Irrigated Production Systems Research Articles

Irrigated corn yield and soil phosphorus response to long‐term phosphorus fertilization

AbstractLong‐term experiments can help to understand soil phosphorus (P) dynamics and improve nutrient management strategies. This research evaluated long‐term (2002–2021) soil P dynamics and yield response to a range of P fertilizer rates in a continuous high‐yielding irrigated corn (Zea mays L.) experiment with low initial soil phosphorus test (SPT, 10.5 mg kg−1). The experiment was established near Clay Center, NE, and five P rates (0, 10, 20, 39, and 59 kg P ha−1) were evaluated. Soil samples at 20‐cm depth were collected in eight cropping seasons. Yield response to P fertilizer increased after 20 years from 0.64 to 2.79 Mg ha−1. The application of 39 kg P ha−1 year−1 increased soil Bray‐1 P to 19.5 mg kg−1, outyielded all other P treatments, and resulted in a positive relative P balance. Over 20 years, 0 kg P ha−1 year−1 decreased Bray‐1 P from 10.5 to 5.5 mg kg−1. Annual P rates of 0, 10, and 20 kg P ha−1 produced a negative relative P balance and SPT below the critical soil test value (CSTV). The CSTV was 22.2 mg kg−1 for a continuous irrigated corn cropping system. A 53% increase in the P fertilizer rate (from 39 to 59 kg P ha−1 year−1) produced a threefold increment in the soil test P build‐up rate. High‐yielding irrigated continuous corn production systems (>14 Mg ha−1) are required to apply at least 39 kg P ha−1 year−1 to maintain SPT and a positive relative P balance over years.

Registration of ‘Denali’ white kidney bean

Abstract‘Denali’ (Reg. no. CV‐360, PI 705152) white kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), developed by Michigan State University AgBioResearch, was released in 2022 as a midseason, disease‐resistant, bush bean cultivar with uniform dry down. Denali was developed with the pedigree breeding method to the F4 generation followed by pure line selection for disease, agronomic, and quality traits. In 8 years of field trials across Michigan, Denali yielded 3500 kg ha−1, flowered in 37 d, and matured in 97days on average. Plants averaged 46 cm in height, with a lodging resistance score of 1.3 and seed size of 62 g 100 seed−1. Denali combines high yield potential with midseason maturity in a white kidney seed type. Denali outyielded ‘Beluga’ by 13% years and matured 5 days earlier. It is well adapted to the irrigated production systems on coarse‐textured soils where kidney beans are typically grown in Michigan and the Upper Midwest. Denali is resistant to Bean common mosaic virus and exhibits significantly higher levels of tolerance to root rot than ‘ND Whitetail’. Tolerance to common bacterial blight and white mold exhibited by Denali is comparable with ND Whitetail, ‘Yeti’, and ‘Snowdon’. Denali is susceptible to anthracnose. Seed size of Denali (0.62 g) is slightly smaller than Snowdon (0.69 g) and equivalent to seed produced by other white kidney bean cultivars. Seed of Denali meets industry standards for packaging and canning quality in the white kidney bean seed class.

Nitrogen rate is more important than irrigation rate in mitigating nitrogen leaching in flood-irrigated maize: A 6-year lysimeter experiment

Excessive nitrogen (N) fertilization and irrigation prevail in irrigated agriculture worldwide. However, little information is available that systematically evaluates grain yield, plant N uptake, residual soil NO3−-N (RSN), and N leaching under different irrigation–N regimes in an irrigated maize production system. To address such agronomic and environmental issues, a 6-year in situ lysimeter field trial was conducted in the Hetao Irrigation District of China with five treatments: 1) conventional irrigation (3,900 m3/ha) and local farmer fertilizer N rate (490 kg ha−1) (CON); 2) conventional irrigation and the recommended fertilizer N rate (420 kg ha−1) (RN); 3) deficit irrigation (2,730 m3/ha) and the recommended fertilizer N rate (SRN); 4) deficit irrigation and the recommended fertilizer N rate (with ∼ 10 % organic fertilizer N substitution) (SMN); and 5) conventional irrigation and controlled-release N fertilizer (270 kg ha−1) (CRF). Maize yield was not significantly different across treatments in 2015–2020. Averaged across years, SMN, SRN, and CRF significantly increased plant N uptake compared with that in CON by 28.84 %, 19.15 %, and 17.53 %, respectively. Residual soil NO3−-N at 0–90 cm was ranked as SRN > CON ≈ SMN > RN > CRF, whereas cumulative N in leachate from 2015–2020 (Nloss) in CON was 86.2 % to 187.1 % higher than that in other treatments. The Nloss in SRN was equivalent to that in RN and SMN, but Nloss in SMN decreased significantly compared with that in RN, indicating additive benefits of deficit irrigation and organic input on reducing N leaching. Structural equation modelling revealed that irrigation had greater effects on plant N uptake than those of fertilization, whereas N rate had a greater total effect on N leaching than that of irrigation. Overall, rampant excessive irrigation and N fertilization by farmers can be substantially reduced while maintaining grain yield and mitigating N leaching loss, with further benefits gained by applying controlled-release N fertilizer and manure in irrigated maize production.

Irrigation Practices and Their Effects on Soil Quality and Soil Characteristics in Arid Lands: A Comprehensive Geomatic Analysis

Comprehension of the long-term effects of irrigation on basic soil characteristics and quality is essential for sustainable land management and agricultural production, particularly in arid regions where water availability is limited. This study aimed to investigate long-term irrigation effects on soil quality, soil organic carbon (SOC), and nitrogen (N) stocks in the arid lands of Egypt. Seventy soil samples were collected and analyzed to determine various soil properties. A soil quality index (SQI), SOC, and N stocks were computed. ANOVA and PCA analyses were used to identify significant differences between alluvial soils in the southwest part of the investigated area and coastal marine soils in the northeast of the study area. The results demonstrated that most of the studied soil parameters had significantly greater values in alluvial compared to coastal marine soils. Long-term irrigation led to an 8.00% increase in SOC and 7.22% increase in N stocks compared to coastal marine soils production. Furthermore, a 39.53% increase was found in the SQI upon long-term irrigation practice. These results suggest that shifting from rain-fed in coastal marine areas to irrigated production systems in alluvial fields can improve soil quality, SOC, and N stocks. Therefore, further studies are required to investigate the impact of additional factors, such as irrigation method and salinity status of sub-surface soil layers, to enhance agricultural productivity and sustainable land use.

Preparing Colombian coffee production for climate change: Integrated spatial modelling to identify potential robusta coffee (Coffea canephora P.) growing areas

Meeting future demand for coffee under climate change is a challenge. Approaches that can inform where coffee may grow best under current and future climate scenarios are needed. Robusta coffee (Coffea canephora P.) is planted in many tropical areas and makes up around 40% of the world’s coffee supply. However, as the climate shifts, current robusta areas may become less productive, while in other areas new growing regions for robusta may emerge. Colombia is one of the world’s most important Arabica coffee producer, famous for its high-quality coffee. Although robusta coffee is not yet a commercial crop in Colombia, it could be one of the future bastions for robusta coffee in South America contributing to meeting the increasing demand, but this remains unexplored. We aimed to identify areas with highest biophysical and socio-economic potential to grow robusta coffee in Colombia. An integrated modelling approach was used, combining climate suitability and crop-yield modelling for current and future climate scenarios, soil constraints, pest risk assessment and socio-economic constraints to identify the regions with the highest potential productivity and the lowest pest and climate change risks with good market access and low security risks which don’t further expand the agricultural frontier. Our results showed that parts of the foothills along the eastern Andean Mountain ranges, the high plains of the Orinoquía region and the wet parts of the Caribbean region are the best candidates for the potential development of robusta coffee plantations in Colombia. The crop-yield model indicated highest yields of green coffee on the foothills of the eastern Andean Mountain range with an estimated average yield of 2.6 t ha−1 (under rain-fed conditions) which is projected to occur at elevations below 600 m avoiding interference with the traditional and established Arabica coffee regions in Colombia. Under a 2 °C global warming scenario climate change is projected to have the largest impacts on the Caribbean region. Therefore, larger scale irrigated production system could be an appropriate option in the Caribbean region, while diversified smallholder robusta coffee agroforestry systems are considered more favourable in the Orinoquía region.

Water footprints and crop water use of 175 individual crops for 1990–2019 simulated with a global crop model

The water footprint of a crop (WF) is a common metric for assessing agricultural water consumption and productivity. To provide an update and methodological enhancement of existing WF datasets, we apply a global process-based crop model to quantify consumptive WFs of 175 individual crops at a 5 arcminute resolution over the 1990–2019 period. This model simulates the daily crop growth and vertical water balance considering local environmental conditions, crop characteristics, and farm management. We partition WFs into green (water from precipitation) and blue (from irrigation or capillary rise), and differentiate between rainfed and irrigated production systems. The outputs include gridded datasets and national averages for unit water footprints (expressed in m3 t−1 yr−1), water footprints of production (m3 yr−1), and crop water use (mm yr−1). We compare our estimates to other global studies covering different historical periods and methodological approaches. Provided outputs can offer insights into spatial and temporal patterns of agricultural water consumption and serve as inputs for further virtual water trade studies, life cycle and water footprint assessments.

Do rainfed production systems have lower environmental impact over irrigated production systems?: On -farm mitigation strategies

The intensive agriculture practices improved the crop productivity but escalated energy inputs (EI) and carbon foot print (CF) which contributes to global warming. Hence designing productive, profitable crop management practices under different production systems with low environmental impact (EI and CF) is the need of the hour. To identify the practices, quantification of baseline emissions and the major sources of emissions are required. Indian agriculture has diversified crops and production systems but there is dearth of information on both EI and CF of these production systems and crops. Hence the present study was an attempt to find hot spots and identify suitable strategies with high productivity, energy use efficiency (EUE) and carbon use efficiency (CUE). Energy and carbon balance of castor, cotton, chickpea, groundnut, maize, rice (both rainfed and irrigated), wheat, sugarcane (only irrigated), pigeon pea, soybean, sorghum, pearl millet (only rainfed) in different production systems was assessed. Field specific data on different crop management practices as well as grain and biomass yields were considered. Rainfed production systems had lower EI and CF than irrigated system. The nonrenewable sources of energy like fertilizer (64 %), irrigation (78 %), diesel fuel (75 %) and electricity (67 %) are the major source of energy input. Rainfed crops recorded higher CUE over irrigated condition. Adoption of technologies like efficient irrigation strategies (micro irrigation), enhancing fertilizer use efficiency (site specific nutrient management or slow release fertilizer), conservation agriculture (conservation or reduced tillage) rice cultivation methods (SRI or Direct seeded rice) were the mitigation strategies. These results will help policy makers and stake holders in adoption of suitable strategies for sustainable intensification.

Potential yield and gap analysis (PYGA) of wheat in Ethiopia.

Abstract Global demand for food is rising due to unparallel population growth compared to agricultural productivity. Yield is supposed to double to feed global population in 2050 but climate change is making sustainable food production difficult for the increasing population. Wheat is one of the strategic crops for food security and increasing its productivity is vital for self-sufficiency. Ethiopia is the second largest wheat producer in the sub-Saharan Africa where the national average yield is below 3 t/ha despite the increasing total production mainly due to areal expansion rather than productivity per hectare. It is imperative and timely to realise wheat potential yield and identify factors that underly the current yield gap. Farmers in southeast Ethiopia have reportedly seen potential yields rising above 10 t/ha which prompted the current study to conduct scientific assessment of the maximum potential yield in the area for better policy and intervention. The trial was designed in partially irrigated and rainfed conditions and here we report that the farmers' actual yield gap was as low as 74% as showcased specifically with the devastating epidemic of new stem rust race known as the ' Digalu race ' occurred in the region in 2014/15. This necessitated replacement of the old varieties with high yielding and disease resistant varieties Sanate and Mandoyu. As the growing condition in 2015/16 season was favourable coupled with best management practices, two high yielding varieties, Sanate and Dire, were identified with the maximum attainable yields of 8921 and 8219 kg/ha, only 3% and 10% away from the model-predicted theoretical yield, respectively. The two varieties also had minimum water limitation index indicating that they are perfect fits for the recent wheat initiative by the Government of Ethiopia to realise self-sufficiency through irrigation and maximising yield potential. Even though we recommend modern breeding programs to capitalise their efforts on realising wheat potential yield through generation of new varieties and the deployment of modern cultivars such as Sanate and Mandoyu with their full management package, we admit that this research is limited in scope to reflect the whole rainfed and irrigated production systems in Ethiopia and hence would highlight the importance of further replicated research across years and locations to capture the variability especially due to the unpredictable climate change.

Seleção de cultivares de feijão-comum em sistema de produção irrigado

ABSTRACT In irrigated production systems, the common bean grain yield must reach high levels to maintain economic viability. In this context, management, like the selection of the most adapted cultivars, may be effective in obtaining high yields. Through a three-year experiment, it was aimed to select the common bean cultivars with the highest agronomic and technological performance in an irrigated production system and to determine the yield component that most interfered with common bean yield. The treatments consisted of eight common bean cultivars with indeterminate growth habit and from the pinto bean variety (carioca): ANFc 9, BRS Estilo, BRSMG Madrepérola, Pérola, IAC Alvorada, IAC Milênio, TAA Bola Cheia, and TAA Dama. IAC Milênio and IAC Alvorada had the highest agronomic performance for irrigated production systems, with grain yields up to 17% higher than other cultivars. The cultivars show little variation in the grain technological quality, meeting the culinary and nutritional qualities recommended for common bean. The ANFc 9 cultivar showed the highest crude protein content in grains (19%). The number of pods per plant is the yield component that most interferes with common bean grain yield, generating 86 kg ha-1 increments for each unitary increase. Therefore, the common bean cultivars selection in the irrigated production system is an effective management practice to increase common bean agronomic and quality performance.

Evaluation of transpiration in different almond production systems with two-source energy balance models from UAV thermal and multispectral imagery

AbstractA growing number of intensive irrigated production systems of the almond crop have been established in recent years. However, there is little information regarding the crop water requirements. Remote sensing-based models such as the two-source energy balance (TSEB) have proven to be reliable ways to accurately estimate actual crop evapotranspiration. However, few efforts have been made to validate the transpiration with sap flow measurements in woody row crops with different production systems and water status. In this study, the TSEB Priestley-Taylor (TSEB-PT) and contextual approach (TSEB-2T) models were assessed to estimate canopy transpiration. In addition, the effect of applying a basic clumping index for heterogeneous randomly placed clumped canopies and a rectangular hedgerow clumping index on the TSEB transpiration estimation was assessed. The TSEB inputs were obtained from high resolution multispectral and thermal imagery using an unmanned aerial vehicle. The leaf area index (LAI), stem water potential (Ψstem) and fractional intercepted photosynthetically active radiation (fIPAR) were also measured. Significant differences were observed in transpiration between production systems and irrigation treatments. The combined use of the TSEB-2T with the C&N-R transmittance model gave the best transpiration estimations for all production systems and irrigation treatments. The use of in situ PAR transmittance in the TSEB-2T model significantly improved the root mean squared error. Thus, the better agreement observed with the TSEB when using the C&N-R model and in situ PAR transmittance highlights the importance of improving radiative transfer models for shortwave canopy transmittance, especially in woody row crops.

Resistance and Tolerance Screening of Spring Wheat Cultivars to Cereal Cyst Nematode (Heterodera avenae) in Southeastern Idaho.

Increased populations of Heterodera avenae in southeastern Idaho are associated with increased planting of susceptible cereal cultivars and lack of crop rotation. Identifying high-yield, resistant spring wheat cultivars with tolerance requires testing new genotypes and susceptibility assessments of marketed cultivars. We conducted two experiments to determine whether cultivars with putative resistance could maintain acceptable yield in the presence of H. avenae. We also evaluated the tolerance response in relation to previously tested cultivars. Seven spring wheat cultivars were planted in two irrigated commercial fields that were naturally infested with high populations of H. avenae. Measures of resistance, tolerance, and grain yield were assessed in aldicarb-treated versus nontreated plots. In aldicarb-treated plots in both years, grain yield of the susceptible cultivars Snow Crest, WestBred 936, WB9411, Patwin-515, and WB9668 was significantly increased. The expected yield increase with aldicarb was limited for the moderately susceptible Expresso due to water stress. 'WB-Rockland', carrying the Cre5 resistance gene, maintained its standard yield, while none of the other cultivars in the experiment showed resistance or tolerance. Our results indicated that aldicarb improves wheat grain yield in irrigated crop production systems, and although removed from the market, it is effective and has utility for research. The results also support the hypothesis that high yield susceptible cultivars can mask the effect of H. avenae on grain yield when managed appropriately.

Valor agregado e rentabilidade na produção irrigada em aquífero aluvial: cenários de financiamento

ABSTRACT The Brazilian semi-arid region is a space with very high levels of economic and social inequality. Thus, the study aimed to carry out an economic-social analysis of family-based irrigated production systems, considering financing scenarios and associated with a level of social reproduction. Through structured questionnaires, a detailed survey of information was carried out on family-based irrigated production systems in monoculture and polyculture, representative of local conditions, allowing the analysis of the added value and the farmer's income for the conditions with and without financing in the Pronaf Mais Alimento line of credit. Family-based irrigated production systems in the semi-arid region are severely limited in terms of their economic and social sustainability in a scenario without the support of rural credit. The polyculture production system represents an economically efficient production alternative when associated with the financing scenario. The level of social reproduction for production systems with financing, with a view to economic sustainability, can be obtained with areas of cultivation that represent less than half of those in systems without financing. It is noteworthy that each production system has unique peculiarities, so this study cannot be generalized, but the calculation strategy can be applied and adapted to other properties and regions.

Can shallow-incorporated organic mulching replace plastic film mulching for irrigated maize production systems in arid environments?

Can shallow-incorporated organic mulching replace plastic film mulching for irrigated maize production systems in arid environments?

Effects of long-term irrigation practice on soil quality, organic carbon and total nitrogen stocks in the drylands of Ethiopia

The study aimed at determining the effects of long-term irrigation practice on soil quality, soil organic carbon (SOC) and total Nitrogen (TN) stocks in the drylands of Ethiopia. Twenty composited and 18 undisturbed soil samples were collected from both irrigated and rain-fed plots at 0–30 cm soil depth. The collected soil samples were analyzed following standard procedures for soil property analysis. Data on soil quality parameters, SOC and TN were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) and principal component analysis (PCA). Finally, soil quality index (SQI) as well as SOC and TN stocks were computed. The experimental results showed significantly higher value for most of the studied soil parameters in irrigated fields compared to the non-irrigated/rain-fed. Long-term irrigation increased SOC and TN stocks by 14.1% and 30%, respectively compared to the field under rain-fed production. A 40.1% increase in SQI was also recorded upon long-term irrigation practice. Overall, the study findings imply that shifting from rain-fed to irrigated production system improves soil quality, SOC and TN stocks in the long-run. For sustained development of the irrigated land use, further research on the impact of other factors such as irrigation method and salinity status of sub-surface soil layers is required.

Comparative assessment of environmental impacts, mitigation potentials, and economic benefits of rain-fed and irrigated apple production systems on China's Loess Plateau

Although the repaid development of China's apple industry heavily depends on excessive fertilizer-water-pesticide (FWP) inputs, little information is available that systematically evaluates environmental impacts, mitigation potential, and economical benefits of apple production systems in China. In this study, life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted to elucidate environmental risks and mitigation potentials of rain-fed and irrigated apple production systems on China's Loess Plateau based on survey data from 847 farmers, and economic benefits were analyzed simultaneously. Results showed that irrigated orchards caused more severe environmental risks associated with energy depletion (ED), global warming potential (GWP) and acidification potential (AP) than those in rain-fed orchards, whereas an opposite was true for eutrophication potential (EP), human toxicity potential (HTP), aquatic toxicity potential (ATP) and soil toxicity potential (STP). ED and GWP occurred primarily in the agricultural material stage, while AP, EP, HTP, ATP, and STP occurred mostly in the orchard management stage. Optimized FWP management can markedly mitigate environmental impacts in both irrigated and rain-fed orchard systems. Synthetic fertilizer, because of production and field-associated emissions, was the greatest contributor to environmental impacts of an apple production system. An environmental pollution index (EPI) that integrated environmental categories was highest in conventional irrigated orchards (0.946), followed by conventional rainfed orchards (0.857), and optimized irrigated orchards (0.459), and the lowest EPI was in optimized rainfed orchards (0.389). Economic analysis revealed that the benefits of rainfed orchards were higher than those of irrigated orchards because of higher apple prices and lower labor costs. Optimized FWP management sharply decreased input costs, thereby substantially increasing net income in irrigated and rain-fed apple orchards. Overall, severe environmental risk and large mitigation potential co-exist in rain-fed and irrigated apple orchards on China's Loess Plateau. Integrated soil-crop-market management potentially exhibited considerable environmental and economic advantages, thereby efficiently developing high-quality apple production.

Contribution of Production Inputs to Energy Consumption in Wheat Production System for Providing a Solution to Improve Energy Consumption

Agriculture is a system exhibiting high levels of energy consumption. Thus, energy analysis is crucial for improving the energy efficiency of agricultural systems. In this research, the input energy of an irrigated wheat production system, including seeds, machinery, fertilizer, irrigation, electricity, diesel fuel and human labour, were determined and thereby the net output energy, energy efficiency and energy productivity were calculated for energetic system evaluation. For reaching this goal, 110 farmers were asked to complete the questionnaires in which cultivation information such as machinery, diesel fuel, grain produced per hectare, cultivation method, the method and the duration of water supply, workers, chemical materials which were used for plant treatment. The results showed that the total input energy for producing irrigated wheat was 42,481 MJ.ha-1. Energy efficiency was achieved as 1.56, suggesting that the total output energy of the system was more than the input energy. The net output energy, indicating the rate of obtained net energy from the system, was 23,819 MJ.ha-1. Electricity and fertilizer were the inputs consuming the most energy in an irrigated wheat production system, in which 41% and 31% of the total consumed energy were devoted to electricity and fertilizer, respectively. Therefore, the appropriate management of electricity and fertilizer through advanced methods of irrigation and the precise calculation of plants’ required nutrient elements can result in the improvement of the energy efficiency of the system. Reducing seed bed preparing operations (decrease diesel fuel consumption) may also increase the energy efficiency of the wheat production system

Optimization of cumulative energy and exergy consumption of irrigated wheat production system using Data Envelopment Analysis approach

Optimization of cumulative energy and exergy consumption of irrigated wheat production system using Data Envelopment Analysis approach

Optimisation of cumulative energy and exergy consumption of irrigated wheat production system using data envelopment analysis approach

Optimisation of cumulative energy and exergy consumption of irrigated wheat production system using data envelopment analysis approach

Crescimento e produção de variedades de cana-de-açúcar sob irrigação suplementar e sequeiro

ABSTRACT The area cultivated with sugarcane in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, has increased significantly in recent years, in which to meet the demand of the mills, the use of adapted varieties has proved to be a fundamental strategy, combined with the use of irrigation, especially in periods of water deficit. The study aimed to evaluate the growth and yield of four sugarcane varieties (CTC 4, RB966928, RB975201, and RB92579) in plant cane cultivated with and without irrigation. The experiment was conducted at Embrapa Western Agriculture (Embrapa Agropecuária Oeste) in Dourados, MS, Brazil. A randomized block design arranged in a 2 x 4 factorial scheme with three replications was used. At 90, 150, 210, 270, 330, and 390 days after planting (DAP), stalk height and diameter, leaf area index (LAI), and dry biomass were evaluated. The soil cover percentage (%SC) was determined through aerial images taken with a drone, with evaluations made from planting to the maximum soil cover. Total recoverable sugar (TRS), number of stalks m-1, stalk (STY), and sugar (SGY) yield were evaluated at 390 DAP (harvest). The RB975201 variety has the highest growth in height, stem diameter, and LAI when grown under irrigation or without irrigation, and the CTC 4 variety has the smallest. The irrigated production system increases the growth of stalks, LAI, and degree of soil cover for the sugarcane varieties in plant cane and a greater amount of stems m-1, STY, and SGY, highlighting the varieties RB92579 and RB975201.

The Cradles of Adoption: Perspectives from Conservation Agriculture in Ethiopia

Several technologies have been provided to farmers to increase production under the rainfed systems of Ethiopia. However, much attention has been focused on drought emergency relief and associated interventions. Conservation agriculture (CA), among others, has been recently encouraged as part of the sustainable intensification technology in the Ethiopian smallholder farming systems. However, CA research in Ethiopia has traditionally stayed for a long time on a station-based research approach over a controlled environment followed by demonstration plots conducted, in most cases, for a short period. Considering large natural agro-hydro-ecological diversifications and the socio-economic conditions of smallholder farmers, it is possible to envisage that various versions of CA may be adopted based on different climate and topographic settings. Hence it entails various forms of adoption research depending on the biophysical and socio-economic conditions. Therefore, adopting CA technology is not as simple as adopting the technology or its components, as adoption is not only based on benefits but is also a process of inculcating CA into the human and social elements (culture, gender, social, and beliefs), and integrating CA within the farming systems (e.g., crop type, rotations, and agronomic management), and production systems (e.g., irrigated, rainfed, and livestock). In this regard, a review of CA technology usage provides an important perspective to explore the findings and the functionality of current CA research systems regarding the nature of its development, promotion, and dissemination in Ethiopia. This manuscript explores how CA is viewed by local farmers and associated researchers using the results from station to farmer-designed on-farm studies in the Ethiopian highlands, including irrigated and rain-fed production systems. This review paper will be crucially important for researchers and policymakers to develop conservation agriculture as one strategic issue for future sustainable irrigation and natural resource conservation.