scholarly journals Improving Pearl Millet (Pennisetum glaucum) Productivity through Adaptive Management of Water and Nitrogen

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 422 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ausiku P. Ausiku ◽  
John G. Annandale ◽  
J. Martin Steyn ◽  
Andrew J. Sanewe

Management of nitrogen and water plays a significant role in increasing crop productivity. A large amount of nitrogen (N) may be lost through leaching if these resources are not well managed. Wetting front detectors (WFDs) and Chameleon soil water sensors were used to adapt water and nitrogen applications with the goal of increasing millet yields, as well as nitrogen and water use efficiency. The trials were laid out as a randomized complete block design with factorial combinations of water and N, and included the following treatments: irrigation to field capacity (fortnightly and weekly), adaptive-water application based on sensor response or rainfed, and N treatments included either fixed nitrogen levels (0, 45, 90 kg N ha−1) or an adaptive-N rate, depending on N content of the soil solution extracted from WFDs. Adaptive management aims to steer water and nitrogen applications towards optimum crop requirements. Treatments that received both high water and nitrogen outperformed other treatments by 11% to 68% in terms of biomass production and 16% to 54% in grain yield, while water use efficiency and irrigation use efficiency values were also higher, ranging from 1.58 to 7.94 kg m−3 and 1.43 to 8.30 kg m−3. Results suggest that integrated adaptive water and nitrogen management should be considered to reduce high N losses and cost of crop production, without a meaningful yield penalty, relative to high production input management.

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 220-231
Author(s):  
Wajid Ali Shahani ◽  
Feng Kaiwen ◽  
Aslam Memon

The crop productivity in Pakistan is very low as majority of the farmers are still practicing traditional farming techniques. The existing crop production technologies do not offer effective and efficient utilization of natural resources, particularly that of water. Moreover, a significant amount of irrigation water is wasted due to uneven fields and ditches. Unevenness of the soil surface also has a major impact on the germination, stand and yield of crops through nutrient water interaction and salt and soil moisture distribution pattern. Therefore, the water use efficiency along with yield per acre could be increase by adopting resource conservation technologies like laser leveling. A sample of 120 growers including 60 wheat growers and 60 cotton growers were selected from Mirpurkhas & Tando Allahyar districts of Sindh province of Pakistan. Study results revealed that about 21 percent irrigation water saved by the adoption of laser leveling technology and also obtained higher yield and profit margins comparatively. Study concluded that adoption of laser leveling technology helps in reducing the farm input costs, improve water use efficiency and enhance crop productivity.


2016 ◽  
Vol 46 (7) ◽  
pp. 1145-1150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Fonseca de Carvalho ◽  
Dionizio Honório de Oliveira Neto ◽  
Luiz Fernando Felix ◽  
José Guilherme Marinho Guerra ◽  
Conan Ayade Salvador

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.


Irriga ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 528-543 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcelo Rossi Vicente ◽  
Everardo Chartuni Mantovani ◽  
ANDRÉ LUÍS TEIXEIRA FERNANDES ◽  
FÁBIO TEIXEIRA DELAZARI ◽  
EDMILSON MARQUES FIGUEREDO

EFEITO DE DIFERENTES LÂMINAS DE IRRIGAÇÃO NAS VARIÁVEIS DE DESENVOLVIMENTO E PRODUÇÃO DO CAFEEIRO IRRIGADO POR PIVÔ CENTRAL  MARCELO ROSSI VICENTE1; EVERARDO CHARTUNI MANTOVANI2; ANDRÉ LUÍS TEIXEIRA FERNANDES3; FÁBIO TEIXEIRA DELAZARI4 E EDMILSON MARQUES FIGUEREDO5 1 Instituto Federal do Norte de Minas Gerais, Salinas, MG, [email protected] Departamento de Engenharia Agrícola, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, MG, [email protected] Universidade de Uberaba, Uberaba, MG, Fábio Teixeira Delazari, [email protected] Departamento de Fitotecnia, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, MG, [email protected] Bahia Farm Show, Luís Eduardo Magalhães, BA, [email protected]  1      RESUMO O presente trabalho foi conduzido com objetivo de avaliar o efeito de diferentes lâminas de irrigação nas variáveis de produção, estádios maturação de frutos e eficiência no uso da água pela cultura do cafeeiro irrigado por pivô central equipado com emissores LEPA, na região Oeste da Bahia. Realizou-se o trabalho na fazenda Café do Rio Branco, localizada em Barreiras - BA em cafeeiros adultos da variedade Catuaí IAC 144. O experimento obedeceu ao delineamento de blocos casualizados, composto de cinco tratamentos correspondentes à 70, 85, 100, 125 e 150% da lâmina de irrigação determinada pelo software Irriplus. As produtividades, os estádios de maturação dos frutos e eficiência no uso da água do cafeeiro foram submetidos à análise de variância e regressão, em que os modelos foram escolhidos baseados na significância dos coeficientes de regressão utilizando-se o teste t de 1 a 10% de probabilidade. Diante dos resultados obtidos, pode-se concluir que, a produtividade da cultura do café foi expressivamente dependente da lâmina de água aplicada, sendo que a maior produtividade (60 sc ha-1) foi alcançada com a lâmina de irrigação acumulada de 661 mm ano-1, correspondente à 96% da lâmina de irrigação determinada pelo software Irriplus. A lâmina que proporcionou a máxima porcentagem de frutos cereja (44,1%) foi de 723 mm ano-1 (105%). A lâmina que proporcionou a maior eficiência no uso da água foi de 480 mm ano-1 (70%). Palavras-Chave: Coffea arabica, manejo da irrigação, emissor LEPA, uso eficiente da água.  VICENTE, M. R.; MANTOVANI, E. M.; FERNANDES, A. L. T.; DELAZARI, F. T.; FIGUEREDO, E. M.EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT LEVELS OF IRRIGATION DEPTHS   ON GROWTH AND PRODUCTION VARIABLES OF COFFEE UNDER CENTER PIVOT  IRRIGATION     2        ABSTRACT This study aimed to evaluate the effect of different irrigation depths on yield, ripening stages and water use efficiency by the   coffee crop irrigated by center pivot with LEPA emitters in western Bahia. The experiment was carried out at the Café Rio Branco farm, in Barreiras city, Bahia state, using  adult coffee trees of cv. Catuaí IAC 144. A completely randomized block design was used with five treatments consisting of 70, 85, 100, 125 and 150 % of ETc, determined by the Irriplus software.  Data of yield, fruit ripening stage and water use efficiency were evaluated   using analyses of variance  and regression. Models were chosen based on level of significance of   regression coefficients using the Student´s t-test, 1 to  10% probability.  Based on the results,  coffee crop yield was highly dependent on  the water depth applied. The highest yield (3.6 ton/ha) was achieved  using accumulated irrigation depth of 661 mm year -1 (96 % of Etc).  Water depths of   723 mm year-1 (105 %) and 480 mm year-1 (70% ETc)  provided the highest percentage of cherry fruit (44.1%) and the highest water use efficiency, respectively. Keywords: Coffea arábica, irrigation management, LEPA emitter, water use efficiency.


2014 ◽  
Vol 94 (2) ◽  
pp. 223-235 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Kröbel ◽  
R. Lemke ◽  
C. A. Campbell ◽  
R. Zentner ◽  
B. McConkey ◽  
...  

Kröbel, R., Lemke, R., Campbell, C. A., Zentner, R., McConkey, B., Steppuhn, H., De Jong, R. and Wang, H. 2014. Water use efficiency of spring wheat in the semi-arid Canadian prairies: Effect of legume green manure, type of spring wheat, and cropping frequency. Can. J. Soil Sci. 94: 223–235. In the semi-arid Canadian prairie, water is the main determinant of crop production; thus its efficient use is of major agronomic interest. Previous research in this region has demonstrated that the most meaningful way to measure water use efficiency (WUE) is to use either precipitation use efficiency (PUE) or a modified WUE that accounts for the inefficient use of water in cropping systems that include summer fallow. In this paper, we use these efficiency measures to determine how cropping frequency, inclusion of a legume green manure, and the type of spring wheat [high-yielding Canada Prairie Spring (CPS) vs. Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS)] influence WUE using 25 yr of data (1987–2011) from the “New Rotation” experiment conducted at Swift Current, Saskatchewan. This is a well-fertilized study that uses minimum and no-tillage techniques and snow management to enhance soil water capture. We compare these results to those from a 39-yr “Old Rotation” experiment, also at Swift Current, which uses conventional tillage management. Our results confirmed the positive effect on WUE of cropping intensity, and of CPS wheat compared with CWRS wheat, while demonstrating the negative effect on WUE of a green manure crop in wheat-based rotations in semiarid conditions. Furthermore, we identified a likely advantage of using reduced tillage coupled with water conserving snow management techniques for enhancing the efficiency of water use.


2014 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 549-572 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. S. RATHORE ◽  
N. S. NATHAWAT ◽  
B. MEEL ◽  
B. M. YADAV ◽  
J. P. SINGH

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.


2019 ◽  
pp. 13-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Syed Ahsan Zahoor ◽  
Shakeel Ahmad ◽  
Ashfaq Ahmad ◽  
Aftab Wajid ◽  
Tasneem Khaliq ◽  
...  

2002 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 141-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Shafiq ◽  
Iqbal Hassan . ◽  
Zahid Hussain .

2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 446-452 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vicente de PR da Silva ◽  
Inajá Francisco de Sousa ◽  
Alexandra L Tavares ◽  
Thieres George F da Silva ◽  
Bernardo B da Silva ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The water scarcity is expected to intensify in the future and irrigation becomes an essential component of crop production, especially in arid and semiarid regions, where the available water resources are limited. Four field experiments were carried out at tropical environment in Brazil in 2013 and 2014, in order to evaluate the effect of planting date on crop evapotranspiration (ETc), crop coefficient (Kc), growth parameters and water use efficiency (WUE) of coriander (Coriandrum sativum) plants. The planting dates occurred during winter, spring, summer and autumn growing seasons. ETc was obtained through the soil water balance method and the reference evapotranspiration (ETo) through the Penman-Monteith method, using data collected from an automatic weather station located close to the experimental area. The results of the research showed that the mean values of coriander ETc and Kc were 139.8 mm and 0.87, respectively. Coriander water demand is higher in the summer growing season and lower in the winter; however, its yield is higher in the autumn and lower in the winter. Coriander has higher yield and development of its growth variables in the autumn growing season. The results also indicated that the interannual climate variations had significant effects on most growth variables, as yield, ETc and Kc of coriander grown in tropical environment.


2019 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 781-808 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew D.B. Leakey ◽  
John N. Ferguson ◽  
Charles P. Pignon ◽  
Alex Wu ◽  
Zhenong Jin ◽  
...  

The ratio of plant carbon gain to water use, known as water use efficiency (WUE), has long been recognized as a key constraint on crop production and an important target for crop improvement. WUE is a physiologically and genetically complex trait that can be defined at a range of scales. Many component traits directly influence WUE, including photosynthesis, stomatal and mesophyll conductances, and canopy structure. Interactions of carbon and water relations with diverse aspects of the environment and crop development also modulate WUE. As a consequence, enhancing WUE by breeding or biotechnology has proven challenging but not impossible. This review aims to synthesize new knowledge of WUE arising from advances in phenotyping, modeling, physiology, genetics, and molecular biology in the context of classical theoretical principles. In addition, we discuss how rising atmospheric CO2concentration has created and will continue to create opportunities for enhancing WUE by modifying the trade-off between photosynthesis and transpiration.


1999 ◽  
Vol 132 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. V. K. SIVAKUMAR ◽  
S. A. SALAAM

A comprehensive study was conducted over a 4-year period (1984–87) to evaluate the water use, growth and yield responses of pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.) cv. CIVT grown with and without fertilizer (30 kg P2O5 and 45 kg N ha−1) at the ICRISAT Sahelian Centre, Sadoré, Niger. Our study showed significant year and fertilizer effects on the growth and yield of millet at the study site. Observed year effects were primarily due to the variations in the amount and distribution of rainfall in relation to the potential demand for water. During 1984, 1985 and 1987, total rainfall was below the long term average, while in 1986 it was above average. While the onset of rains (relative to the average date of onset) was early from 1984 to 1986, in 1987 the sowings were delayed by as much as 33 days. Of all the four years, the separation between the treatments in the cumulative evaporation is most evident for 1984, which was a drought year with below-average rainfall in all the months from June to September. Cumulative evaporation patterns in 1985 and 1986 were similar because of regular rains and high average rainfall per rainy day from June to October. In 1987, sowings were delayed until 15 July and only 6·9 mm of rainfall was received per rainy day in July. Hence cumulative evaporation was initially low and showed a significant increase only after two significant rain events in early August. There was a large response to fertilizer in all the years as small additions of fertilizer phosphate increased the soluble phosphate in the soil. Fertilizer application resulted in a small increase in water use (7–14%) in all years except 1987. Increased yield due to the application of fertilizer was accompanied by an increase in the water-use efficiency (WUE) in all the four years with the largest increase in 1985. The beneficial effect of fertilizers could be attributed to the rapid early growth of leaves which can contribute to reduction of soil evaporative losses and increased WUE. Over the four seasons, average increase in the WUE due to the addition of fertilizer was 84%.


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