Abstract
The middle reaches of the Heihe River are an important food base in the arid regions of Northwest China. The agricultural water consumption in this region accounts for about 90% of the total water consumption. The shortage of water resources is the primary reason for restricting agricultural development. Therefore, studying the efficiency of agricultural water use is essential to improving the effective use of water resources. Under the premise of considering agricultural water saving, we improved the water efficiency model from the perspective of pure agricultural income that farmers are more concerned about. In this study, we took Zhangye City in the middle reaches of the Heihe River as an example, based on meteorological crop data and farmer survey data. Then, we used the input–output method to quantitatively analyze the net income of the crops in Zhangye City. We used the CROPWAT model to calculate the water demand of crops during the growing season. Lastly, we used the improved water-use efficiency (WUE) model to analyze WUE differences of crops in the study area. We reached the following conclusions: (1) among the six crops in the study area, the net profit of seed corn was 20,520 yuan/ha, followed by field corn, 11,700 yuan/ha, then followed by potato, rapeseed, wheat, and barley; (2) the maximum water requirement for the crop growth period was 597.2 mm for field corn, followed by 577.3 mm for seed corn, then followed by rapeseed, wheat, barley, and potato; (3) among the six crops, the WUE calculated using the water efficiency model before and after improvement had obvious differences. The WUE calculated using the original model reached 9.03 yuan/m3 for potato, followed by 6.33 yuan/m3 for seed corn. The WUE calculated using the improved model reached 3.44 yuan/m3 for seed corn, which is the maximum, followed by potato with 2.25 yuan/m3. Considering the agricultural water saving and crop yields, we propose to properly expand the cultivation of seed corn and potato in the middle reaches of the Heihe River. This would be more conducive to achieving a “win-win” situation for water conservation and revenue.
Highlights
Water is an irreplaceable resource for human survival and development and the basis for sustainable economic and social development [1]
Considering the agricultural water saving and crop yields, we propose to properly expand the cultivation of seed corn and potato in the middle reaches of the Heihe River
From the perspective of water-use structure, agriculture is the most important water sector, accounting for 62% of total water consumption [5], while especially in the northwestern arid regions, agricultural water accounts for about 90% of total water consumption [6]
Summary
Water is an irreplaceable resource for human survival and development and the basis for sustainable economic and social development [1]. According to this definition, Zheng and Tan [22] studied the WUE of barley, wheat, corn, and rape in the middle reaches of the Heihe River, and proposed. [22] studied the WUE of barley, wheat, corn, and rape in the middle reaches of the Heihe River, and suggestions for the adjustment the agricultural in the region.in. Using this definition, crops proposed suggestions for the of adjustment of the structure agricultural structure the region. We improved the water efficiency model to study the difference in crops in Zhangye City In this way, we considered the agricultural water saving and the of crops.
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