Trends and Challenges in Irrigation Scheduling in the Semi-Arid Area of Spain

Irene Fernández García,José J Pardo,Juan Vera,Bruno C Léllis,M Carmen Ruiz-Sánchez,Wenceslao Conejero,María R Conesa,Alfonso Domínguez,Pilar Montesinos,Sergio Lecina

doi:10.3390/w12030785

Abstract

A growing international human population and rising living standards are increasing the demand for agricultural products. Under higher pressure over natural resources, environmental concerns are increasing as well, challenging current water use decision-making processes in irrigated agriculture. Higher agricultural productivity means water should be applied more efficiently, which requires instant information on weather, soil, and plant conditions throughout the growing season. An information-based irrigation scheduling application tightened to the spatiotemporal variability of the fields is critical for enhancing the current irrigation system and making better irrigation scheduling decisions. The aim of this study is to review current irrigation scheduling methodologies based on two case studies (woody and field crops) located in semi-arid areas of Southeast Spain. We realize that optimal irrigation programming requires consistent investment in equipment, expenditure on operation and maintenance, and qualified technical and maintenance services. These technological approaches will be worthwhile in farms with low water availability, high profitability, and significant technical-economic capacity.

Highlights

A growing international population and rising living standards are increasing the demand for agricultural products
The mean volumetric soil water content (VSWC) values recorded during the studied periods, in both peach and nectarine experiments, varied between the imposed threshold values, for automatically start and stop irrigation, demonstrating the suitability of the automated irrigation strategy
It should be noted that irrigation events could occur at any time of the day according to the rules defined above, and when precipitation events matched with irrigation, irrigation was automatically stopped as soon as VSWC

Summary

Introduction

A growing international population and rising living standards are increasing the demand for agricultural products. Globalization, markets liberalization, growing pressure on natural resources, and environmental concerns are heightening the need for improved agricultural productivity [1,2]. In the case of irrigated agriculture, meeting this requirement involves a paradigm shift. Maximizing net profits will demand a more economic approach than maximizing crop yields. This is significantly complex and challenging, requiring that water be applied in a wiser, more precise, and accurate fashion because the margin for error narrows [3].

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