Efficient Irrigation Technology Research Articles

Water Utilization Status and Suggestions for the Development of Green and Efficient Irrigation and Drainage Technology in the Main Rice-Producing Areas of Southwest China

Water Utilization Status and Suggestions for the Development of Green and Efficient Irrigation and Drainage Technology in the Main Rice-Producing Areas of Southwest China

Preliminary results of irrigation management for mango using LSTM neural networks and IoT

Mango cultivation in Colombia faces the impact of regional climate variability. To improve fruit development and minimize environmental and economic effects, it is necessary to implement efficient irrigation and appropriate water management technologies. In this study, we developed a trend forecasting system based on an LSTM neural network and technologies such as ThingsBoard, LoRA, and MQTT. The aim was to improve mango irrigation practices through informed decisions based on monitoring and predicting matric potential and evapotranspiration variables. This article describes the development and application of the system for mango irrigation management. Results validate the effectiveness of the proposed system for mango cultivation, with RMSE indices of 1.56 and 0.0019 and determination coefficients (R2) of 0.9989 and 0.9971 for matric potential and evapotranspiration, respectively. These findings support enhancing growth conditions and promoting sustainable practices. Despite data availability limitations, the system's efficacy in prediction and irrigation management demonstrates significant potential to maximize productivity and reduce the environmental and economic impacts of inadequate water management.

Performance of a Drip Irrigation System under the Co-Application of Water, Fertilizer, and Air

The co-application of water, fertilizer, and air is a new water-saving irrigation method based on drip irrigation technology, which can effectively alleviate the phenomenon of soil rhizosphere hypoxia, improve water and fertilizer utilization efficiency, and inhibit the clogging of irrigation equipment in drip irrigation systems. The performance of drip irrigation systems is one of the important factors affecting the effectiveness of the co-application of water, fertilizer, and air. However, the impact of factors such as the aeration method, fertilization device, and working parameters on the performance of drip irrigation systems for the co-application of water, fertilizer, and air is still unclear. Therefore, based on two typical aeration methods, i.e., micro-nano and Venturi aeration, the performance of a drip irrigation system under the co-application of water, fertilizer, and air was studied by comparing and analyzing the effects of different aeration methods, working pressures of the drip irrigation system, and the pressure difference between the inlet and outlet of fertilizer irrigation on the spatial distribution uniformity of water, fertilizer, and air in the drip irrigation pipeline network. The results showed that the pressure difference between the inlet and outlet of fertilization irrigation had no significant impact on system performance, while the working pressure significantly affected system performance. Compared with the effective effect of Venturi aeration on system performance, micro-nano aeration can significantly affect drip irrigation system performance and effectively improve drip irrigation system performance. The micro-nano-aerated drip irrigation system with the co-application of water, fertilizer, and air under a working pressure of 0.1 MPa has better system performance. The research results are of great significance for revealing the mechanism underlying the impact of the co-application of water, fertilizer, and air on the performance of drip irrigation systems and constructing efficient drip irrigation technology for the co-application of water, fertilizer, and air.

A meta-analysis of labyrinth channel emitter clogging characteristics under Yellow River water drip tape irrigation

Emitter clogging restricts the promotion and application of drip irrigation technology for Yellow River water. The influence degree of water quality, flow path structure, and operation time on emitter clogging varies. Thus, we conducted a meta-analysis to examine the impact of sediment concentration, sediment particle size, flow path structure [including length (L), width (W), depth (D), minimum cross-sectional size (min (W, D)), and cross-sectional area (A) of flow path], rated flow rate (Q), and operation time on emitter clogging in drip irrigation using Yellow River water to identify viable strategies for alleviating emitter clogging in Yellow River water drip irrigation. The results showed that using drip irrigation with Yellow River water is feasible, and it is important to vigorously develop efficient agricultural irrigation technologies such as drip irrigation in the Yellow River basin. Sediment concentration is the main factor affecting emitter clogging in the Yellow River water drip irrigation. For sediment concentrations below 0.5 g/L, effective operation could be maintained for up to 450 h. The sediment concentration of Yellow River water drip irrigation should not exceed 1.3 g/L to prevent severe clogging. In addition, irrigation methods should involve short single irrigation times and high frequencies, with increased lateral flushing measures. The traditional assumption that a larger W, D, min (W, D), A, or Q leads to superior anti-clogging performance did not hold universally. Across different sediment concentration and operation time combinations, the emitter’s anti-clogging ability first increased and then decreased with increasing min (W, D), and anti-clogging ability gradually decreased with increasing L. The high anti-clogging min (W, D) is 0.64 mm, and L should be 30–50 mm to reduce the clogging risk while playing a role in energy dissipation. These research findings offer valuable insights for selecting emitters and developing anti-clogging strategies specific to Yellow River water drip irrigation, serving as a solid theoretical basis for enhancing the efficiency and reliability of high sediment-laden water drip irrigation systems worldwide.

Irrigation Technology Interventions as Potential Options to Improve Water Security in India and Africa: A Comparative Review

Water is an essential resource for the realization of the United Nations’ 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. The increasing global food insecurity, hunger, human population, and uneconomical extraction and use of non-renewable resources require, among other things, a substantial intensification of agricultural production. In this context, there has been a need to adopt irrigation technologies, especially in developing countries where agriculture and its allied sectors employ more than 50% of the total population but account for up to 90% of the total freshwater consumptive use. India and Africa are at the crux of this conundrum, where there is an urgent need to build resilience with the already excessively allotted water resources. Innovative and water-efficient irrigation technologies could be one of the windows of opportunity to overcome water scarcity and enhance food security in these regions. This review sought to comparatively explore how irrigation technological interventions could help overcome water security challenges in India and Africa. Literature retrieved from multidisciplinary electronic databases indicated that, as part of the global south, both India and Africa have untapped irrigation potential due to the adoption of individual-centric irrigation. The irrigation approaches that possess the capacity to increase water and food security as well as reduce poverty levels in India and Africa are broadly grouped into micro-irrigation technologies, renewable energy-powered irrigation technologies, flood recession agriculture, and underground transfer of surface flood water for irrigation. Unlike in India, where overexploitation or extraction is the primary driver of water scarcity (physical scarcity), water insecurity in Africa results from poor management (economic scarcity). The adoption of the foregoing interventions is challenged by existing cultural and land tenure issues, limited access to efficient irrigation technologies and credit services, as well as an overreliance on national governments for support. Despite these challenges, opportunities exist for smallholder irrigation expansion. This study indicates that both Indian and African governments ought to offer stimulus packages that encourage holistic farmer-centric irrigation technologies to improve food and water security.

Interprovincial agricultural water footprint in China: Spatial pattern, driving forces and implications for water resource management

The increasing domestic grain trade is prompting the regional transmission of agricultural virtual water in China. Understanding the factors driving this flow is important for mitigating the agricultural water footprint (AWF). Nevertheless, comprehending the water flow within China's agricultural industry and spatial relationship between driving factors and the flow has been lacking. This study employs the multiregional input-output (MRIO) method and geographical detector to examine China's interprovincial AWF and the influencing factors in 2012, 2015 and 2017. The results indicate a decrease in China's AWF from 390.27 billion m3 in 2012 to 376.62 billion m3 in 2017, with an increasing proportion involved in provincial transfer. The spatial pattern of AWF is generally high in the north of China, with Xinjiang and Heilongjiang as the largest AWF provinces over the three years. The average intensity of AWF (AWFI) decreased from 107.44 m3/thousand yuan in 2012 to and 81.25 m3/thousand yuan in 2017, which indicating an improve of agricultural efficiency in terms of water use per agricultural output. Over 42 % of China's AWF is transferred between regions, highlighting the significance of remote interactions in terms of agricultural virtual water. However, the agricultural water flow pattern lacks rationality, primarily moving from water-deficient areas to water-rich areas. Factors representing regional agricultural development determine the distribution of AWF and the outflow, while the social and economic factors significantly influence AWFI and the virtual water inflow. Based on the results, suggestions for reducing AWF and optimizing water flow were proposed from both producers' and consumers' perspectives. Producers are advised to decreased chemical fertilizers usage, promote efficient irrigation technologies, and optimize planting structures, while consumers should adjust dietary patterns to reduce water-intensive consumption, raise awareness about the water-saving consumption, and establish ecological compensation standards based on AWF.

Meta-Analysis of the Effect of Subsurface Irrigation on Crop Yield and Water Productivity

Problems such as population growth and climate change have led to a reduction in the use of water for irrigated agriculture, constraining the growth of crops. Subsurface irrigation, as a widely used and efficient water-saving irrigation technology, varies in its effect on increasing yields and saving water under different environmental, management, and other conditions. To investigate the effects of subsurface irrigation on yield, water productivity (WP), and irrigation water productivity (IWP) of three typical crops (wheat, maize, and cotton), this paper conducted a meta-analysis of 528 pairs of studies from 64 papers worldwide to quantify the response of crop yield, WP, and IWP to subsurface irrigation. Overall, the yield, WP and IWP increased by 5.96%, 21.62%, and 27.72%, respectively, with subsurface irrigation compared with surface irrigation. Compared with other conditions, the greatest rate of change was observed at around 200–500 m above sea level, 10–15 °C average annual temperature, 1.45–1.55 g/cm3 soil bulk density, alkaline soil, and when the crops were planted with equal row spacing. Meanwhile, the amount of irrigation water, as well as the subsurface pipeline arrangement and burial depth, had significant effects on crop yield, WP, and IWP. The maximum increase in crop yield, WP, and IWP was favored when the irrigation volume of the subsurface irrigation was reduced by 50–100% compared with surface irrigation or when both had the same volume of irrigation but a mild water deficit. In addition, the yield, WP, and IWP were also affected by fertilization factors. The recommended fertilizer application rates were ≤90 kg P ha–1 (phosphorus) and <150 kg N ha–1 (nitrogen). Compared with surface irrigation, subsurface irrigation showed the greatest yield increase when fertilizer was applied in a one-time application, and the WP and IWP increased significantly when the number of fertilizer applications was <3.

Application Analysis of Efficient Water-saving Irrigation Technology in High Standard Farmland Construction

In recent years, with the increasing emphasis on agricultural development in China, China has gradually strengthened the construction of high standard farmland. This work is of great significance in promoting high-quality and stable development of agricultural production and improving the resilience of farmland to disasters. By applying modern equipment and technology, water-saving irrigation technology can effectively avoid the problem of water resource waste in farmland irrigation, ensure effective improvement of water resource utilization rate, and thus improve the construction effect of high standard farmland. This article briefly analyzes the application of efficient water-saving irrigation technology in the construction of high standard farmland, hoping to provide some reference for improving the level of high standard farmland construction in China.

Farm-level Hydroeconomic Analysis of Alternative Water Tariff Charges Using a Hybrid Solution Method

This paper's main objective is to develop a farm-level water programming model to realistically model extensive margin and intensive margin responses resulting from deficit irrigation to the implementation of volumetric water charges. The highly complex programming model that uses the FAO56 water budget calculations to simulate crop water use while using relative evapotranspiration to estimate crop yield is solved using a hybrid procedure. The hybrid solution procedure uses a genetic algorithm to simplify the optimization model by fixing the irrigation schedule of each crop and then solving for the optimal water allocation amongst crops subject to water constraints. The area-based charges results showed that when irrigation application efficiency is low, irrigators could apply more water per hectare to sustain high crop yields without being held accountable if water quotas are exceeded. In contrast, irrigators with higher application efficiency could use less water than the area-based estimated water use. The results also showed that volumetric water charges cause both intensive margin and extensive margin responses. The conclusion of whether a volumetric-based water charging system will be better than area-based water charges is not straightforward because of differentiated impacts on profitability and hydrology. While irrigators will use irrigation water more efficiently and adopt more efficient irrigation technologies, their changed behavior could impact the hydrology of the water system through reduced return flows.

Application Analysis of Efficient Water-saving Irrigation Technology in High Standard Farmland Construction

Application Analysis of Efficient Water-saving Irrigation Technology in High Standard Farmland Construction

Social comparisons and groundwater use: Evidence from Colorado and Kansas

AbstractIn the United States, agriculture is responsible for the majority of consumptive water use. To reduce consumptive use in water scarce regions, policymakers have implemented a number of costly interventions. These interventions range from land retirement to subsidies that encourage the adoption of efficient irrigation technologies. In nonagricultural contexts, costly policy interventions have been complemented by low‐cost interventions inspired by behavioral economics. Whether these behavioral interventions are effective in the context of commercial farming is not well understood. In a preregistered, randomized field intervention, we estimate the impact of social (peer) comparisons on agricultural groundwater users in Colorado and Kansas. More than three thousand irrigators were randomized to receive either an annual peer comparison or no comparison. The peer comparison contrasted each irrigator's groundwater use to the distribution of use by neighboring irrigators. The comparison intervention reduced average annual groundwater use by 4.05% [95% CI (−5.87%, − 2.21%)], resulting in an aggregate reduction of more than 21,000 acre‐feet per year at a cost less than $1.31 per acre‐foot conserved. The estimated treatment effect was larger among irrigators with lower pre‐intervention water use. In the 3‐year experiment, we observed no evidence that the treatment effect substantially attenuated over time. We did, however, detect within‐irrigator spillovers in the treatment group: groundwater use also declined among wells that were not included in the peer comparisons (peer comparisons included a maximum of three wells). The results imply that social comparisons can be a cost‐effective tool, alongside other policy interventions, aimed at reducing agricultural water use.

Efficient irrigation and water conservation: Evidence from South India

Widespread adoption of efficient irrigation technologies, including drip irrigation, has been proposed to limit groundwater over-exploitation, especially in water-stressed South Asia. This paper evaluates the potential productivity and water-saving benefits of smallholder drip irrigation by conducting a randomized control trial in Andhra Pradesh, India. A group of well-owners was offered a subsidy to adopt drip irrigation, while a comparable group acted as controls. After three years, the drip group shifted more into horticultural crops, enjoyed higher farm profit, and transferred (primarily through cash sales) more of its groundwater to adjacent plots. There is no difference in groundwater pumping, which is constrained by electricity rationing in this setting. The evidence thus suggests that drip adoption in South India, while increasing irrigation efficiency, will not save groundwater.

Uncertainty measurement and research of Finite element analysis of Water Jet data based on Internet of Things

Nowadays, the concept of energy saving and water saving is deeply rooted in people’s minds, so it is necessary to promote efficient water-saving irrigation technology. Sprinkler irrigation is an efficient water-saving method, which is relatively uniform and does not affect the structure of the soil. It saves time and labor to irrigate fields, and has been used in more and more areas in China. The Internet of things technology is used to establish monitoring sites, collect and transmit water information, study and analyze crop fertilization and irrigation water volume, and achieve the purpose of saving water, fertilizer and labor. In test site traffic and sprinkler relationship between speed and pressure test, flow and in different pressure conditions were measured under different conditions of running speed, observe the fluid flows through the three links of pipe head loss and energy loss of the tee to the role of the internal pressure and axial force and other force, high stress concentration areas vulnerable to damage. The hydraulic characteristics in the process of water spraying are studied. The numerical simulation in this paper is completed by finite element software, and the hydraulic characteristics of the three-way pipe are analyzed by finite element to optimize the structure of the three-way pipe.

Understanding institutional changes in irrigation management: a comparative case study of two communities in the Venezuelan Andes

ABSTRACT This paper explores institutional changes in two water users’ associations (WUAs) in the Venezuelan Andes. The methodology is based on ethnographic work. The results show that both WUAs have modified the rule systems in irrigation management to respond to economic, institutional and environmental changes. They have implemented a better organization of water sharing, adopted more efficient irrigation technologies, restored infrastructure and preserved high-altitude wetlands. The comparative approach adopted allowed us to show not only the similar factors that promoted institutional change, such as social capital, but also the differences related to the characteristics of the resource.

Development of mini-lysimeter system for use in irrigation automation of container-grown crops

Development of more efficient and sustainable irrigation technology is critical to maintain horticultural production in a water scarce future. Sensor controlled irrigation is an emerging technology that has the potential to increase irrigation efficiency and reduce overwatering by using real-time data on container water status to control the timing and volume of irrigation events. This project presents a novel irrigation control system using lysimetry. We develop small scale lysimeters, referred to as mini-lysimeter, which provide a direct measure of actual evapotranspiration (ET) via a change in mass of containerized crops. As such, mini-lysimeter sensors have the potential to be an effective instrument for automatic irrigation scheduling. This paper presents the mini-lysimeter controlled irrigation system design in detail, including the mini-lysimeter sensors, data logger and control system configuration, and the hardware needed to integrate the control system into existing irrigation infrastructure. A proof of concept study is presented where mini-lysimeter (ML) controlled irrigation is compared to a traditional timer-based irrigation schedule. Results show that the ML controlled irrigation system can produce plants of equal size to traditional irrigation methods while using 26% less water on average. The outcome of this study indicates that the hardware presented here is reliable and robust enough to produce quality plants in a real nursery production setting, and this technology provides a novel approach to improving water efficiency in container nurseries.

Social Vulnerability to Irrigation Water Loss: Assessing the Effects of Water Policy Change on Farmers in Idaho, USA.

In the Eastern Snake Plain of Idaho, increasing rates of groundwater extraction for irrigation have corresponded with the adoption of more efficient irrigation technologies; higher use and lower incidental recharge have led to increasing groundwater scarcity. This paper assesses farmer vulnerability to a water resource policy that responds to that scarcity by reducing availability of groundwater for irrigation by 4-20%. Using results from a household survey of impacted farmers, we examine vulnerability in two stages, contributing to theorization of farmer vulnerability in a changing climate as well as producing important regional policy insights. The first stage, multimodel selection and inference, analyzes the primary predictors of two forms of vulnerability to groundwater scarcity among this population of farmers. The second stage, a segmentation analysis, highlights policy-relevant variation in adaptive capacity and in vulnerability predictors across the population. Individual-level results indicate that key indicators of vulnerability include several dimensions of adaptive capacity and sensitivity. At the population level, we find that reductions in sensitivity may play an important role in reducing farmer vulnerability. Accelerating global environmental change will require agriculture in arid and semi-arid regions to adapt to shifts in water availability. As water resources shift, institutional contexts and policy landscapes will shift in parallel, as seen with the reduction in groundwater availability in our case study. These institutional shifts may change the face of adaptation and farmer vulnerability in unexpected ways. Our results indicate that such institutional shifts could lean on efforts to enhance farmer adaptive capacity or reduce farmer sensitivity as mechanisms for reducing farmer vulnerability to adaptation policy changes.

A Dynamic Socio‐Hydrological Model of the Irrigation Efficiency Paradox

AbstractImproving irrigation efficiency (IE) is conventionally perceived as a water‐conserving practice in the agriculture sector. The common understanding is that increased on‐farm IE leads to an increase in water availability at the basin. However, in the recent past, many instances have been reported where increasing on‐farm IE failed to increase water availability at the basin scale. This phenomenon is commonly known as the ‘Irrigation Efficiency Paradox (IEP)’. In this paper, we present a dynamic systems model of the IEP. Our model combines a simple mass‐balance description of the water flows with the rent‐seeking behavior of consumers. Through the socio‐hydrological model, we arrive at a parametric characterization of the IEP, which is given by three attributes: the maximum short‐term benefit enjoyed after improvement in IE, the time duration after which the paradox occurs, and the escalation of the paradox once it occurs. We find that the paradox in basins with lower evaporation and higher recharge is more pronounced, the policy implications of which are in contrast to the common narrative that seeks to reduce evaporation and increase recharge. We also use our findings along with global data sets to identify regions that are most susceptible to the IEP. We argue that much caution must be practiced while introducing efficient irrigation technologies in the identified regions so as to avoid paradoxical effects to as much extent as possible. We also discuss the seemingly counter‐intuitive role of evaporation and recharge properties of the basin and how it ties in with contemporary policy narratives.

Potential economic impacts of groundwater conservation in the Mississippi River Alluvial Aquifer (MRAA), Louisiana, USA

AbstractOverextraction of groundwater reduces groundwater height, increases the energy cost, and may threaten an aquifer's economic life. Water‐intensive crops, corn, and soybean, dominate the agricultural land in the Mississippi River Alluvial Aquifer (MRAA) region of the United States, thus stressing this confined aquifer. Groundwater conservation policy or the adoption of efficient irrigation technology could save both water and energy. This study aims to estimate the future returns from the irrigated land under the scenarios of 30%, 20%, 10%, 5%, and no groundwater conservation from 2020 to 2022. An accurate model to predict the crop choice decision is important to estimate the impact of groundwater policies. We develop a crop choice model where an individual farmer has a crop planting or land fallowing choice each year. We use the random forest, boosted regression trees, and support vector machine for the crop choice prediction. Boosted regression trees perform the best in our classification problem with 75.5% out of sample accuracy. The prediction model shows that the numbers of corn growers increase in the future. Our results show that the profit of 2572 farmers increased cumulatively by 0.14% when they conserve groundwater by 30% for 3 years. From a policy perspective, providing financial and technical assistant to farmers for making investments to conserve groundwater could save energy costs and sustain the economic life of the MRAA.Recommendations for Resource Managers Land allocations to water‐intensive crops such as corn and soybeans will expand in Louisiana. More efficient irrigation technology may reduce the groundwater extraction volume. Groundwater extraction volume using a choice prediction model gives a more accurate account of water use compared to the status quo crop choice decision scenario. Since efficient irrigation measures do not reduce crop yield, profit from the irrigated land is higher as it reduces the extraction cost. Government cost‐share to adopt efficient irrigation measures may help conserve groundwater resources.

Sustainable irrigation through local collaborative governance: Evidence for a structural fix in Kansas

Sustainable water management is increasingly essential on local to global scales, especially in regions where water scarcity is causing immediate environmental, social, and economic harm. While academics and politicians agree on the need to reduce pressure on critical water resources, the path toward that goal is not clear. Here, we present an interdisciplinary evaluation of two distinct policy approaches toward water conservation to determine whether they reduced the depletion rate of the High Plains Aquifer in the Central United States. Several studies have demonstrated, and our findings support, that subsidizing the purchase of more efficient irrigation technology failed to reduce water consumption. However, a structural approach in which state-facilitated, but locally-derived, limits were placed on water consumption did successfully reduce groundwater extraction with the support of local agricultural producers. We analyze these results using a political, sociological, and economic theoretical framework and conclude that to build upon the success of this collaborative governance model, states should seek to replicate localized groups rather than expanding management boundaries to incorporate larger geographic areas.

Application of Efficient Water-saving Irrigation Technology in Farmland Water Conservancy Project

Application of Efficient Water-saving Irrigation Technology in Farmland Water Conservancy Project