Amount Of Irrigation Water Research Articles

A Review on Regulation of Irrigation Management on Wheat Physiology, Grain Yield, and Quality.

Irrigation has been pivotal in sustaining wheat as a major food crop in the world and is increasingly important as an adaptation response to climate change. In the context of agricultural production responding to climate change, improved irrigation management plays a significant role in increasing water productivity (WP) and maintaining the sustainable development of water resources. Considering that wheat is a major crop cultivated in arid and semi-arid regions, which consumes high amounts of irrigation water, developing wheat irrigation management with high efficiency is urgently required. Both irrigation scheduling and irrigation methods intricately influence wheat physiology, affect plant growth and development, and regulate grain yield and quality. In this frame, this review aims to provide a critical analysis of the regulation mechanism of irrigation management on wheat physiology, plant growth and yield formation, and grain quality. Considering the key traits involved in wheat water uptake and utilization efficiency, we suggest a series of future perspectives that could enhance the irrigation efficiency of wheat.

The Influence of Plant Type, Substrate and Irrigation Regime on Living Wall Performance in a Semi-Arid Climate

Living walls are fast becoming a ubiquitous feature of modern living and are widely implemented in commercial buildings in both internal and external environments. However, there are several challenges associated with maintaining healthy plant growth on these water sensitive urban design systems. This experimental study of an instrumented prototype-scale living wall has found that there is a close relationship between the plants, substrates and adopted irrigation regimes. In this study, plant selection was found to be more critical than either substrate or irrigation regime selection. This research also found that both the location of the plants on the wall and irrigation volume significantly affected the plants’ ultimate total dry weight. In particular, plants were found to grow taller on the upper section of the living wall compared to the middle and lower sections. It is recommended that particular attention should be given to plant location and the amount of irrigation water supplied at different positions on the living wall.

Modelling Yield Response and Water Use to Salinity and Water Relations of Six Pepper Varieties

Better understanding of crop yield response under salinity and water deficit conditions is essential to meet food need under the circumstance of population growth and climate extremities. It has been well known that plant species response differently under stress conditions. Recent studies show that these different responses occur not only among species but also in different varieties within the same species. The aims of the study are to examine and to compare yield, yield response factors (ky), salinity thresholds, biomasses, and water productivity responses of six varieties of pepper plant (Sürmeli-Hot, Yalova, BT016-Hot, BT 016, BT Ünsal, BT Demok) under salinity conditions. In another experiment under the same conditions (location, time, growth media etc.), water deficit was applied to two of these six varieties (BT Ünsal and BT Demok) separately, and their responses to salinity and water deficit conditions were compared. The experiment was carried out in containers. The amount of irrigation water was determined manually by weighing each container. Water deficit treatments were consisted of meeting 120, 100, 70 and 50% of soil water depleted from field capacity. Water salinity levels were 0.25 (control), 2, 4 and 6 dS m-1. There was no difference in yield under non-stress and excessive stress conditions, but the yield difference was as high as 38.9% under moderate stress conditions. Varietal differences were also observed for water productivity. Salinity threshold values vary between 0.89 and 1.83 dS m-1. Yield response factor (ky) were high for all varieties under salinity. Comparing the ky values obtained under water deficit and salinity experiments, sensitivity to salinity induced water stress was found higher than that of applied water deficit itself. Using salinity (Model 1) and water deficit (Model 2) data set of two varieties, two models were created plotting relative yield and water potentials (osmotic potential + matric potential) and compered their predications statistically. Statistically better predictions were obtained from Model 2.

Effect of rural domestic sewage regeneration irrigation on paddy soil properties and water and nitrogen utilization in southern China

AbstractRural domestic reclaimed water (RDRW) for agricultural irrigation is an effective way to alleviate the contradiction between the supply and demand of water. In this research, four kinds of irrigation water sources (primary and secondary treated water [R1 and R2], purified water [R3] and river water [CK]) and three kinds of water level regulations (low, medium and high water level control [W1, W2 and W3]) were set to study the impact of RDRW irrigation and its reuse on the properties of paddy soil, water and nitrogen utilization and yield of rice through a combination of field experiments and laboratory and numerical analysis methods. The results showed that compared with river water (CK) irrigation, pH (0–40 cm), electrical conductivity (EC) and organic matter (OM) content (60–80 cm) increased, and ammonium‐nitrogen (NH4+‐N) (0–20 cm) and nitrate‐nitrogen (NO3−‐N) (40–60 cm) content accumulated under RDRW irrigation. Under high water level regulation (W3), NH4+‐N and NO3−‐N content increased, showing the opposite changing trend compared with W1 and W2 regulations. With RDRW irrigation, water and nitrogen use efficiency and rice yield were significantly increased. Under RDRW irrigation, irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE), nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) and rice yield were increased by 48%–70%, 10%–22% and 5%–13%, respectively, compared with CK irrigation. In addition, path analysis established by structural equation modelling (SEM) showed that the irrigation water amount (IWA) had a significant positive impact on NUE and NH4+‐N but had a significant negative impact on IWUE and EC. NUE, IWUE, NO3−‐N and EC had a significant positive impact on yield. The path of IWA= > IWUE= > yield showed a complete mediation effect, the path of IWA= > EC= > yield and NUE= > EC= > yield both showed a partial mediation effect, and the effect size was 27.9% and 25.0%, respectively.

Medium-Term Effects of Sprinkler Irrigation Combined with a Single Compost Application on Water and Rice Productivity and Food Safety.

Traditional rice (Oryza sativa L.) management (tillage and flooding) is unsustainable due to soil degradation and the large amount of irrigation water used, an issue which is exacerbated in the Mediterranean region. Therefore, there is a need to explore rice management strategies in order to improve water-use efficiency and ensure its sustainability. Thus, field experiments were conducted to determine the medium-term effects of different irrigation and tillage methods combined with a single compost application on water and rice productivity, as well as food safety in a semiarid Mediterranean region. The management systems evaluated were: sprinkler irrigation in combination with no-tillage (SNT), sprinkler irrigation in combination with conventional tillage (ST), which were implemented in 2015, and flooding irrigation in combination with conventional tillage (FT), and their homologues (SNT-C, ST-C, and FT-C) with single compost application in 2015. In reference to rice grain yield, the highest values were observed under ST treatment with 10 307 and 11 625 kg ha-1 in 2018 and 2019 respectively; whereas between FT and SNT there were no significant differences, with 8 140 kg ha-1 as mean value through the study. Nevertheless, sprinkler irrigation allowed saving 55% of the total amount of water applied in reference to flooding irrigation. Furthermore, the highest arsenic concentration in grains was found under FT but it decreased with compost application (FT-C) and especially with sprinkler irrigation, regardless of tillage management systems. However, sprinkler irrigation favors the cadmium uptake by plants, although this process was reduced under SNT in reference to ST, and especially under amended compost treatments. Therefore, our results suggested that a combination of sprinkler irrigation and compost application, regardless of the tillage system, could be an excellent strategy for rice management for the Mediterranean environment in terms of water and crop productivity as well as food safety.

Assessment of crop water requirement of maize using remote sensing and GIS

Irrigation water is limited and scarce in many areas of the world, including the Panchmahal region, Gujarat, India. Panchmahal is located in between 22° 30′ N to 23° 30′ N latitudes and 73° 15′ E to 74° 30′ E covering an area of 3314.56 km². Thus, better estimations of irrigation water requirements are essential to conserve water. The overall objective of the present study was to estimate crop acreage and crop water requirement (ETC) of dominant maize crop at various scales using a satellite remote sensing-based vegetation index. The resulted acreage estimation will helpful in understanding the cropping patterns and their interaction with spatial and temporal variability for present and future estimation of crop water requirements and proper resource availability in this selected region. Twelve clear sky Sentinel-2 satellite images from November 2020 to April 2021 were acquired for the study area for the analysis. For the Rabi season chosen for the current study, 34 images, each with two scenes and a five-day sensing interval, with a total of 68 images were downloaded and applied. The coefficient of maize crop for the entire growing season was generated using average NDVI based values, which were evaluated using remote sensing and GIS techniques. For maize crop, the NDVI and crop coefficient KC (FAO) showed a higher correlation with R2 = 0.8. As a result, the correlations of crop coefficient (KC) with the NDVI were used to create the KC map. Crop water demand based on actual crop evapotranspiration is a product of the average ETC value and the corresponding area. The total crop water demand for maize crop seasons was found to be 171.50 MCM. ETC maps helped to explain the variability of crop water use during the growing season. According to the findings, ETC maps created using remotely sensed multispectral vegetation indices are a helpful tool for assessing crop water usage at regional and field scales. The findings in this study will be helpful to the irrigation planners and farmers for applying appropriate amounts of irrigation water corresponding to each growth stage using ETC maps at the field scale, leading to water conservation, and better irrigation water management.

Study on mobile applications for irrigation in agriculture field

Water is a crucial input for agriculture, for good crop production. In today’s scenario, application of technology in agriculture field is very much needed as the time and resources are becoming limitation and costly. Mobile applications are becoming handy for any kind of work which can be done using mobile, internet and various softwares. This study is based on a detailed study of Mobile applications for irrigation scheduling for farmers’ field. The result of study reveals that real time use of Mobile application on agricultural field helps farmers to be aware about irrigation methods, irrigation water amount, crop water requirement, irrigation time etc. Also, real time application of Mobiles, connect farmers with current global scenario. Mobile applications are found effective Information Technology measure for extension of information and service provider for farmers of Digital India.

Identification of optimal irrigation and fertilizer rates to balance yield, water and fertilizer productivity, and fruit quality in greenhouse tomatoes using TOPSIS

The precise management of water and fertilizer is necessary to maximize greenhouse tomato production. Irrigation quantity and fertilizer application rate were experimentally varied to determine their effects on tomato yield, water and fertilizer productivity, and nutritional and flavor quality over four consecutive growing seasons in two cities, Yangling and Baoji. The experiment was designed as a quadratic orthogonal rotation combination with two factors at five levels and a total of 16 treatments. TOPSIS (technique for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution) models were created to predict the effects of drip irrigation water quantity and fertilizer application rate on indicators of tomato water and fertilizer productivity, yield and quality. The tomato indicators showed a downward opening quadratic relationship with irrigation quantity and a similar relationship with fertilizer application rate. The composite indicators exhibited a downward opening paraboloid relationship with irrigation and fertilizer rates. Tomato pan coefficient (Kcp) values in the range 0.74–0.78 and the fertilization coefficient (Kf) values in the range 1.13–1.27 produced optimal tomato growth in all experimental plots. To ensure the results of this study are of practical use, over 95% of the highest composite indicators were used to identify the optimal range of Kcp as 0.68–0.83 and the optimal range of Kf as 0.98–1.34 in spring, with corresponding ranges in fall being 0.68–0.82 and 1.06–1.41. This study proposes a method for analyzing tomato growth and provides guidance for precise irrigation and fertilizer management in greenhouse tomato production in Northwest China.

Cool- and Warm-Season Turfgrass Irrigation with Subsurface Drip and Sprinkler Methods Using Different Water Management Strategies and Tools

This study compared the performances of subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) to sprinkler irrigation (SI) of cool-season turf mix (CS) and warm-season (WS) turfgrass species while investigating their response to different irrigation scheduling strategies. Moreover, the suitability of crop water stress index (CWSI) for monitoring water stress and scheduling irrigation was tested. Irrigation was applied up to the field capacity when 30%, 50% and 70% of total available water was consumed. All parameters, including color, quality, fresh yield, dry matter yield, irrigation water productivity, water productivity, vegetation height and mowing, differed significantly for different irrigation methods and water supply strategies for both species. The best visual turf was maintained under non-limiting soil moisture conditions (30%) in all main and sub-treatments. At this irrigation threshold, maximum and minimum amounts of irrigation water were applied in SI CS treatment (523.5 mm) and SDI WS treatment (298.6 mm), respectively. Warm-season turf required up to 40% less water than cool-season turf mix. In the water-scarce regions, 50% treatment for cool-season and 70% treatment for warm-season can be suggested for acceptable visual quality, lower water consumption and less frequent clipping. The mean CWSI before irrigation, representing irrigation threshold, ranged between 0.22–0.70.

Investıgatıon of the development of purslane plant (Portulaca Oleracea L.) under soil stress conditions

Purslane (Portulaca oleracea L.) is an edible wild plant that is widely grown in the world, including Türkiye. Purslane plant, which is an important component of Mediterranean cuisine, can grow spontaneously in nature. Stress conditions can directly or indirectly affect its growth and development in the environment in which it is grown. In the current study, stress conditions of soil organic matter content, irrigation water amount and irrigation water salinity were investigated in pot experiments. The experiments were carried out in a 72 m2 greenhouse established on the Dokuz Eylül University Tınaztepe Campus. From the variables, soil organic matter was applied as 1%, 1.8% (control), 3% and 5% on a dry weight basis. 15 purslane seeds were planted in each pot and left to germinate. Irrigation water amounts were chosen as 100%, 75%, 50%, 30%, 15% of the field capacity. The last variable in the application was determined as the salinity of the irrigation water; the conductivity of the applied irrigation waters were control (tap water-about 0.5 mS/cm), 4 mS/cm, 8 mS/cm, 16 mS/cm. All pots were prepared in four repetitions and the study was carried out with a total of 320 pots. Experiments were carried out for 90 days from the first planting. In the study, it was observed that the increase in organic matter increased plant germination. Statistical evaluation was also made and the effects of irrigation water amount and salinity were also evaluated according to principal component analysis. As the field capacity decreased, decreases were observed in plant growth, but this was mostly observed at 30% and 15% field capacity. The negative effects of salinity on plant growth were observed at 8 mS/cm and 16 mS/cm values.

Effects of biochar addition and deficit irrigation with brackish water on yield-scaled N2O emissions under drip irrigation with mulching

Biochar has been proven to have great potential for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and improving crop growth. However, the effects of biochar addition on yield-scaled N2O emissions in a mulched and drip-irrigated maize field using different irrigation water qualities and quantities remain unclear. A two-year field experiment was conducted to examine the effects of biochar addition, irrigation level and water salinity on soil N2O emissions, maize yield and grain N uptake in Northwest China. Eight treatments in total included the combination of two biochar addition rates of 0 t/ha (B0) and 60 t/ha (B1), two irrigation levels of full (W1) and deficit irrigation (W2, W2 = 1/2 W1) and two water salinity levels of freshwater (S0, 0.71 g/L) and brackish water (S1, 4 g/L). The soil properties, N2O emission fluxes, maize yield and grain N uptake, along with the abundances of N-cycle functional marker genes were measured during the two growing seasons. Soil water-filled pore space (WFPS), soil NH4+-N and NO3--N contents accounted for the majority of the variation in the dynamic changes of N2O fluxes. Deficit irrigation had lower N2O emissions compared with full irrigation, which was more pronounced in the second year. Relative to freshwater irrigation, brackish water irrigation increased N2O emissions under W1, but freshwater and brackish water irrigation had similar N2O emissions under W2 in both years. Biochar addition effectively mitigated N2O emissions by 29.4–31.0% and 17.9–29.2% under different irrigation treatments in 2020 and 2021, respectively. The continuous drought induced by deficit irrigation weakened the effectiveness of biochar in reducing N2O emissions. The differences in N-cycle functional marker genes could not reflect the variation in cumulative N2O emissions among treatments. Under all irrigation treatments excluding W2S1, biochar addition improved the total maize yield and grain N uptake over the two-year period by 4.06–10.74% and 5.57–8.63%, respectively. Brackish water and deficit irrigation increased grain and grain N yield-scaled N2O emissions, whereas biochar addition reduced both of them. Overall, these findings suggest that biochar addition can effectively reduce N2O emissions and increase yield and grain N uptake under brackish water and deficit drip irrigation with mulching in a maize field system, and thus adding biochar can help with achieving the sustainability of agricultural production in areas with limited freshwater resources.

Effects of nitrogen-contaminated irrigation methods on the growth and development of rice and nitrogen movement through cultivation layers in the Red River Delta, Vietnam

The experiment was conducted in the field to evaluate the effect of nitrogen-contaminated irrigation methods on the growth, development, and yield of rice (Oryza sativa L.) and the movement of nitrogen through the cultivation layers. The experiment was arranged in a Randomized Complete Block Design with three replicates. It was conducted in the summer season of 2022 at the rice experiment area of the Faculty of Environment, Vietnam National University of Agriculture, with three treatments, namely: T1 (control; continuous flooding (CF) with clean water), T2 (alternate wetting and drying (AWD) with nitrogen-contaminated water), T3 (CF with nitrogen-contaminated water). Experimental results indicated that different irrigation methods with nitrogen-contaminated water affect the growth, development, and yield of rice and the movement of nitrogen in the cultivated soil layers (at 35 cm depth, 70 cm – depth, 120 cm – depth). T2 treatment was the best irrigation method for reducing the amount of water for irrigation of rice and limiting the amount of excess nitrogen on the arable soil layers, which affects the quality of shallow groundwater. The movement of nitrogen nitrates through shallow groundwater was less than that of ammonium nitrogen form, and there was no difference in nitrogencontaminated irrigation using water-saving (T2) and flooded irrigation (T3) methods and within the safe threshold (QCVN 09-MT:2015/BTNMT).

Опыт водосбережения при поливах овощных культур открытого грунта

Abstract. Purpose: on the basis of study and analysis of scientific sources to summa-rize the experience of water saving and to determine the features of modern irrigation regimes for vegetable crops in open ground. Discussion. Tomatoes and cucumbers are popular vege-table crops. The main areas of their cultivation in the country are the Southern and North Caucasian Federal Districts, where it is impossible to obtain yields without irrigation. The re-quirements of vegetable crops for moisture increase significantly during the periods of flower-ing, fruit setting and formation. Its deficiency during these periods leads to a decrease in productivity and a shortage of output. At present, both intensive irrigation with full irrigation rates and differential irrigation are practiced where irrigation is carried out with reduced irri-gation rates and the inter-irrigation periods and the number of watering are changed. An anal-ysis of the results of studies on tomato and cucumber cultivation on irrigated lands made it possible to determine that as a rule, under full irrigation, pre-irrigation soil moisture sill for these crops are maintained at least 80 % of the minimum moisture capacity. With differentiat-ed regimes, water saving is achieved by reducing the amount of irrigation water used. In this case, the differentiation criteria are the pre-irrigation soil moisture sill, the phases of crop growth and development, the depth of the calculated soil layer, the magnitude of irrigation rates, and the total evapotranspiration. The disadvantage of differentiated irrigation regimes is the lack of production, which can reach 14 % compared to the intensive irrigation regimes. Conclusions. An analysis of the water-saving experience during irrigating vegetable crops in open ground confirmed the effectiveness of differentiated irrigation regimes. Under such re-gimes, the yield decrease is not so significant, however, the most efficient use of irrigation water and higher product quality are noted. The combination of the optimal soil water regime and fertilization system contributes to the increase in the efficiency of production process of vegetable crops.

Diferentes níveis de irrigação e fertilização no rendimento e qualidade do milho dentado

ABSTRACT Dent Corn (Zea mays indentata indentata), one of the most important plants produced for industrial purposes in many regions of Türkiye. The aim of this study was to determine the interactions of two important factors affecting the yield of dent corn. The study was conducted at the Bursa Uludağ University Yenişehir Ibrahim Orhan Vocational School Agricultural Research Field in 2019-2020. The altitude of the study area was 240 m. Measurements of the physical and quality properties of dent corn were carried out in the laboratories of Bursa Uludağ University. In the research, four different irrigation topics and three different fertigation topics were selected. Drip irrigation method was preferred in order to apply water amounts at different irrigation and fertigation levels. In our study, the highest and lowest irrigation water amounts in both trial years were found to be 780-195 mm and 800-200 mm, respectively, while the highest and lowest actual evapotranspiration (ETa) values were calculated as 830-290 mm and 855-432 mm, respectively. The maximum and minimum yield values of the study years were calculated as 14.6-15.2 t ha-1 and 4.0-5.1 t ha-1, respectively, from I100F100 and I25F50 treatments. However, when the reductions in yield and quality losses are evaluated together, despite the reductions in irrigation water and fertigation levels, I75 and F75 treatments can be recommended.

Diferentes níveis de irrigação e adubação e cobertura morta na produção e qualidade de morango

ABSTRACT The strawberry (Fragaria spp.), one of the most important berry fruit, is cultivated in many regions of Turkey. Considering its agricultural importance, the objective of this study was to determine the interactions of three important factors affecting the yield of strawberries. Measurements of the physical and quality properties of strawberry were carried out in the laboratories of Bursa Uludağ University. In the research, four different irrigation topics, three different fertigation and three different mulching topics (without mulch (M0), with PE black mulch material (M1), with PE transparent mulch matterial (M2) were selected. Drip irrigation method was preferred in order to apply water amounts at different irrigation and fertigation levels. In our study, the highest and lowest irrigation water amounts in both trial years were found to be 380-95 mm and 420-105 mm, respectively, while the highest and lowest actual evapotranspiration values were calculated as 440-220 mm and 465-280 mm, respectively. The maximum and minimum yield values of the study years were calculated as 5.05-18.70 t ha-1 and 1.20-8.7 t ha-1, respectively, from I100F100M1 and I25F50M0 treatments. However, when the reductions in yield and quality losses are evaluated together, despite the reductions in irrigation water and fertigation levels, I75 and F75 topics can be recommended. Also, in mulching treatments, black mulch material (M1) should be chosen over clear mulch material (M1) and no mulch (M0).

Model predictive control for precision irrigation of a Quinoa crop

Abstract Traditional High Andean agriculture is rainfed, and irrigation is commonly carried out in an open loop, that is, without measuring variables such as soil moisture content or plant development to define water consumption. This article presents model predictive control applied to irrigation systems under real conditions, whose purpose is the efficient use of water in rainfed crops with improved yield and crop productivity at minimum water consumption. The article presents a control strategy applying a model of predictive control that calculates the optimal amount of water for daily irrigation under real conditions. The most important attraction of the model is the prediction and future behavior of the controlled variables as a function of the changes in the manipulated variables. The objective is to improve the yield of the crop at minimum water consumption, for this, it will be necessary to use models that link with the Aquacrop software and allow it to be a source of data, and for the prediction of future values. The predictive controller is evaluated in the Quinoa crop (Chenopodium Quinoa Willdenow), and the performance is compared against existing traditional irrigation data in the literature. The results indicate that the predictive controller can achieve higher crop efficiency and reduce irrigation water supplies considerably.

Bio-Saline Agriculture Modeling, Using Saline Water for Irrigation Purposes

Climate change effects increase the scarcity of irrigation water and deterioration of its quality, which affects the crop water requirements. Researchers were studying the water recycling technique and finding about other possible renewable water resources for irrigation, they conclude that saline water can be used to meet part of the irrigation water needs for many crops under special field management, because there are many crops have a high tolerance to the salinity without decreasing in the yield. The current study aims to evaluate the economic yield of saline drainage water in irrigation. A computer program (Fıuat Ujaj) using Visual Basic language was constructed to use the largest possible amount of drainage water for irrigation after removing the toxic effects and then calculates the relative yield of the selected crops. The Main Outflow Drain (MOD) in Iraq was selected as a saline water resource which has 4.63 dS m-1 Electrical Conductivity (EC). This saline water contained high concentrations of chlorine and sodium ions. MFUP results showed that toxic effect of these ions can be removed by diluting with 35% of the nearby river water. MFUP results showed that the crops with high and medium tolerance to salinity give an acceptable yield ratio when they were irrigated with diluted water (35%) to remove toxicity effects only, while the dilution increases for crops of medium sensitivity, but the acceptable yield of sensitive crops is not achieved except with fresh river water. If the crop production is lower than the economically acceptable limit, another 5% of the river water will be added to mitigate, and the dilution process continues until the percentage of the river water become 80% of the irrigation water. If the required product is not achieved, then the program instructs to irrigate this crop with the river water only.

Water Productivity In Drip Irrigation System For Hydroponic Caisim Plant (Brassica chinensis var. Parachinensis) With Various Polybag Sizes And Different Planting Media

his research was conducted in a plastic house at the Lampung State Polytechnic from June to October 2022. The study was a factorial experiment consisting of two factors with a randomized block design. The first factor is the type of planting media with 4 kinds, such as cocopeat, husk charcoal, sand, and soil. The second factor is the polybag size, such as small, medium, and large sizes. Each factor or treatment was repeated 3 times. The tools and materials used are drip irrigation, digital scales, polybags, pearl NPK fertilizer and caisim seeds. The objectives of the study were (1) to measure the growth and production of caisim plants on various planting media and polybag sizes, (2) to measure the amount of irrigation water used, and (3) to calculate the water productivity of caisim plants. The observed variables included crop production, amount of water use, and water productivity. Data analysis using ANOVA at the 5% significant difference test level. The results showed that there was no interaction between the type of planting media and the size of polybags, but the response in the treatment between types of planting media and between polybag sizes was significantly different. The type of media significantly affected the number of leaves, plant height, production, and water productivity of hydroponic caisim plants using a drip irrigation system. Polybag size did not significantly affect the number of leaves, plant height, production, and water productivity of hydroponic caisim plants using a drip irrigation system. In hydroponic caisim cultivation using drip irrigation, cocopeat growing media gave an average number of 9.8 leaves, plant height 34.4 cm, production 97.1 g, and water productivity 6.18 kg/m3 and was not significantly different from soil medium.

A large share of Berlin’s vegetable consumption can be produced within the city

Agriculture is a major sector responsible for greenhouse gas emissions. Local food production can contribute to reducing transport-related emissions. Since most of the worldwide population lives in cities, locally producing food implies practicing agriculture in urban and peri-urban areas. Exemplary, we analyze the potential to produce fresh vegetables within Berlin, Germany. We investigate the spatial extent of five different urban spaces for soil-based agriculture or gardening, i.e., non-built residential areas, allotment gardens, rooftops, supermarket parking lots, and cemeteries. We also quantify inputs required for such food production in terms of water, human resources, and investment. Our findings highlight that up to 82% of Berlin’s vegetable demand could be produced within the city, based on a reasonable validation of existing areas. Meeting this potential requires 42 km2 of urban spaces for cultivation, a considerable amount of irrigation water, around 17 thousand gardeners, and over 750 million EUR of initial investments. The final vegetable cost would be around 2 EUR to 10 EUR per kg without any profit margin. We conclude that it is realistic to produce a significant amount of Berlin’s vegetable demand within the city, even if it comes with great challenges.

Understanding Drainage Dynamics and Irrigation Management in a Semi-Arid Mediterranean Basin

Irrigation is one of the main users of water worldwide and its overuse may affect the natural regimes of water systems. To avoid this, drainage and irrigation management needs to be improved. This study aims to determine the amount of water lost to drainage in a semi-arid Mediterranean irrigated area. Water use, rainfall and drainage were monitored for 12 months (2019–2020) in a 425 ha sub-basin in the Algerri-Balaguer irrigation district (8000 ha, NE Spain). In addition, irrigation requirements were estimated using the single-crop FAO-56 method and a two-source energy balance model (TSEB) was used to estimate actual evapotranspiration in the sub-basin. Water lost to drainage in the sub-basin was estimated as 18% of the total water that entered the perimeter as irrigation and rainfall, which are almost five time higher than theoretical requirements of leaching. Out of the total drainage water, 57% was estimated to be irrigation water and 43% rainwater. The average amount of irrigation water used was 614 mm and irrigation efficiency in the sub-basin was estimated at 80.2% and averaged actual evapotranspiration at 1144 mm. The available margin of improvement is between 19.3% of the present irrigation drainage ratio and the 3.8% estimated with the leaching requirement model.