Increased Water Availability Research Articles

A decade-long spatial analysis of opportunistic rice cultivation in a water-stressed agricultural landscape.

Rice cultivation is a highly criticized sector of agriculture in Iran. Despite the intensifying drought conditions, Central Iranian farmers continue to prioritize rice cultivation due to its substantial economic benefits, affecting the structure and configuration of irrigated agricultural landscapes. In a river catchment, we mapped rice fields over a 10-year period (2014-2023) using Landsat-8 OLI images, with mapping accuracy metrics showing kappa coefficients above 81.75 and overall accuracy above 92.78. Spatial analysis of the layers revealed the following: (1) an inconsistent pattern of rice cultivation over the study period, with more than 51% of the total agricultural area experiencing rice cultivation only once; (2) a contiguous area of high suitability for opportunistic rice cultivation along the main river of the region based on frequency hotspot analysis; and (3) years with larger rice cultivation resulted in more fragmented rice landscapes due to the incentive to cultivate smaller, scattered plots in newly accessible areas. Our results demonstrate that increased water availability does not necessarily translate to improved landscape structure; as rice cultivation expands, the landscape becomes more fragmented.

Can spatial self-organization inhibit evolutionary adaptation?

Plants often respond to drier climates by slow evolutionary adaptations from fast-growing to stress-tolerant species. These evolutionary adaptations increase the plants' resilience to droughts but involve productivity losses that bear on agriculture and food security. Plants also respond by spatial self-organization, through fast vegetation patterning involving differential plant mortality and increased water availability to the surviving plants. The manners in which these two response forms intermingle and affect productivity and resilience have not been studied. Here we ask: can spatial patterning inhibit undesired evolutionary adaptation without compromising ecosystem resilience? To address this question, we integrate adaptive dynamics and vegetation pattern-formation theories and show that vegetation patterning can inhibit evolutionary adaptations to less productive, more stress-tolerant species over a wide precipitation range while increasing their resilience to water stress. This evolutionary homeostasis results from the high spatial plasticity of vegetation patterns, associated with patch thinning and patch dilution, which maintains steady local water availability despite decreasing precipitation. Spatial heterogeneity expedites the onset of vegetation patterning and induces evolutionary homeostasis at an earlier stage of evolutionary adaptation, thereby mitigating the productivity loss that occurs while the vegetation remains spatially uniform. We conclude by discussing our results in a broader context of evolutionary retardation.

Use of water bodies by the collared peccary Pecari tajacu (Artiodactyla: Tayassuidae) in the Maya Forest, Mexico

Water availability is a critical factor influencing the abundance and distribution of species, particularly in environments where it is scarce. This study aimed to assess the visit frequency index (VFI, a proxy for abundance) and activity patterns of the collared peccary (Pecari tajacu) at various natural and artificial water sources in the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, Campeche, Mexico. We employed camera trapping from January to December 2020, monitoring 30 water bodies: 10 artificial water troughs, 10 natural aguadas (depressions where rainwater accumulates), and 10 sartenejas (erosion-formed cavities in rocky soils that collect rainwater). Our results indicate that P. tajacu utilized sartenejas (VFI = 29.92 records/trap-days) and water troughs (VFI = 22.08 records/trap-days) more frequently than aguadas (VFI = 6.54 records/trap-days). The daily activity patterns of P. tajacu were predominantly diurnal at water troughs and aguadas, while activity at sartenejas was cathemeral. Despite being a species known for its reliance on water sources, the VFI recorded in this study was lower compared to previous studies. This decrease is likely linked to increased water availability in the region during the study period, which may have led to avoidance behavior by P. tajacu due to the presence of white-lipped peccaries (Tayassu pecari) and predators such as jaguars (Panthera onca) and pumas (Puma concolor), which were more abundant at the aguadas. Considering the rapid progression of climate change and the increasing occurrence of extreme drought and rainfall events in the region, it is crucial to deepen our understanding of the relationships between water availability and the population dynamics of wildlife species. This knowledge will be essential for developing strategies to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change on biodiversity.

Multi-Objective Crop and Livestock Allocation Modeling (MOCLAM) for Sustainable Agriculture: A Case Study of Semi-Arid India

Sustainable cropping patterns and a systems approach in farming are crucial for the conservation of natural resources and the long-term livelihood of farmers. Achieving agricultural sustainability goals relies on adopting a comprehensive system approach involving developing a comprehensive model for optimal crop and allied enterprise planning. In this study, a multi-objective crop and livestock allocation model (MOCLAM) was devised and evaluated with a case study of the semi-arid and drought-prone Bundelkhand region of Central India. The primary aims of the model were to enhance input efficiency, maximize income and self-sufficiency and minimize water usage and other environmental impacts. The uniqueness of the proposed model lies in three key aspects: First, the model adopts a systemic view of agriculture by simultaneous optimization of both crops and livestock, second, MOCLAM introduces a quasi-dynamic framework and third, the model comprehensively incorporates water considerations from both surface and groundwater sources. The findings of the case study demonstrated that optimal resource allocation can significantly increase farmers’ net economic margins, conserve water and effectively utilize vast monsoon-season (locally termed as kharif) fallow lands in the region. By adopting microirrigation techniques and improved sowing methods, water savings can be more than doubled without compromising economic margins. Compensating farmers for potential lower yields of sesame, a low-water-requiring and stray-cattle-resistant crop, would encourage the adoption of these water-saving practices. Increasing water availability by 24% through water harvesting can boost farmers’ returns by up to 62%. This study suggests that farmers may be reluctant to adopt agroforestry practices, such as integrating trees with field crops, unless they are incentivized for the social benefits these systems provide. It also requires the development of an adequate timber marketing mechanism that is crucial for wider adoption.

Scaling rainwater harvesting for irrigation in Kenya: potential sustainability risks and the need for adaptive governance

Abstract Rainwater harvesting for irrigation (RWHI) systems offer many benefits to smallholder farmers in Kenya, including the possibility of agricultural intensification and improved resilience to climate change in more arid areas. However, the scaling of RWHI systems could inadvertently pose risks to environmental, social, and economic sustainability. Governance institutions in Kenya tasked with managing RWHI adoption processes are often unaware of such risks and ill-equipped to manage them when they emerge. To address this gap, this article first presents key insights from the literature on innovation scaling and adaptive governance on how undesirable effects of scaling can be mitigated. Then, based on the results of a global literature review and a case study in Kenya, it outlines potential environmental, social, and economic risks of scaling RWHI that may manifest in the Kenyan context. Environmentally, the biggest risk is that widespread adoption of RWHI, while increasing water availability at the household level, will alter hydrological flows and impact ecosystem functioning. Socially, major risks of scaling RWHI include increased inequities in water access and rights, as those with the resources to adopt RWHI are able to store and use more water than others. Finally, economic risks may emerge when farmers who have adopted RWHI to grow cash crops experience heightened vulnerability to market fluctuations. The article ends with a discussion on governance approaches that could be applied to ensure responsible RWHI scaling in Kenya. Key recommendations include creating institutions that embed adaptive governance mechanisms, democratizing the development of scaling strategies to ensure their collective ownership, and enhancing monitoring and data collection capacities for effective response. These measures aim to balance short-, medium-, and long-term objectives across various scales and user groups to maximize sustainability outcomes during RWHI scaling processes.

Did Crop Domestication Change the Fitness Landscape of Root Response to Soil Mechanical Impedance? An in-silico Analysis.

Root axes with greater penetration ability are often considered to be beneficial in hard soils. We hypothesized that maize root phenotypes with greater plasticity (meaning reduced elongation in response to mechanical impedance, i.e. a 'stop signal') have fitness advantages over phenotypes with reduced plasticity (i.e. unimpeded root elongation) in native (virgin, uncultivated) soils, by reallocating root foraging to softer, presumably wetter, soil domains, and that the value of the stop signal reduced with soil cultivation and crop domestication. We used OpenSimRoot to simulate native and cultivated soils and evaluated maize root phenotypes with varying axial and lateral root penetration ability in water, nitrogen, and impedance regimes associated with Neolithic agriculture. The stop signal was advantageous in native soils but was less beneficial in cultivated, irrigated soils. Reduced root foraging in hard, dry topsoil enabled root growth in deeper domains where water is available, resulting in an improved balance of resource expenditure and acquisition. The value of the stop signal declined during crop domestication with the advent of irrigation, which increased water availability in the topsoil. Soil cultivation reduced N availability, while irrigation increased N leaching, resulting in a shift in the fitness landscape, with greater lateral root length (i.e. reduced plasticity) being advantageous by colocalizing root foraging with N availability. The importance of the stop signal is evident in modern high-input systems in which drought is a limiting factor. Our results support the hypotheses that the reduction of lateral root growth by mechanical impedance is adaptive in native soil, but became less adaptive with soil cultivation and irrigation associated with Neolithic agriculture.

Reduction of blue and total water footprints per unit biomass yield of silage maize with grey water footprint input in subsurface drip irrigation.

Reducing blue and total water footprint outputs in irrigated agriculture with greywater footprint input from irrigation with recycled wastewater is an issue that needs to be investigated in protecting freshwater resources by increasing water availability. Therefore, the effect of three different irrigation levels of recycled wastewater and freshwater in the subsurface drip irrigation (SSDI), surface drip irrigation (SDI), and furrow irrigation (FI) methods on the blue, green, grey, and total water footprints per unit yield of silage maize, which is widely produced worldwide and has high water consumption, was investigated with a 2-year field study. The blue and total water footprints per unit fresh and dry biomass yields in the SSDI were 1.20-1.23-fold lower than that in the SDI and 1.69-1.76-fold lower than that in the FI. Full wastewater irrigation provided the lowest blue, green, and total water footprints per unit yield across all methods. Full wastewater irrigation under SSDI provided the lowest total water footprint per unit fresh biomass yield, similar to the 33% deficit irrigation practice with wastewater. It was concluded that full irrigation with recycled wastewater as a greywater resource under SSDI may be the most suitable application for the sustainable management of scarce blue water resources.

Does optimality partitioning theory fail for belowground traits? Insights from geophysical imaging of a drought-release experiment in a Scots Pine forest.

We investigate the impact of a 20-yr irrigation on root water uptake (RWU) and drought stress release in a naturally dry Scots pine forest. We use a combination of electrical resistivity tomography to image RWU, drone flights to image the crown stress and sensors to monitor soil water content. Our findings suggest that increased water availability enhances root growth and resource use efficiency, potentially increasing trees' resistance to future drought conditions by enabling water uptake from deeper soil layers. This research highlights the significant role of ecological memory and legacy effects in determining tree responses to environmental changes.

Urban transformation of lakes and its impacts on a lake series: A case study of the yele mallappa shetty lake series Bengaluru, India.

The interconnected systems of lakes of Bengaluru, India, experience tremendous stress due to unsustainable urbanisation. Traditional lake-centric research approach struggles to capture and address this issue due to the cascaded nature of impacts in interconnected lake systems. Hence, this study assesses the impact of urbanisation on a lake series scale, focusing on the Yele Mallappa Shetty Lake series (YMSLS). Land use land cover change analysis (1993-2023) showed that in 1993, the YMSLS catchment area was dominated by open spaces (53.4%) and agriculture land and vegetation (35%), with built-up areas covering only 7.2%. By 2023, the built-up area has expanded to 34.6% and became the dominant land use. This rapid urbanisation has led to increased water surface area from wastewater influx, causing significant weed growth and water pollution in the lakes. Lake water quality assessment showed that faecal coliform, total coliform, dissolved oxygen, and biochemical oxygen demand levels exceeded standard limits with spatio-temporal variations driven by interconnectivity. Pollutant flushing during monsoon reduced pollution load in upstream lakes, but high wastewater inflow made downstream lakes, particularly the end lake, highly polluted but perennial. Increased water availability expanded the user base of the end lake, but traditional uses have declined and coping strategies of users, such as wastewater lift irrigation from the lake, became unsustainable. The study indicates that spatial interdependence and cascading effects necessitate a lake series approach for assessing the impacts of urbanisation on interconnected lake system, which is crucial for enhancing water security and preparedness for future extreme events.

Water and Sewage Treatment. An Intergral Part of Disease Prevention and Control

homes through various activities such as bathing, washing, cleaning, faecal discharge. These materials have high microbial load which is dangerous to health. Treating them renders them safe as they can be converted to potable water for drinking and cooking,manure for improved crop yield in agricultural sector. Several treatmrnt methodologies are in use, the choice depends on the level of pollution.Jounals and other materials used for this review revealed treatment procedures starting with simple to highly sophisticated ones depending on the level of contamination. It is recommended that Central/municipal waste water/sewage system should be encouraged especially where such practice is not available. Sludge from sewage when treated and converted to manure will help improve agricultural yields in the community, while potable water recovered will increase water availability in the area especially where water is scarce.

Productivity experienced a more rapid enhancement trend than greenness across the Tibetan Plateau

Satellite-derived products and field measurements verify that Tibetan Plateau (TP) has been experiencing continuous vegetation greening and productivity increase; however, it remains unclear how this greening translates into productivity and how long-term productivity variations depend on greenness across the TP. Moreover, ignoring the accuracy evaluation of satellite-derived greenness and productivity products may mislead the understanding of TP vegetation changes. Thus, we initially assessed the accuracy of three widely used leaf area index (LAI, proxy of greenness) products (i.e., MODIS, GLASS and GEOV2 LAI) and three gross primary productivity (GPP, proxy of productivity) products (i.e., MODIS, GLASS and PML-V2 GPP) to selected robust products to represent greenness and productivity respectively. Then, we explored the dependence of spatiotemporal GPP dynamics on greenness variations during 2000-2020. Results indicated that PML-V2 GPP and MODIS LAI were more robust and reliable than other satellite-derived products when compared to the reference values. They revealed a prevailing increase in GPP over the past two decades, with a regional average of 71% higher than that of LAI. Notably, the area proportion of significant productivity enhancement was 31.6% higher than that of significant greening. About 24.7% of the TP displayed significantly inconsistent trends. The dependency of GPP on LAI gradually decreased with the increasing water availability, the complexity of vegetation structures, and dense canopy community. By calculating leaf photosynthetic capacity, we found that this indicator greatly regulated the velocity discrepancy between GPP and LAI, and the contribution of only greening to productivity is limited, only occupying 11.9% of the TP, which was helpful in understanding the inter-annual changes of vegetation dynamics under varying environment conditions. We therefore reveal an unexpected rapid increase in productivity than greening during 2000-2020 on the TP, as well as highlight the caution of only using satellite-derived greenness indicators for assessing long-term changes in vegetation productivity dynamics, especially over mesic ecosystems with complex vegetation structures and dense canopies of TP.

Medium-term biotic interactions in Olea europaea seedlings along an abiotic stress gradient

Plant-plant interactions are important drivers for the functioning and structuring of dryland plant communities. Stressful conditions, mainly related to water availability, determine whether plant interactions result in net facilitation or competition. Many studies have been conducted on the impacts of mature individuals, trees, shrubs or tussock grasses, on woody seedlings but little is known about the biotic interactions when they all are at the same developmental stage under field conditions. Here we present a spatially replicated study with Olea europaea as the target species and Pistacia lentiscus and Macrochloa tenacissima as neigbors. We also implemented field techniques to increase water availability and, hence, reproduce an abiotic gradient of stress. Wild olive performance was sensitive to neighbors, water availability and site. Improved microcatchments, which in addition to site recreated a gradient of water availability, improved wild olive performance as well as planted neighbors negatively impacted olive seedlings. We observed increasing negative interacting effects as conditions become less stressful. This is in line with the stress-gradient-hypothesis but also provides important knowledge regarding plant interactions in drylands at the same development stage.

Could California's groundwater resource management lessons be beneficial to England?

In California, Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) are basin/catchment-specific water organizations mandated by the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act of 2014 to manage groundwater sustainably by 2040/2042. A GSA can charge replenishment fees for pumped groundwater and these fees can be used to: (a) monitor basin hydrologic conditions; (b) improve the water budget accuracy; (c) increase water availability through management actions and projects; (d) mitigate undesirable results; and/or (e) pay for activities including issuing allocations and limiting production to allocations. In England, housing is frequently proposed in river basin catchments that face water resource challenges. High profile examples are the Arun Valley and Cambridge. The current National Planning Policy Framework manages water resource planning strategically through water company Water Resource Management Plans or Environment Agency River Basin Management Plans. These processes can be slow to respond to development requirements. England might look to California's practices that require water users and developers to pay for ‘water credits’ or fees. This could involve a ‘Watermaster’ charged with local or catchment scale resource management and project implementation. This Watermaster could engage all stakeholders including the local water company, farmers, the Environment Agency and the local authority, none of whom is well positioned to act in isolation.

Lessons Learned from Adopting Sustainable Agricultural Practices to Address Food Insecurity and Climate Change Risks: Opportunities, Constraints, and Limitations

Conventional agriculture has been blamed for its ecological and economic concerns. Consequently, sustainable agriculture has emerged as a feasible and viable alternative for addressing food insecurity and climate change risks, despite its low uptake and unmet expectations. This study examined the opportunities, challenges, and limitations of adopting sustainable agriculture. To do this, a questionnaire survey and group discussions were used to collect information from a random sample of households. The collected data were examined using the percentage, priority ranking, and content analysis. Farmers have mentioned several economic benefits and ecological viability of sustainable agriculture: enhanced soil fertility, improved vegetation coverage, reduced land degradation, generated employment, and increased water availability. These results have then led to increased agricultural productivity, reduced carbon emissions, and improved food security. However, it was found that lack of information, limited institutional support, labour shortages, and fragmented farmland are the major constraints to adopting sustainable agriculture. Other problems include an increased workload, waterlogging, sedimentation, loss of cultivated and grazing land, the spread of external predators, and the emergence of diseases and pests. All of these problems may prohibit farmers from fully accepting and implementing sustainable agriculture. Hence, it is imperative to organize on-the-spot demonstrations, information-sharing, and capacity building for farmers and extension workers in order to comprehend the attributes, benefits, and constraints of sustainable agriculture. Farmers should also be given technical and financial assistance to implement sustainable agricultural practices. It is imperative that policymakers and development actors must establish and empower local institutions to promote sustainable agriculture, in order to fully explot its potential benefits and expand its reach to areas that are prone to drought and water shortages.

Assessing the sustainability of small hydropower sites in the Citarum Watershed, Indonesia employing CA-Markov and SWAT models

ABSTRACT This study investigates the sustainability of potential small hydropower sites within the Citarum Watershed in West Java, Indonesia. The Citarum River, with a catchment area of 6,090 km2, plays a crucial role in regional water supply and hydroelectric power generation. However, environmental challenges such as deforestation, land use changes, and sedimentation pose significant risks. We employed the CA-Markov model integrated with IDRISI TerrSet software and the Soil and Water Assessment Tool to predict future land use changes and assess water supply, soil erosion, and sedimentation impacts for 2030 and 2040. The analysis revealed diverse trends in water yield across different catchment areas, with some regions showing increased water availability and others facing declines. High erosion and sedimentation rates were identified as critical issues affecting hydropower efficiency. The study highlights the need for comprehensive watershed management strategies, including reforestation, sustainable land management practices, and sediment management, to enhance the sustainability of small hydropower projects. Our findings underscore the importance of integrating environmental considerations into hydropower development to ensure the ecological integrity of the Citarum Watershed.

Projected impact of solar radiation modification geoengineering on water deficit risk over major Central African river basins

Abstract The economy of Central African countries strongly depends on rain-fed agriculture and hydropower generation. However, most countries in this subregion do not yet have the irrigation technologies that are already applied in many more advanced nations, which further exposes them to the serious risk of severe drought caused by global warming. This study investigates the potential impact of solar radiation modification (SRM) geoengineering on the water availability over the four major river basins that cross most of Central African countries (i.e. Niger Basin, Lake Chad Basin, Cameroon Atlantic Basin (CAB) and Congo Basin). For this purpose a potential water availability index was computed based on an ensemble-mean simulations carried out in the framework of Phase 6 of the Geoengineering Model Intercomparison Project considering two SRM simulation experiments: the stratospheric sulphate aerosol injection (G6sulfur) and the global solar dimming (G6solar). The climate change simulation results in a robust decreases by up to 60% in water availability, most pronounced over the CAB under the high radiative forcing scenario. Therefore, in a business-as-usual world, the reduction in water availability combined with the rapid population growth expected by 2050 in the studied subregion, could result in a significant water deficit over Central African countries towards the end of the 21st century. This water deficit could affect all activities that depend on water resources, such as water supply, agriculture and hydropower generation. Furthermore, the results also show that SRM methods have the potential to significantly reduce this deficit by increasing water availability (as compared to climate change) by up to 50% over the affected river basins, with a more accentuated increase found in the CAB when the global solar dimming is applied. These results suggest good possibilities of adaptation for populations living in the geographical areas of these river basins.

Agricultural land measures for climate change adaptation in arid regions: Can the farmers do it alone?

Climate change has become an unequivocal issue; changing precipitation patterns and climate variability will have disastrous impacts on the fragile agricultural land resources of arid regions. Farmers, equipped with indigenous knowledge and readily available resources, are the most direct stakeholder interacting with agricultural lands; examining farmers’ capacity to successfully implement farm-level adaptive measures is a pressing matter. This paper provides an overview on various agricultural measures for climate change adaptation in arid regions and discusses some major relevant constrains and the extent of farmers’ capabilities to implement such strategies. Various techniques such as shifting sowing dates, conservation agriculture, and rainwater harvesting have shown potential to serve as adaptive strategies. These can help reduce crop failure risks, improve soil moisture conservation and increase water availability for crops, and could help adapt to precipitation variability in arid regions. However there is strong evidence that many farmers in arid regions may not be able to implement such strategies successfully as adaptive measures and there is no clear evidence that climate variability is currently less of a risk with existence of such measures. This can be attributed to the various constraints such as the need for reliable access to resources, climatic data, and research output by farmers for successful implementation. These constraints could be circumvented by institutional-level measures such as agricultural subsidies, relevant and dynamic policies, and programs. Overwhelming evidence suggests that this is only possible by involvement of various stakeholders in the planning process such as researchers, farmers and the private sector.

The possibility of using groundwater and collector-drainage water to increase water availability in the Maktaaral district of the Turkestan region of Kazakhstan

The possibility of using groundwater and collector-drainage water to increase water availability in the Maktaaral district of the Turkestan region of Kazakhstan

Toward Enhancing Wastewater Treatment with Resource Recovery in Integrated Assessment and Computable General Equilibrium Models.

Sustainable water management is essential to increasing water availability and decreasing water pollution. The wastewater sector is expanding globally and beginning to incorporate technologies that recover nutrients from wastewater. Nutrient recovery increases energy consumption but may reduce the demand for nutrients from virgin sources. We estimate the increase in annual global energy consumption (1,100 million GJ) and greenhouse gas emissions (84 million t CO2e) for wastewater treatment in the year 2030 compared to today's levels to meet sustainable development goals. To capture these trends, integrated assessment and computable general equilibrium models that address the energy-water nexus must evolve. We reviewed 16 of these models to assess how well they capture wastewater treatment plant energy consumption and GHG emissions. Only three models include biogas production from the wastewater organic content. Four explicitly represent energy demand for wastewater treatment, and eight include explicit representation of wastewater treatment plant greenhouse gas emissions. Of those eight models, six models quantify methane emissions from treatment, five include representation of emissions of nitrous oxide, and two include representation of emissions of carbon dioxide. Our review concludes with proposals to improve these models to better capture the energy-water nexus associated with the evolving wastewater treatment sector.

Ecophysiology of Soursop Seedlings Irrigated with Fish Farming Effluent under NPK Doses

Soursop (Annona muricata L.) is a tropical fruit grown in the semi-arid region of Brazil, where problems of quantitative and qualitative scarcity of water for irrigation are frequent. Using alternative water sources, such as fish farming effluents, can increase water availability; however, it presents risks due to its high salinity levels. We aimed to evaluate the effect of irrigation with saline fish farming effluent and NPK doses on soursop seedlings’ ecophysiology. We conducted a greenhouse experiment using a randomized complete block design with a 2 × 5 factorial scheme. The factors consisted of two irrigation water sources (local supply water with 0.5 dS m−1 and fish farming effluent with 3.5 dS m−1) and five doses of NPK (25%, 50%, 75%, 100%, and 125% of the fertilizer recommendation of 100:300:150 mg dm−3 of N:P2O5:K2O for soil). The soursop seedlings showed the best growth results for plant height, stem diameter, and shoot dry mass when irrigated with low-salinity water at 95% of the recommended NPK dose. However, under saline stress, the soursop seedlings showed optimal growth when fertilized with 69% of NPK dose. We recommend the following NPK fertilization for soursop seedlings: 95:285:143 mg dm−3 of N:P2O5:K2O for those irrigated with low-salinity water and 69:207:104 mg dm−3 for those irrigated with fish farm effluent. Irrigating with fish farm effluent can be a practical option for soursop seedlings as it can help save fertilizers and promote environmental sustainability.