees budded on the ‘US-897’ (Cleopatra mandarin x Flying Dragon trifoliate orange) citrus rootstock transplanted in sandy soil at the Southwest Florida Research and Education Center (SWFREC) demonstration grove, near Immokalee, Florida. The experiment contained six planting densities, including 447, 598, and 745 trees per ha replicated four times, and 512, 717, and 897 trees per ha replicated six times. Each density treatment was irrigated at 62% or 100% during the first 15 months between 2017 and 2019 or one of the four irrigation rates (26.5, 40.5, 53, or 81%) based on the calculated crop water supplied (ETc) during the last 17 months of 2019–2020. Tree water relations, including soil moisture, stem water potential, and water supplied, were collected periodically. In addition, soil salinity was determined. During the first year (2018), a higher irrigation rate (100% ETc) represented higher soil water contents; however, the soil water content for the lower irrigation rate (62% ETc) did not represent biological stress. One emitter per tree regardless of planting density supported stem water potential (Ψstem) values between −0.80 and −0.79 MPa for lower and full irrigation rates, respectively. However, when treatments were adjusted from April 2019 through September 2020, the results substantially changed. The higher irrigation rate (81% ETc) represented higher soil water contents during the remainder of the study, the lower irrigation rate (26.5% ETc) represents biological stress as a result of stem water potential (Ψstem) values between −1.05 and −0.91 MPa for lower and higher irrigation rates, respectively. Besides this, increasing the irrigation rate from 26.5% to 81%ETc decreased the soil salinity by 33%. Although increasing the planting density from 717 to 897 trees per hectare reduced the water supplied on average by 37% when one irrigation emitter was used to irrigate two trees instead of one, applying an 81% ETc irrigation rate in citrus is more efficient and could be managed in commercial groves.

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Effect of Organic Amendment Addition on Soil Properties, Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Grape Yield in Semi-Arid Vineyard Agroecosystems

Agronomy ◽

10.3390/agronomy11081477 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (8) ◽

pp. 1477

Author(s):

Antonio Marín-Martínez ◽

Alberto Sanz-Cobeña ◽

Mª Angeles Bustamante ◽

Enrique Agulló ◽

Concepción Paredes

Keyword(s):

Soil Fertility ◽

Soil Properties ◽

Greenhouse Gas ◽

Co2 Emissions ◽

Organic Amendments ◽

Organic N ◽

N2o Emissions ◽

The Impact ◽

Semi Arid ◽

Grape Yield

In semi-arid vineyard agroecosystems, highly vulnerable in the context of climate change, the soil organic matter (OM) content is crucial to the improvement of soil fertility and grape productivity. The impact of OM, from compost and animal manure, on soil properties (e.g., pH, oxidisable organic C, organic N, NH4+-N and NO3−-N), grape yield and direct greenhouse gas (GHG) emission in vineyards was assessed. For this purpose, two wine grape varieties were chosen and managed differently: with a rain-fed non-trellising vineyard of Monastrell, a drip-irrigated trellising vineyard of Monastrell and a drip-irrigated trellising vineyard of Cabernet Sauvignon. The studied fertiliser treatments were without organic amendments (C), sheep/goat manure (SGM) and distillery organic waste compost (DC). The SGM and DC treatments were applied at a rate of 4600 kg ha−1 (fresh weight, FW) and 5000 kg ha−1 FW, respectively. The use of organic amendments improved soil fertility and grape yield, especially in the drip-irrigated trellising vineyards. Increased CO2 emissions were coincident with higher grape yields and manure application (maximum CO2 emissions = 1518 mg C-CO2 m−2 d−1). In contrast, N2O emissions, mainly produced through nitrification, were decreased in the plots showing higher grape production (minimum N2O emissions = −0.090 mg N2O-N m−2 d−1). In all plots, the CH4 fluxes were negative during most of the experiment (−1.073−0.403 mg CH4-C m−2 d−1), indicating that these ecosystems can represent a significant sink for atmospheric CH4. According to our results, the optimal vineyard management, considering soil properties, yield and GHG mitigation together, was the use of compost in a drip-irrigated trellising vineyard with the grape variety Monastrell.

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Climatic Zone and Soil Properties Determine the Biodiversity of the Soil Bacterial Communities Associated to Native Plants from Desert Areas of North-Central Algeria

Microorganisms ◽

10.3390/microorganisms9071359 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (7) ◽

pp. 1359

Author(s):

Elisa Bona ◽

Nadia Massa ◽

Omrane Toumatia ◽

Giorgia Novello ◽

Patrizia Cesaro ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Soil Properties ◽

Bacterial Communities ◽

Arid Environment ◽

Climatic Zone ◽

Indigenous Plants ◽

North Central ◽

The North ◽

Desert Areas ◽

Plant Microbiota ◽

Semi Arid

Algeria is the largest country in Africa characterized by semi-arid and arid sites, located in the North, and hypersaline zones in the center and South of the country. Several autochthonous plants are well known as medicinal plants, having in common tolerance to aridity, drought and salinity. In their natural environment, they live with a great amount of microbial species that altogether are indicated as plant microbiota, while the plants are now viewed as a “holobiont”. In this work, the microbiota of the soil associated to the roots of fourteen economically relevant autochthonous plants from Algeria have been characterized by an innovative metagenomic approach with a dual purpose: (i) to deepen the knowledge of the arid and semi-arid environment and (ii) to characterize the composition of bacterial communities associated with indigenous plants with a strong economic/commercial interest, in order to make possible the improvement of their cultivation. The results presented in this work highlighted specific signatures which are mainly determined by climatic zone and soil properties more than by the plant species.

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A Comparison, Validation, and Evaluation of the S-world Global Soil Property Database

Land ◽

10.3390/land10050544 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (5) ◽

pp. 544

Author(s):

Jetse J. Stoorvogel ◽

Vera L. Mulder

Keyword(s):

Comparative Analysis ◽

Soil Properties ◽

Soil Property ◽

Evaluation Criteria ◽

Clay Content ◽

Soil Database ◽

Global Environmental ◽

Global Soil ◽

Mean Square Difference ◽

Methodological Evaluation

Despite the increased usage of global soil property maps, a proper review of the maps rarely takes place. This study aims to explore the options for such a review with an application for the S-World global soil property database. Global soil organic carbon (SOC) and clay content maps from S-World were studied at two spatial resolutions in three steps. First, a comparative analysis with an ensemble of seven datasets derived from five other global soil databases was done. Second, a validation of S-World was done with independent soil observations from the WoSIS soil profile database. Third, a methodological evaluation of S-world took place by looking at the variation of soil properties per soil type and short distance variability. In the comparative analysis, S-World and the ensemble of other maps show similar spatial patterns. However, the ensemble locally shows large discrepancies (e.g., in boreal regions where typically SOC contents are high and the sampling density is low). Overall, the results show that S-World is not deviating strongly from the model ensemble (91% of the area falls within a 1.5% SOC range in the topsoil). The validation with the WoSIS database showed that S-World was able to capture a large part of the variation (with, e.g., a root mean square difference of 1.7% for SOC in the topsoil and a mean difference of 1.2%). Finally, the methodological evaluation revealed that estimates of the ranges of soil properties for the different soil types can be improved by using the larger WoSIS database. It is concluded that the review through the comparison, validation, and evaluation provides a good overview of the strengths and the weaknesses of S-World. The three approaches to review the database each provide specific insights regarding the quality of the database. Specific evaluation criteria for an application will determine whether S-World is a suitable soil database for use in global environmental studies.

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Farming practices and deficit irrigation management improve winter wheat crop water productivity and biomass through mitigated greenhouse gas intensity under semi-arid regions

Environmental Science and Pollution Research ◽

10.1007/s11356-021-12485-w ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Shahzad Ali ◽

Yueyue Xu ◽

Xiangcheng Ma ◽

Qianmin Jia ◽

Zhikuan Jia

Keyword(s):

Deficit Irrigation ◽

Arid Regions ◽

Water Productivity ◽

Irrigation Management ◽

Wheat Crop ◽

Farming Practices ◽

Crop Water ◽

Winter Wheat Crop ◽

Greenhouse Gas Intensity ◽

Semi Arid

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Effects of water deficit in two phenological stages on production of japanese cucumber cultived in greenhouse

Engenharia Agrícola ◽

10.1590/s0100-69162011000400006 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 31 (4) ◽

pp. 676-686 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Eduardo C. Oliveira ◽

Jacinto de A. Carvalho ◽

Wellington G. da Silva ◽

Fátima C. Rezende ◽

Willian F. de Almeida

Keyword(s):

Soil Water ◽

Water Deficit ◽

Irrigation Management ◽

Soil Water Potential ◽

Phenological Stages ◽

Cucumis Sativus L ◽

Randomized Design ◽

Minas Gerais State ◽

Engineering Department ◽

Four Levels

The experiment was performed in the experimental area of the Engineering Department Federal University of Lavras, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. It aimed at identifying the adequate irrigation management of the greenhouse-cultivated Japanese cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.). complete randomized design, with four levels of soil water potential (15; 30; 60 e 120 kPa) at two phenological phases (vegetative and reproductive), and 5 replications. Overall, the results showed decrease of yield according to increase of soil water potentials. During the reproductive stage, Japanese cucumber plants were more sensitive to water deficit, resulting in further decrease in yield compared to applied water deficit during the vegetative stage of the culture.

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