scholarly journals Optimization of irrigation water in South Africa for sustainable and beneficial use

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Akinola Mayowa Ikudayisi
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Crop Yield ◽  
Optimization Algorithm ◽  
Irrigation Water ◽  
Irrigation Scheduling ◽  
Crop Water ◽  
Land Area ◽  
Water Requirements ◽  
Irrigation Water Use

Water is an essential natural resource for human existence and survival on the earth. South Africa, a water stressed country, allocates a high percentage of its available consumptive water use to irrigation. Therefore, it is necessary that we optimize water use in order to enhance food security. This study presents the development of mathematical models for irrigation scheduling of crops, optimal irrigation water release and crop yields in Vaal Harts irrigation scheme (VIS) of South Africa. For efficient irrigation water management, an accurate estimation of reference evapotranspiration (ETₒ) should be carried out. However, due to non-availability of enough historical data for the study area, mathematical models were developed to estimate ETₒ. A 20-year monthly meteorological data was collected and analysed using two data–driven modeling techniques namely principal component analysis (PCA) and adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference systems (ANFIS). Furthermore, an artificial neural network (ANN) model was developed for real time prediction of future ETₒ for the study area. The real time irrigation scheduling of potatoes was developed using a crop growth simulation model called CROPWAT. It was used to determine the crop water productivity (CWP), which is a determinant of the relationship between water applied and crop yield. Finally, a new and novel evolutionary multi-objective optimization algorithm called combined Pareto multi-objective differential evolution (CPMDE) was applied to optimize irrigation water use and crop yield on the VIS farmland. The net irrigation benefit, land area and irrigation water use of maize, potatoes and groundnut were optimized. Results obtained show that ETₒ increases with temperature and windspeed. Other variables such as rainfall and relative humidity have less significance on the value of ETₒ. Also, ANN models with one hidden layer showed better predictive performance compared with other considered configurations. A 5-day time step irrigation schedule data and graphs showing the crop water requirements and irrigation water requirements was generated. This would enable farmers know when, where, and how much water to apply to a given farmland. Finally, the employed CPMDE optimization algorithm produced a set of non-dominated Pareto optimal solutions. The best solution suggests that maize, groundnut and potatoes should be planted on 403543.44 m2, 181542.00 m2 and 352876.05 m2areas of land respectively. This solution generates a total net benefit of ZAR 767,961.49, total planting area of 937961.49 m2 and irrigation water volume of 391,061.52 m3. Among the three crops optimized, maize has the greatest land area, followed by potatoes and groundnut. This shows that maize is more profitable than potatoes and groundnut with respect to crop yield and water use in the study area.

scholarly journals Forty Years of Increasing Cotton’s Water Productivity and Why the Trend Will Continue

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 457-478
Author(s):  
Edward M Barnes ◽  
B. Todd Campbell ◽  
George Vellidis ◽  
Wesley Porter ◽  
Jose Payero ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Irrigation Water ◽  
Water Productivity ◽  
The United States ◽  
Irrigation Scheduling ◽  
Crop Water ◽  
Water Requirements ◽  
Crop Water Productivity ◽  
The U.S

Highlights Over the last 40 years the amount of irrigation water used by cotton in the United States has decreased while yields have increased leading to a large increase in crop water productivity (CWP). Many factors have contributed to improved CWP, such as improvements in water delivery systems. Irrigation scheduling technologies have also contributed to improved CWP; however, farmer adoption of advanced scheduling technologies is still limited and there is significant room for improvement. Increased yields from improved cultivars without an increase in water requirements has also been important for CWP. Continued developments in sensor technologies and improved crop simulation models are two examples of future strategies that should allow the U.S. cotton industry to continue an upward trend in CWP. Abstract. Over the last 40 years the amount of irrigation water used by cotton in the United States has decreased while yields have increased. Factors contributing to higher water productivity and decreased irrigation water use include migration of cotton out of the far western U.S. states to the east where more water requirements are met by rainfall; improved irrigation delivery systems with considerable variation in types and adoption rates across the U.S.; improved irrigation scheduling tools; improved genetics and knowledge of cotton physiology, and improved crop models that can help evaluate new irrigation strategies rapidly and inexpensively. The considerable progress over the last 40 years along with the promise of emerging technologies suggest that this progress will continue. Keywords: Cotton, Crop water productivity, Irrigation, Sustainability, Water use efficiency.

Irrigation Scheduling Based on Evaporation and Crop Water Requirement for Summer Peanuts1

1984 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. K. Pahalwan ◽  
R. S. Tripathi
Keyword(s):  
Water Use ◽  
Irrigation Water ◽  
Irrigation Scheduling ◽  
Water Requirement ◽  
Crop Water Requirement ◽  
Pan Evaporation ◽  
Crop Water ◽  
Formation Stage ◽  
Evaporation Ratio ◽  
Pod Development

Abstract Field experiment was conducted during dry season of 1981 and 1982 to determine the optimal irrigation schedule for summer peanuts (Arachis hypogaea L.) in relation to evaporative demand and crop water requirement at different growth stages. It was observed that peanut crop requires a higher irrigation frequency schedule during pegging to pod formation stage followed by pod development to maturity and planting to flowering stages. The higher pod yield and water use efficiency was obtained when irrigations were scheduled at an irrigation water to the cumulative pan evaporation ratio of 0.5 during planting to flowering, 0.9 during pegging to pod formation and 0.7 during pod development to maturity stage. The profile water contribution to total crop water use was higher under less frequent irrigation schedules particularly when the irrigations were scheduled at 0.5 irrigation water to the cumulative pan evaporation ratio up to the pod formation stage.

scholarly journals The Response of Water and Nutrient Dynamics and of Crop Yield to Conservation Agriculture in the Ethiopian Highlands

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (15) ◽  
pp. 5989 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sisay A. Belay ◽  
Tewodros T. Assefa ◽  
P. V. Vara Prasad ◽  
Petra Schmitter ◽  
Abeyou W. Worqlul ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Use ◽  
Crop Yield ◽  
Irrigation Water ◽  
Nutrient Dynamics ◽  
Root Zone ◽  
Conservation Agriculture ◽  
Soil Disturbance ◽  
Green Pepper ◽  
Irrigation Water Use ◽  
Supplementary Irrigation

Smallholder agriculture constitutes the main source of livelihood for the Ethiopian rural community. However, soil degradation and uneven distribution of rainfall have threatened agriculture at present. This study is aimed at investigating the impacts of conservation agriculture on irrigation water use, nutrient availability in the root zone, and crop yield under supplementary irrigation. In this study, conservation agriculture (CA), which includes minimum soil disturbance, grass mulch cover, and crop rotation, was practiced and compared with conventional tillage (CT). We used two years’ (2018 and 2019) experimental data under paired-t design in the production of a local variety green pepper (Capsicum annuum L.). The results showed that CA practices significantly (α = 0.05) reduced irrigation water use (13% to 29%) and runoff (29% to 51%) while it increased percolated water in the root zone (27% to 50%) when compared with CT practices under the supplementary irrigation phase. In addition, CA significantly decreased NO3-N in the leachate (14% to 44%) and in the runoff (about 100%), while PO4-P significantly decreased in the leachate (33% to 50%) and in the runoff (16%) when compared with CT. Similarly, CA decreased the NO3-N load in the leachate and in the runoff, while the PO4-P load increased in the leachate but decreased in the runoff. The yield return that was achieved under CA treatment was 30% higher in 2018 and 10% higher in 2019 when compared with the CT. This research improves our understanding of water and nutrient dynamics in green pepper grown under CA and CT. Use of CA provides opportunities to optimize water use by decreasing irrigation water requirements and optimize nutrient use by decreasing nutrient losses through the runoff and leaching.

scholarly journals Potential and Actual Water Savings through Improved Irrigation Scheduling in Small-Scale Vegetable Production

Agronomy ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 888 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoph Studer ◽  
Simon Spoehel
Keyword(s):  
Water Use ◽  
Irrigation Water ◽  
Drip Irrigation ◽  
Water Productivity ◽  
Irrigation Scheduling ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Vegetable Production ◽  
Usual Practice ◽  
Irrigation Water Use ◽  
Small Scale Farmers

Appropriate irrigation scheduling for efficient water use is often a challenge for small-scale farmers using drip irrigation. In a trial with 12 farmers in Sébaco, Nicaragua, two tools to facilitate irrigation scheduling were tested: the Water Chart (a table indicating required irrigation doses) and tensiometers. The study aimed at evaluating if and to what extent simple tools can reduce irrigation water use and improve water productivity in drip-irrigated vegetable (beetroot; Beta vulgaris L.) production compared with the farmers’ usual practice. Irrigation water use was substantially reduced (around 20%) when farmers irrigated according to the tools. However, farmers did not fully adhere to the tool guidance, probably because they feared that their crop would not get sufficient water. Thus they still over-irrigated their crop: between 38% and 88% more water than recommended was used during the treatment period, resulting in 91% to 139% higher water use than required over the entire growing cycle. Water productivity of beetroot production was, therefore, much lower (around 3 kg/m3) than what can be achieved under comparable conditions, although yields were decent. Differences in crop yield and water productivity among treatments were not significant. The simplified Water Chart was not sufficiently understandable to farmers (and technicians), whereas tensiometers were better perceived, although they do not provide any indication on how much water to apply. We conclude that innovations such as drip irrigation or improved irrigation scheduling have to be appropriately introduced, e.g., by taking sufficient time to co-produce a common understanding about the technologies and their possible usefulness, and by ensuring adequate follow-up support.

scholarly journals Past, Present, and Future of Irrigation on the U.S. Great Plains

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 703-729 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven R. Evett ◽  
Paul D. Colaizzi ◽  
Freddie R. Lamm ◽  
Susan A. O’Shaughnessy ◽  
Derek M. Heeren ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Use ◽  
Great Plains ◽  
Irrigation Water ◽  
Water Productivity ◽  
Irrigated Agriculture ◽  
Crop Water ◽  
Irrigation Technology ◽  
Irrigated Area ◽  
Irrigation Water Use ◽  
The U.S

Highlights Irrigation is key to the productivity of Great Plains agriculture but is threatened by water scarcity. The irrigated area grew to >9 million ha since 1870, mostly since 1950, but is likely to decline. Changes in climate, water availability, irrigated area, and policy will affect productivity. Adaptation and innovation, hallmarks of Great Plains populations, will ensure future success. Abstract. Motivated by the need for sustainable water management and technology for next-generation crop production, the future of irrigation on the U.S. Great Plains was examined through the lenses of past changes in water supply, historical changes in irrigated area, and innovations in irrigation technology, management, and agronomy. We analyzed the history of irrigated agriculture through the 1900s to the present day. We focused particularly on the efficiency and water productivity of irrigation systems (application efficiency, crop water productivity, and irrigation water use productivity) as a connection between water resource management and agricultural production. Technology innovations have greatly increased the efficiency of water application, the productivity of water use, and the agricultural productivity of the Great Plains. We also examined the changes in water stored in the High Plains aquifer, which is the region’s principle supply for irrigation water. Relative to other states, the aquifer has been less impacted in Nebraska, despite large increases in irrigated area. Greatly increased irrigation efficiency has played a role in this, but so have regulations and the recharge to the aquifer from the Nebraska Sand Hills and from rivers crossing the state. The outlook for irrigation is less positive in western Kansas, eastern Colorado, and the Oklahoma and Texas Panhandles. The aquifer in these regions is recharged at rates much less than current pumping, and the aquifer is declining as a result. Improvements in irrigation technology and management plus changes in crops grown have made irrigation ever more efficient and allowed irrigation to continue. There is good reason to expect that future research and development efforts by federal and state researchers, extension specialists, and industry, often in concert, will continue to improve the efficiency and productivity of irrigated agriculture. Public policy changes will also play a role in regulating consumption and motivating on-farm efficiency improvements. Water supplies, while finite, will be stretched much further than projected by some who look only at past rates of consumption. Thus, irrigation will continue to be important economically for an extended period. Sustaining irrigation is crucial to sustained productivity of the Great Plains “bread basket” because on average irrigation doubles the efficiency with which water is turned into crop yields compared with what can be attained in this region with precipitation alone. Lessons learned from the Great Plains are relevant to irrigation in semi-arid and subhumid areas worldwide. Keywords: Center pivot, Crop water productivity, History, Sprinkler irrigation, Subsurface drip irrigation, Water use efficiency.

Research Dry Crop and Irrigation Water Requirement in Environment Engineering

2013 ◽  
Vol 340 ◽  
pp. 961-965
Author(s):  
Xin Hua Wang ◽  
Mei Hua Guo ◽  
Hui Mei Liu
Keyword(s):  
Irrigation Water ◽  
Growth Period ◽  
Water Requirement ◽  
Weather Data ◽  
Effective Rainfall ◽  
Crop Water ◽  
Irrigation Water Requirement ◽  
Water Requirements ◽  
Crop Water Requirements ◽  
Irrigation Water Use

According to Kunming 1980-2010 monthly weather data and CROPWAT software and the corresponding crop data, crop water requirements and irrigation water use are calculated. By frequency analysis, irrigation water requirement was get for different guaranteed rate. The results show that: corn, potatoes, tobacco, and soybeans average crop water requirements were 390.7mm, 447.9mm, 361.8mm and 328.4mm, crop water dispersion coefficient is small, period effective rainfall during crop growth in most of the year can meet the crop water requirements, so irrigation water demand is small. While the multi-year average crop water requirements were 400.8mm, 353.5mm, 394.3mm for small spring crops of wheat, beans, rape. Because the effective rainfall for these crops during growth period is relative less, crop irrigation water requirements for small spring crop is much. Vegetables and flowers are plant around the year, so the crop water and irrigation water requirements are the largest.

scholarly journals Assessment of Irrigation Water Use Patterns Using Remote Sensing Data in Mexico’s Northeast

10.29007/qz1w ◽  
2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saul Arciniega ◽  
Jose A. Breña-Naranjo ◽  
Adrián Pedrozo-Acuña ◽  
Antonio Hernández-Espriú
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Irrigation Water ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Irrigation System ◽  
Functional Model ◽  
Remote Sensing Data ◽  
Irrigation Scheduling ◽  
Sensing Data ◽  
Irrigation Water Use

Irrigation water use (IWU) or withdrawal is a key component for the water management of a region since it tends to exceed the crops consumptive water use, especially in water-stressed regions where groundwater is the main source of water. Nevertheless, temporal IWU information is missing in many irrigation areas. Remote sensing (RS) data is commonly used for crop water requirements estimations in areas with lack of data, however, IWU is more complex to approach since it also depends on water use efficiency, irrigation system type, irrigation scheduling, and water availability, among others. This work explores the use of remote sensing data (TRMM, MODIS) and land surface hydrological products (GLDAS 2 and MERRA 2) to obtain insights about the space-time annual IWU patterns across croplands located within Mexico’s northeast region. Reported IWU in three irrigation districts (Don Martín, Región Lagunera and Bajo Río Bravo) was used to obtain a functional model using satellite data derived. Results suggest strong relationship between reported IWU with soil moisture content from GLDAS and the maximum annual EVI from MODIS, where a potential regression shown statistical correlations of 0.83 and 0.77, respectively.

scholarly journals Manajemen Irigasi Pembibitan Sawit (Elaeis guineensis) Presisi dengan Cropwat 8.0

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 97
Author(s):  
Lisma Safitri
Keyword(s):  
Soil Properties ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Palm Oil ◽  
Irrigation Scheduling ◽  
Water Requirement ◽  
Crop Water Requirement ◽  
Climate Data ◽  
Crop Water ◽  
Water Requirements ◽  
Crop Water Requirements

The accurate water use information at each stage of plant growth is important to better understand the efficient and precise crop water requirement for optimal plant productivity. Nurseries of palm oil are a phase where young palm oil requires extra maintenance, particularly in meeting the plant water needs. The palm oil in the nursery phase require the regular irrigation schedule due to the vulnerable root systems. The purpose of this study was to calculate the oil palm water requirement with Cropwat 8.0 toward the precise irrigation management and provide a scenario for irrigation scheduling in palm oil nursery. The study was conducted in palm oil main nurseries at KP2 Instiper Yogyakarta with site-specific climate data and soil properties. The method used is analyzing climate data and soil properties and simulating crop water requirements, actual water use and irrigation scheduling with Cropwat 8.0. Based on the results, the average of crop water requirement (ETP) of palm oil in main nursery is 3.4 mm / day. Based on the water deficit scenario from rainfall and crop water requirements, irrigation is scheduling in April for 1.4 mm, May for 18.3 mm, June for  3.5 mm, July for 44.1 mm and August for 42.8 mm. On a daily scale and taking into account the availability of soil moisture and the water retention of plant roots, the net irrigation scheduling is given at an average of 2.2 mm / day and gross irrigation of 6 mm / day which is given daily depending on rainfall and plant age.

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