Improving Irrigation Efficiency Research Articles

A methodological framework for modeling sustainability visions: A case study of groundwater management in Faizpur distributary, Pakistan

Over the last two decades, participatory modeling has been advocated as an effective method towards integrated, adaptive, and collaborative water resources management. However, in developing countries, such as Pakistan, its adaptation is limited due to high cost, time, and technical skills of stakeholders. The proposed research aims to develop a stepwise participatory modeling framework with special focus to the problem of groundwater depletion in the Faizpur distributary of Bari Doab basin, Pakistan. Currently, due to absence of a well define groundwater management policy together with low social awareness level, groundwater sustainability is at risk in term of its quality and quantity. For participatory modeling individual causal loop diagrams were developed with potential stakeholders, followed by a merged causal loop diagram to represent a holistic view of the complete system. The final merged diagram helps in understanding different system processes and allows for a more comprehensive qualitative assessment of stakeholder proposed policies. Among other proposed policies (e.g., revise cropping pattern, gray water reuse, and construction of dams) water pricing is found to be the most effective policy. This policy proved to be helpful in improving irrigation efficiency and hence helps in reducing groundwater extraction. The policy may face resistance from upstream farmers due to excessive and cheap availability of irrigation water in their area, but can help in water reallocation and shift traditional methods of farming to more advanced techniques. The results point to social-economic aspects of groundwater management that have not been considered by other modeling studies to date. Moreover, this approach can improve the role of local stakeholder in decision-making processes concerning socio-environmental regulation and climate change mitigation policies.

Can the Right Crop Mix Reduce the Water Rebound Effect Following Improvements in Irrigation Efficiency?

Water rebound has been recognized as a significant issue that reduces the effectiveness of irrigation efficiency improvement policies aimed at water conservation. However, there is an absence of quantitative analysis of the impact of crop mixes on the water rebound effect, and studies focusing on the heterogeneous effects of various climatic regions are scarce. Thus, this study aims to explore the effects of water rebound on irrigation efficiency improvements from the perspectives of crop mix and climatic region. First, we construct a double-layered moderating effect framework to incorporate the two interactive factors of crop mix and climatic region combined with two rebound mechanisms, cost reduction and increased revenue. Second, we conduct empirical analyses to test three hypotheses based on provincial-level data from 2003 to 2017 in China, which provides a unique empirical context wherein changes in the crop mix depend on factors other than the water-use policy. This paper takes advantage of the implementation of Rural Land Contracting Law since 2003 and Water Conservancy Key Counties Construction Program since 2009 to identify the effects of water rebound on irrigation efficiency improvements from the perspectives of crop mix and climatic region. We found that the water rebound effect was about 67.72%. Crop mixes involving higher proportions of non-grain crops were associated with higher levels of water conservation and less water rebound. Furthermore, non-grain crops in humid regions were more likely to experience water rebound than those in non-humid regions. Thus, given China's national strategy of food security, reducing the proportion of non-grain crops in humid regions will help to sustain agricultural water resources and conserve the environment.

Simple ETo-Based Rules for Irrigation Scheduling by Smallholder Vegetable Farmers in Laos and Cambodia

Hand-held hoses and watering cans are widely used by smallholder farmers to irrigate vegetables in Cambodia and Laos. Overwatering is common. Technology change (e.g., low-pressure drip irrigation) has been used to improve irrigation efficiency but can be unaffordable for many smallholder farmers. The purpose of this study was to identify an appropriate method of predicting crop water demand, develop and field-test improved irrigation schedules for smallholder leafy vegetable farming based on that method, and then develop extension tools to communicate the schedules to smallholder farmers. Improved irrigation schedules for leafy vegetables were developed based on a crop water use prediction technique that is well established (the Penman–Monteith method) but beyond the capacity of smallholder farmers to implement without access to simple aids. Compared to conventional practice, the method approximately halved water and labour use and improved irrigation water productivity 2–3 fold in field research and demonstration trials. Simplified extension tools to assist smallholder farmers with practice change were developed. This work showed that significant efficiencies could be gained through improved irrigation scheduling without changing application technology.

Development of a real-time wireless sensor network-based information system for efficient irrigation of upland and lowland crop production systems

This study developed a real-time web-and WSN-based information system for efficient irrigation water management and automation of drip-irrigated upland crop and intermittently-irrigated lowland crop production systems. The web-based system uses Flutter and DART to accommodate multiple end user platforms, while the WSN-based system uses state-of-the-art hardware and sensors for real-time monitoring of soil moisture, water level and weather conditions. The sensors are wirelessly connected in a low-power mesh network that sends data to a central server. The sensor readings are uploaded to the web application via MQTT, which generates charts and graphs for data analysis. The sensor readings compared well with measurements from conventional instruments. The system in this study provides a sustainable solution for improving irrigation efficiencies under both upland and lowland crop production systems, in minimizing water losses and in improving the overall agricultural crop productivity.

Temporal and spatial variation and driving factors of water consumption in the middle Heihe river basin before and after the implementation of the"97 water diversion scheme"

Irrational allocation of irrigation water resources aggravates water shortages, affecting the sustainable development of agriculture, especially in arid regions. The expansion of the cultivated area in the middle Heihe river basin (HRB) will not necessarily increase the water consumption, despite the increase in the water-saving irrigation area. In this study, the temporal and spatial distribution, and the driving factors related to water consumption, including evapotranspiration (ET), transpiration (T), evapotranspiration ratio (T/ET), and precipitation deficit (ET-P), were investigated in the middle HRB using linear trend, piecewise fitting, and multiple linear regression method. The results show that the "97 WDS" has prominent impacts on the temporal and spatial trends and the driving factors in ET and T in the middle HRB. Water consumption does not necessarily increase under the centralized water allocation with improved irrigation efficiency and increased cultivated area. The result provides new evidence for increasing T/ET to decrease water consumption in response to the expanding cultivated area, while helping decision-makers to reduce water consumption in the middle HRB, and evaluate “97 WDS”.

Influence of needle working length and root canal curvature on irrigation: a computational fluid dynamics analysis based on a real tooth

BackgroundsTo compare the irrigation efficiency with different needle working length and different root canal curvature based on a real unshaped root canal using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method.MethodsImages of the root canal of the maxillary first molar after being prepared to .04/15 were scanned using micro-CT, and then imported into the software for three-dimensional reconstruction. A palatal root canal with a curvature of 23.4° was selected as the experiment canal. The needle working length of the 30-G flat needle was 4.75 mm, 5 mm, 5.25 mm and 5.5 mm short of apical foramen respectively, the flow pattern, irrigation velocity, shear stress were compared. The modified curved canals with a curvature of 0°, 5°, 10°, 20° and 30°were reconstructed via software. The flat needle was replaced at the optical inserted depth, and key parameters of irrigation efficiency were analyzed.ResultsDecreased needle working length had a positive impact on irrigation efficiency. With the optimal needle working length, the replacement of the apical irrigation fluid, the effective velocity, and wall shear stress were significantly improved in more severely curved root canals. With the same needle working depth and analogous canal curvature, irrigation efficiency is higher in real canal than that of modified canal.ConclusionsShort needle working depth, large curvature and the anomalous inner wall of canals help to improve irrigation efficiency.

Sustainable water resources management under population growth and agricultural development in the Kheirabad river basin, Iran

In this study, an integrated system dynamics model was developed for scenario analysis in sub-sectors of the Kheirabad River Basin in southwestern Iran where managing water resources is seriously challenging due to population growth and periodic drought. Afterward, the variability of water demand and supply under baseline scenario and different water demand management policies, including water conservation and water pricing, was evaluated. Findings illustrated that with increasing population and cropland area if no further demand management policies were implemented, the total water demand and withdrawal of water resources increase by more than 0.75% annually. The annual surface water availability during 2018-2030 is expected to decrease by around -1.23%. Under these circumstances, the sustainability index of the water resources system is equal to 0.703, indicating that the water system would not be able to meet the total water demand in the near future. However, the water resource sustainability index increases significantly by improving irrigation efficiency and changing crop patterns at the basin. Also, the reduction in per capita water demand and domestic water pricing under the competition structure would help to improve the sustainability index to 0.963 and 0.749, respectively.

Drivers of the irrigation water rebound effect: A case study of Hetao irrigation district in Yellow River basin, China

Improving irrigation systems to enhance irrigation efficiency is often considered an effective means of reducing water extraction. However, irrigation efficiency improvements do not always result in reductions in overall water extraction because of the irrigation water rebound effect (WRE). To better promote water conservation, it is necessary to clarify the drivers of the WRE. This study clarifies the drivers of the WRE by developing a 2 × 2 production model through a comparative static analysis. Then, a method for decomposing the WRE is constructed to quantify the drivers of the WRE with the logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI) approach. Finally, a case study of the WRE in the Hetao irrigation district in Yellow River basin of China is performed. The WRE can be divided into four effects: the product income effect, product substitution effect, factor income effect and factor substitution effect. These four effects illustrate the following four reasons why water extraction increases in response to irrigation efficiency improvements: sown area expansion, planting structure adjustment to include more water-intensive crops, irrigation proportion expansion and increase in irrigation intensity. In the case study, although the irrigation efficiency of the Hetao irrigation district improved from 1949 to 2017, the water extraction and consumption maintained an upward trend, leading to the WRE. The case study of Hetao irrigation district indicated that all the four effects increased the WRE, and the product income effect (expansion of the sown area) and the factor income effect (expansion of the irrigation proportion) were the main drivers of unrealized water savings in the Hetao irrigation district from 1949 to 2017. This study provides a framework for understanding the WRE and clearly identifies the locations where greater amounts of water are extracted despite irrigation efficiency improvements.

Quantifying Evapotranspiration and Drainage Losses in a Semi-Arid Nectarine (Prunus persica var. nucipersica) Field with a Dynamic Crop Coefficient (Kc) Derived from Leaf Area Index Measurements

Quantifying evapotranspiration and drainage losses is essential for improving irrigation efficiency. The FAO-56 is the most popular method for computing crop evapotranspiration. There is, however, a need for locally derived crop coefficients (Kc) with a high temporal resolution to reduce errors in the water balance. The aim of this paper is to introduce a dynamic Kc approach, based on Leaf Area Index (LAI) observations, for improving water balance computations. Soil moisture and meteorological data were collected in a terraced nectarine (Prunus persica var. nucipersica) orchard in Cyprus, from 22 March 2019 to 18 November 2021. The Kc was derived as a function of the canopy cover fraction (c), from biweekly in situ LAI measurements. The use of a dynamic Kc resulted in Kc estimates with a bias of 17 mm and a mean absolute error of 0.8 mm. Evapotranspiration (ET) ranged from 41% of the rainfall (P) and irrigation (I) in the wet year (2019) to 57% of P + I in the dry year (2021). Drainage losses from irrigation (DR_I) were 44% of the total irrigation. The irrigation efficiency in the nectarine field could be improved by reducing irrigation amounts and increasing the irrigation frequency. Future studies should focus on improving the dynamic Kc approach by linking LAI field observations with remote sensing observations and by adding ground cover observations.

Macroplastic Fragment Contamination of Agricultural Soils Supports a Distinct Microbial Hotspot

Agricultural plastics support crop production and quality by reducing weeds, improving irrigation efficiency, and regulating soil conditions, but can also become a soil pollutant. While microplastic effects on soil function are increasingly well-understood, the impacts of agricultural macroplastic (>5 mm) contamination on soils are poorly documented. Prolonged exposure to plastic macrofragments may alter microbial decomposer community structure and function, since plastic can directly affect edaphic factors while leaching novel compounds. To better characterize how plastic contamination influences the soil habitat, we sampled three farms characterized by agricultural plastic pollution in Monterey County, CA, United States. Using a randomized block design, we collected surface soil samples from the fields (“bulk PC soil”) to compare with soil directly in contact with the remaining polyethylene (PE) mulch and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) dripline fragments (“plastic-associated soil”). Soil directly associated with plastic fragments was hypothesized to have reduced microbial biomass and decomposer activities relative to the bulk soil, due to a greater likelihood of toxicity. In contrast to our expectations, we found that both PE and PVC macrofragments support a distinct microbial habitat that hosts a larger, more efficient microbial biomass with greater labile nutrient pools than the surrounding bulk soil. Because of the scope of macroplastic pollution likely occurring in agricultural soils, our findings suggest that this novel plastisphere habitat may significantly alter ecological functions critical to agricultural soils over time by encouraging microbial colonization within plastic debris.

Understanding and promoting adoption of irrigation efficiency practices in Paso Robles, California vineyards: The importance of farm typology and grower sustainability networks

Groundwater depletion and water scarcity are significant global risks facing humanity. Improved irrigation efficiency is a key strategy for achieving sustainable management of groundwater resources. In 2021, we surveyed vineyard managers in the Paso Robles (California) American Viticultural Area, assessing the level of, and barriers to, adoption of six irrigation efficiency best management practices (BMPs). BMP adoption was relatively low overall, with the use of flow meters most widespread (55%) and plant tissue sampling to schedule irrigation least prevalent (32%). Financial expense to implement and manage was the most cited barrier and UC Cooperative Extension was the most trusted information source for water management concerns. There was a clear relationship between BMP adoption and the vineyard and vineyard manager characteristics included in the study. Participation in Sustainability in Practice (SIP) certification and its related grower-to-grower network activities emerged as the single most important determinant of BMP adoption. A vineyard typology of three types (small, medium and large-scale) was also constructed to understand the relationship between BMP adoption, vineyard type and other vineyard and vineyard manager characteristics. There were sharp differences between vineyard types in BMP adoption, barriers to adoption, and trusted information sources. The analysis concludes with targeted outreach recommendations to improve BMP adoption that include financial and technical assistance. Our approach of assessing adoption, characterizing barriers, identifying opportunities, and formulating an outreach strategy informed by farm typology is relevant to other irrigated agricultural regions facing water scarcity and groundwater depletion and could be extended to other irrigation BMPs as well as to other crops.

Are multiscale water–energy–land–food nexus studies effective in assessing agricultural sustainability?

Several studies have highlighted the need for multiscale water–energy–land–food (WELF) nexus studies to ensure sustainable food production without endangering water and energy security. However, a systematic attempt to evaluate the efficiency of such multiscale studies has not yet been made. In this study, we used a data-intensive crop water requirement model to study the multiscale WELF nexus in southern India. In particular, we estimated the groundwater and energy consumption for cultivating five major crops between 2017 and 2019 at three distinct spatial scales ranging from 160 000 km2 (state) to 11 000 km2 (district) to 87 km2 (block). A two-at-one-time approach was used to develop six WELF interactions for each crop, which was used to evaluate the performance of each region. A gross vulnerability index was developed at multiple scales that integrated the WELF interactions to identify vulnerable hotspots from a nexus perspective. Results from this nexus study identified the regions that accounted for the largest groundwater and energy consumption, which were also adjudged to be vulnerable hotspots. Our results indicate that while a finer analysis may be necessary for drought-resistant crops like groundnut, a coarser scale analysis may be sufficient to evaluate the agricultural efficiency of water-intensive crops like paddy and sugarcane. We identified that vulnerable hotspots at local scales were often dependent on the crop under consideration, i.e. a hotspot for one crop may not necessarily be a hotspot for another. Clearly, policymaking decisions for improving irrigation efficiency through interventions such as crop-shifting would benefit from such insights. It is evident that such approaches will play a critical role in ensuring food-water-energy security in the coming decades.

Assessing effects of climate change on irrigation water demand in the Lombok River Basin, Indonesia

Irrigation water demand in the command area is affected by rainfall and climate conditions in the river basin. In climate change conditions, rainfall and temperature are predicted to increase and projected to impact irrigation water requirements significantly. Therefore, understanding the climate change effects on irrigation demand in the command area is significant to the river basin manager and planner for managing water resources effectively. This study aims to predict the impact of climate change and irrigation efficiency improvement on the irrigation water requirement in 2032-2040. This study used the CropWat model to estimate irrigation water requirements in 1995-2005 and 2032-2040. Irrigation water demand in the Dodokan watershed as a part of the Lombok river basin was computed using the historical rainfall and climate data from observation stations. Further, the observed data from 2006 to 2014 were projected into climate change in 2032-2040 as an input for the model to predict the demand in corresponding years. Result suggests that the change of annual irrigation water demand in the Dodokan watershed was expected to rise by 1.61% in 2032-2040 compared with 1995-2005, and irrigation efficiency improvement effort would decrease the demand -18.18% in the climate change period.

Assessment of improving irrigation efficiency for tomatoes planted in greenhouses in Lam Dong Province, Vietnam

This study was conducted to investigate the developmental processes of tomato plants in greenhouses covered with polyethene agricultural film that applied a smart irrigation system. The study tested applying different irrigation water levels (IWLs) of 60, 80, 100, and 120% of crop evapotranspiration (ETc). Based on the findings for the tomato rows sampled to collect information about leaf area, biomass, and yield, maximal growth of tomatoes varied from 80 to 90 days after transplanting (DAT) for all IWLs. Among the applied IWLs, approximately 80% of ETc was recorded as the most appropriate for the crop growth rate (CGR), leaf area index (LAI), and yield, while the IWLs with 60%, 100%, and 120% of ETc also gave an equivalent output. The results of this work can provide useful information for farmers to make the right decisions about the amount of irrigation water to use.

Early almond harvest as a strategy for sustainable irrigation, pest and disease management

Almonds (Prunus dulcis (Mill.) D. A. Webb) are one of the most economically important agricultural commodities in California. As production in the state continues to increase, growers seek sustainable methods to manage agricultural water use and pests that are affordable and environmentally sustainable. The primary objectives of this research were to test the efficacy of hull split regulated deficit irrigation in combination with early harvest of almonds (Prunus dulcis (Mill.) D. A. Webb) for improved irrigation efficiency and control of navel orangeworm (NOW) (Amyelois transitella (Walker)) and hull rot (HR) (Rhizopus stolonifer (Ehrenb:Fr.) Vuill.; Monilinia fructicola (G. Wint.) Honey). Standard Harvest (SH) timing was compared to Early Harvest (EH) timing at approximately three to four weeks earlier in two California almond orchards using a randomized complete block design at each orchard. Stem water potential (SWP) measurements were used to monitor tree water status and manipulate irrigation to prepare trees for EH treatments. Trees were maintained at -1400 to -1800 kPa SWP for two to three weeks leading up to both EH and SH. There were significantly lower HR strikes in EH treatment trees than in SH treatment trees, and significant reductions in the percentage of kernels infested with NOW when EH was employed. There were no significant kernel yield, marketable yield, or shaker efficacy differences between the two treatments. Although 83.3 and 40.9 mm less water was applied to EH trees than SH trees at the Denair and Woodland sites respectively, the trees from both treatment regimes at both sites returned to the same water status after SH and recovered from the induced moderate water stress by the same date after harvest. With further development of complementary harvest and processing strategies, early harvest of almonds shows promise as a strategy for improved water use efficiency and pest and disease control in almond orchards.

Irrigation efficiency and renewable energy powered desalination as key components of Pakistan's water management strategy

Pakistan is reported to be one of the top ten, most water stressed, countries in the world. In this research, the potential to use renewable energy-based seawater desalination and improved irrigation systems to overcome the water stress in Pakistan is evaluated. It was observed that increasing the country's overall irrigation efficiency to 90% by 2050, results in a 54% and 80% reduction in total water and desalination demand, respective to a business as usual scenario. In a moderate scenario, where the maximum increase in irrigation efficiency is 1% per year, the 2050 total water and desalination demand are reduced by 21% and 40% respectively. The projected desalination demand growth, across the three scenarios, can be powered solely by renewables by 2050, at an average cost of water production of 0.6 €/m3. This includes the cost of water transportation in Pakistan and is reported to be an attractive water cost for farmers. Solar photovoltaics and battery storage drive the low cost electricity generation production in Pakistan. Thus, the results show how Pakistan can use improved irrigation efficiency systems and the low cost renewable electricity to achieve water security for the country.

Irrigation Supply and Demand, Land Use/Cover Change and Future Projections of Climate, in Indus Basin Irrigation System, Pakistan

Sustainable management of canal water through optimum water allocation is the need of the modern world due to the rapid rise in water demand and climatic variations. The present research was conducted at the Chaj Doab, Indus Basin Irrigation System (IBIS) of Pakistan, using the WEAP (Water Evaluation and Planning) model. Six different scenarios were developed, and the results showed that the current available surface water is not sufficient to meet crop water demands. The Lower Jhelum Canal (LJC) command area is more sensitive to water scarcity than the Upper Jhelum Canal (UJC). The future (up to 2070) climate change scenarios for RCP 4.5 and 8.5 showed a decrease in catchment reliability up to 26.80 and 26.28% for UJC as well as 27.56 and 27.31% for LJC catchment, respectively. We concluded that scenario 3 (irrigation efficiency improvement through implementation of a high efficiency irrigation system, canal lining, reduction and replacement of high delta crops with low delta crops) was sufficient to reduce the canal water deficit in order to optimize canal water allocation. Improvement in the irrigation system and cropping area should be optimized for efficient canal water management.

Decomposition Analysis of Global Water Supply-Demand Balances Focusing on Food Production and Consumption

Food production and consumption require large amounts of freshwater. There is no literature on the decomposition analysis of the intensities of water supply-demand balances (water balance intensities) for each country worldwide. The aim of this study is to evaluate the water balance intensities and elucidate the promoting factors and offset factors of water balance intensities for each country worldwide, focusing on food supply-demand balances and considering food trade balances on a global scale. The modified Laspeyres index method is applied to both a production-based water balance index (WBIPB) and a consumption-based water balance index (WBICB). The major promoting factor for the WBIPB is the renewable freshwater resources, whereas the major offset factor is the produced item preference. The major promoting factor for the WBICB is the consumed item preference, whereas the major offset factor is the producing area preference. Improving irrigation efficiencies of rice and cereals is effective because rice requires the largest blue water footprint intensities, considering irrigation efficiency on a calorie content basis in all of the items, whereas cereals are the largest share of calorie-based production quantities in all of the items worldwide. This study provides the foundation for decreasing water balance intensities regarding food production and consumption.

The Climate Challenge in Managing Water: Evidence Based on Projections in the Mahanadi River Basin, India

This study analyzes the long-term changes in the rainfall and surface hydrology of the upper and middle sub-basins of Mahanadi, an inter-state river basin in eastern India that experiences climate-induced hydrological extremes, and draws implications for the sustainability of irrigation and drinking water supplies. The likely impacts of rainfall changes on surface flow were also modeled. A Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP) model was set up (beginning June 2009 and ending May 2050) to analyze the future water balance of the basin for the expected changes in socio-economic conditions. The model was also run for future scenarios that considered different water management interventions, and hydrological consequences of climate variability and change. The model results showed that there would be a water deficit, about 2,182 million cubic meters (MCM) by 2050 (20% of the demand) even under the business-as-usual scenario. The gap is expected to widen to 5,005 MCM (25% of the demand) under a high growth scenario. Further, the water demand management interventions in agriculture would be able to reduce the overall demand for water in the basin to some extent, while it would also reduce the supplies slightly due to a reduction in return flows occurring as a result of irrigation efficiency improvement. The water deficit under this scenario will reduce to about 2,773 MCM in 2050. Under the predicted changes in climate, the water deficit is expected to reduce further (will be 1,684–2,373 MCM in 2050) due to an increase in supplies owing to an increase in the catchment yields resulting from higher rainfall. While there will be a significant amount of outflow from the two sub-basins in all the scenarios in most future years (ranging from 25,286 MCM to 28,697 MCM in 2050), during drought years, the water deficit in the upper basin areas will increase slightly, but with a significant reduction in the outflows to the lower sub-basin areas by 2046–47 (will be about 11,311 MCM). These results indicate that there is a need for building more water storage/diversion infrastructure to detain floodwaters during wet years that can provide buffer storage for the dry years.

Improvement of Irrigation Efficiency by Developing on Farm Irrigation System

The experiments were Carried out in Biahmu Village at Al-Fayoum Governorate, Egypt during the two winter seasons of 2018/2019 and 2019/2020, on wheat crop to (cv. Gemmiza 11) evaluate the traditional surface irrigation system TSIS and the improved surface irrigation system ISIS(terrace), under laser leveling with two slops (S1≈ zero% and S2 ≈ 3%). The evaluation parameters included; reduction in land loss LL, the roughness coefficient of marwa-walls, water efficiencies (i.e., water conveyance efficiencies WCE, water application efficiencies WAE and water storage efficiencies WSE), yield productivity Yp, total applied water and water required, irrigation water productivity IWP and times of water advance, recession and opportunity. The results concluded that improving traditional marwa, led to reduction in land loss by 49.46% from the area of marwa, and WCE increased by 83.17% in improved Marwa IM the compare to Traditional Marwa It was observed that on the efficiency of water added to the field irrigated by TM. The highest level of water productivity (1.79kg wheat/m3 water) was achieved in IM at a level of 3%. Advanced time T.Adv (min) decreased at 50, 50.77, 27.6, 20.75, and 17.17% and 30.9, 40.51, 22.8, 10.89 and7.05% for TL and IL by sloping to S2.