Agricultural Water Use Efficiency Research Articles

Analysis of Agricultural Water Use Efficiency in Shandong Province Based on DEA and Malmquist Model

Water resource shortage has become a restricting factor for social and economic development. Improving water use efficiency of agriculture is an important way to alleviate water resource pressure and ensure food security. Based on DEA and Malmquist models, this paper calculated and analyzed the technical efficiency, scale efficiency and pure technical efficiency of agriculture using panel data from 17 cities in Shandong province from 2007 to 2017. Then, panel data of grains, beans, tubers, oils, cotton and vegetables were selected for the analysis of water use efficiency. The results showed that: (1) the water use efficiency of agriculture in Shandong Province increased year by year; (2) there are significant differences in water use efficiency of agriculture among cities; Qingdao, Jinan and Yantai are higher, while Dezhou and Heze are lower. (3) oil and cotton are the crops with the highest water use efficiency in agriculture in Shandong province. Under the premise of ensuring the required crop production, more oil and cotton can be considered to be planted.

Application of ecosystem service flows model in water security assessment: A case study in Weihe River Basin, China

Assessing water resource security is vital for the environment development. However, most studies only focus on the static water security status of the region, ignored the spatial flows of ecosystem services. Whereas by integrating the ecosystem services flows model into water security simulation, that we could provide scientific reference for achieving the local water resources sustainable development, and making effective ecological compensation policy. In our study, ecosystem service flows model was integrated into water security assessment to simulate the spatial patterns of water security in Weihe River Basin (WRB) from 2005 to 2015. The results show that (1) the contradiction between the supply and demand of water resources in WRB was prominent, due to the upstream water resources supply, the areas which achieve water security accounted for 10.89% each year. Furthermore, the insufficient and unsupplied areas were increased, which was adverse to the sustainable development of the river basin. (2) The water security index (WSI) in WRB was the lowest in 2010, and the highest in 2005. The change of regional WSI was influenced by the nature environment and human beings, and the main factors were agricultural water consumption and population. (3) The spatial heterogeneity of agricultural water consumption was diverse in the whole river basin, the agricultural water-use efficiency in Weinan City was lower, while the per residential domestic water in Xi’an and Xianyang city was much higher. Therefore local government should advocate develop water-saving agriculture and control urban water quotas, moreover, by adjusting water price cost and raise raising residents' human awareness of water-saving so as to improve the water security in the river basin. This study could provide a theoretical basis for the sustainable development of regional water resources and the promoting the mechanism of ecological compensation.

Performance evaluation of drip irrigation (fertigation) in citrus cultivation: A review

Efficient use of water and nutrients is required to accomplished sustainable production. The efficient utilization of these inputs need an integrated approach to promote the techniques of nutrients and water management among farmer to achieve the quality and quantity production. This study aims at reviewing the effect of drip irrigation and fertigation in citrus. Water scarcity is one of major problem of citrus cultivation in India. Among the different methods of irrigation, drip irrigation is most efficient form of application of irrigation to the crops which supplies water at optimum time to root zone and increases the growth, yield and quality of crop. Drip irrigation helped the cultivation of plants more profitable than compared to normal traditional watering of plants and increase the water use efficiency (WUE) in agriculture. As the citrus is more water loving crop, installation of drip would be more helpful in a increasing yield as well as gaining fruitful income. Drip irrigation can also be used for the fertigation and increases the nutrient use efficiency (NUE). However, it also delivers many other economic and social benefits to the society. In this article, intensive research works regarding water and nutrient management for citrus has been reviewed and discussed so that a definite perception may be generated for the farmers as well as future researchers.

China's Agricultural Water-Use Efficiency and Its Influencing Factors under the Constraint of Pollution Emission

China's Agricultural Water-Use Efficiency and Its Influencing Factors under the Constraint of Pollution Emission

Evaluating agricultural water-use efficiency based on water footprint of crop values: a case study in Xinjiang of China

Efficient agricultural water use is crucial for food safety and water conservation on a global scale. To quantitatively investigate the agricultural water-use efficiency in regions exhibiting the complex agricultural structure, this study developed an indicator named water footprint of crop values (WFV) that is based on the water footprint of crop production. Defined as the water volume used to produce a unit price of crop (m3/CNY), the new indicator makes it feasible to directly compare the water footprint of different crops from an economic perspective, so as to comprehensively evaluate the water-use efficiency under the complex planting structure. On the basis of WFV, the study further proposed an indicator of structural water-use coefficient (SWUC), which is represented by the ratio of water-use efficiency for a given planting structure to the water efficiency for a reference crop and can quantitatively describe the impact of planting structure on agricultural water efficiency. Then, a case study was implemented in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China. The temporal and spatial variations of WFV were assessed for the planting industries in 14 prefectures and cities of Xinjiang between 1991 and 2015. In addition, contribution rate analysis of WFV for different prefectures and cities was conducted to evaluate the variations of WFV caused by different influencing factors: agricultural input, climatic factors, and planting structure. Results from these analyses indicated first that the average WFV of planting industries in Xinjiang significantly decreased from 0.293 m3/CNY in 1991 to 0.153 m3/CNY in 2015, corresponding to an average annual change rate of −3.532%. WFV in 13 prefectures and cities (with the exception of Karamay) has declined significantly during the period of 1991–2015, indicating that agricultural water-use efficient has effectively improved. Second, the average SWUC in Xinjiang decreased from 1.17 to 1.08 m3/CNY in the 1990s, and then declined to 1.00 m3/CNY in 2011–2015. The value of SWUC was highly consistent with the relative value of WFV in most prefectures and cities, showing that planting structure is one of the primary factors affecting regional agricultural water-use efficiency. Third, the contribution rate of WFV variations from human factors including agricultural input and planting structure was much more significant than that from climatic factors. However, the distribution of agricultural input and the adjustment of planting structure significantly differed among prefectures and cities, suggesting regional imbalances of agricultural development. This study indicated the feasibility and effectiveness of controlling agricultural water use through increasing technical input and rational selection of crops in the face of impending climate change. Specifically, we concluded that, the rational application of chemical fertilizers, the development of the fruit industry, and the strict restriction of the cotton industry should be implemented to improve the agricultural water-use efficiency in Xinjiang.

Soil and Crop management relation with water use efficiency in Dryland agriculture

The problem of shortage of water to crops can be resolved by increasing total water supply available to plants, increasing water use relative to other losses and efficient management of scarce water. Biophysically, solutions to many of the problems will require the improvement of soil, water, and crop management at the field, plot, and farm level: first, to increase the capture and retention of incoming (rain) water; and second, to maximize the proportion of that water productively transpired by the crop. Dry land agriculture under rain fed conditions is found mainly in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America. In the harsh environments of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and West Asia and North Africa (WANA), water is the principal factor limiting crop yield. A review has been carried out on soil and crop management research that can increase the water use efficiency. The WANA production systems are dominated by cereals, primarily wheat in the wetter and barley in the drier areas, in rotation with mainly food legumes such as chickpea, lentil and forage legumes. The SSA production systems are generally characterized by cereal/legume mixed-cropping dominated by maize, millet, sorghum, and wheat. The major constraints in both regions to crop production are low soil fertility, insecure rainfall, and low-productive genotypes, low adoption of improved soil and crop management practices, and lack of appropriate institutional support. Different cropping systems and accompanying technologies are discussed. Results indicate that there is an advantage to apply these technologies but being function of socio-economic and bio-physical conditions. It is recommended that future research focuses on integrated technology development while taking into account also different levels of scale such as field, village, and watershed.

Interprovincial food trade and water resources conservation in China

A spatial mismatch in water and arable land availability results in large virtual water transfers through interprovincial food trade in China. Accurately identifying and measuring water-saving links in interprovincial food trade can help to relieve water resources pressure in main grain-producing areas. We use a multiregional input-output table combined with the CROPWAT model to build China's interprovincial virtual water transfer network embedded in food trade in 2012. Then, water saving and scarce water saving are measured. Both consider the difference in water productivity among provinces, but the latter also pays attention to the scarcity of water resources. Finally, we adopt a water footprint to recalculate the scarce water savings without precipitation (green water). Our results indicate that the amount of virtual water transfer embedded in food trade is 74.9 billion m3, which is equivalent to 12.22% of the total water use in 2012. We observe large variations in the relationship between water resources abundance and agricultural water-use efficiency across provinces. Especially, there is a virtual water transfer from provinces with high water productivity but a lack of water to provinces with low water productivity but an abundance of water. The scarce water saving can identify sustainable food trade links, which can alleviate water scarcity in consuming provinces without exacerbating water shortage in producing provinces. In addition, interprovincial food trade results in 15 billion m3 of scarce gray water saving, which is equivalent to 59.76% of the scarce blue water saving. Scarce water saving based on blue water and gray water provides a basis for establishing an interprovincial compensation mechanism to balance the cost of water redistribution caused by food trade.

Analysis of spatial distribution characteristics of virtual water content of maize in China

Research on virtual water content of crops can provide the basis for agricultural water resources management; help to improve the efficiency of agricultural water use. Maize is one of the most important food crop in China and also one of the largest water consumers, so it is important to study the virtual water content (VWC) of maize and the spatial distribution characteristics of the VWC of maize in China. In this paper, we assessed the VWC of maize in China including green, blue, grey water and analyze the spatial distribution characteristics of the VWC of maize of 30 regions of China. The percentages of green, blue, and grey water in the total VWC of maize in China were 47.5%, 18.9%, and 33.6%. The total VWC of maize generally showed a three-tiered distribution, and decreased from southeast to northwest. For the country as a whole the green water is the most important contributor. The percentage of grey water of maize was much larger than blue water. Blue water occupied the smallest component of the total virtual water content of maize.

Wetting Body Characteristics and Infiltration Model of Film Hole Irrigation

Film hole irrigation is a relatively low cost and high efficiency irrigation method, which can significantly improve the efficiency of agricultural water use. In order to establish the quantitative model of film hole irrigation between cumulative infiltration and the wetting body and the irrigation volume model of crops, the infiltration process and wetting body characteristics of four different soils (Xi’an silt loam, silt, silt loam and loam) were studied in laboratory experiments and numerical HYDRUS simulation experiments. The relationship between cumulative infiltration and wetting body radius was established using a mathematical method, and a crop irrigation volume model was proposed based on the root distribution and the required water content of different crops. The experimental results showed that the shape of the wetting body of film hole irrigation is approximately half of the rotating ellipsoid, and the curve shape of the wetting front can be expressed using an elliptic equation. From the center of the film hole to the surface of the wetting front, the soil water content of the wetting body gradually decreases, and the change rate of water content gradually increases, reaching its maximum value near the wetting front. Furthermore, the distribution of water content in the wetting body can be accurately expressed using an elliptic curve equation. The cumulative infiltration of film hole irrigation is proportional to the third power of the equivalent radius of the wetting body, and the equivalent radius is equal to the geometric mean of the horizontal and vertical migration distances of the wetting front. In addition, based on the distribution of crop roots and the demand of crop roots on soil water content, the irrigation model of crops was established. This study provides a theoretical basis for the calculation of the irrigation volume for film hole irrigation under the condition of experiment, and has a guiding significance for the field experiment and application of film hole irrigation in different crops in future.

Current Situation of Water Use Efficiency in Egyptian Agriculture

THE CURRENT research aims to enrich efforts exerted to increase crop production efficiency, which requires improving water use efficiency without posing negative impacts on the quantity or quality of water at the level of inlets. The most important results of the study were that the amount of losses in irrigation water reached its highest value between the field and the dam by about 7.815 billion m3, while the amount of water lost between the dam and heads of irrigation canals reached about 5.525 billion m3, but between the heads of the canals and the field it reached about 2.288 billion m3. The productivity efficiency of the irrigation water unit, the net return of the irrigation water unit, the return of the invested pound, and the ratio of irrigation costs to total costs reached its maximum value in winter crops compared to summer crops at the level of the Republic. Finally, the research recommended that the government perform periodic maintenance of irrigation water canals along various stages, especially in Upper Egypt.

Predicting Crop Evapotranspiration by Integrating Ground and Remote Sensors with Air Temperature Forecasts.

Water use efficiency in agriculture can be improved by implementing advisory systems that support on-farm irrigation scheduling, with reliable forecasts of the actual crop water requirements, where crop evapotranspiration (ETc) is the main component. The development of such advisory systems is highly dependent upon the availability of timely updated crop canopy parameters and weather forecasts several days in advance, at low operational costs. This study presents a methodology for forecasting ETc, based on crop parameters retrieved from multispectral images, data from ground weather sensors, and air temperature forecasts. Crop multispectral images are freely provided by recent satellite missions, with high spatial and temporal resolutions. Meteorological services broadcast air temperature forecasts with lead times of several days, at no subscription costs, and with high accuracy. The performance of the proposed methodology was applied at 18 sites of the Campania region in Italy, by exploiting the data of intensive field campaigns in the years 2014–2015. ETc measurements were forecast with a median bias of 0.2 mm, and a median root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.75 mm at the first day of forecast. At the 5th day of accumulated forecast, the median bias and RMSE become 1 mm and 2.75 mm, respectively. The forecast performances were proved to be as accurate and as precise as those provided with a complete set of forecasted weather variables.

Analysis of water use efficiency and influencing factors of agricultural total factors in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region

In this study, super efficiency SBM-DEA model was used to estimate the total water use efficiency of agricultural factors in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region from 2000 to 2013, and on this basis, panel Tobit model was used to test the influence of natural conditions, water conservancy facilities, agricultural production conditions and social and economic conditions on the total water use efficiency of agricultural factors. The results show that although the overall water use efficiency of agriculture in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region is higher than the national level, there is still room for improvement. In the future, it should strengthen the protection and cooperation of agricultural water resources and water-saving technologies in the three regions. shared; The ratio of groundwater to water supply structure and the price index of agricultural production materials have a significant positive impact on the water efficiency of all-factory agriculture in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei. The reservoir capacity, animal husbandry and fishery account for the proportion of total value of agricultural output the per capita cultivated land area, and the per capita net income of rural households. The quality of rural labor has a significant negative impact on the water efficiency of all-factory agriculture in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei.

The Impacts of Climate Change on the Availability of Surface Water Resources in Jordan

Climate change in the Middle East area including Jordan has started to be reflected in decreasing precipitation and increasing temperatures with their impacts on the availability of surface and groundwater. This article aims to evaluate the impacts of decreasing or increasing precipitation by 10% and 20% on the quantities of flood runoff based on recorded precipitation and runoffs of catchments during the past 60 to 70 years of observation, during which the precipitation in individual or a few years increased or decreased by tens of percentages relative to the long-term average precipitation. The results of quantification show that in Jordan as a whole, decreasing precipitation by 10% and 20% has historically (during the recording period) resulted in reductions in flood flows by 26.2% and 52.8% and that increasing precipitation by 10% and 20% has resulted in increases in flood flows by 26.4% and 56.5% respectively. These results look somehow paradox, because the general perception is that flood runoff changes in the same percentage like precipitation although flood flow is not linearly correlated with precipitation but exponentially. Decreasing precipitation in the water-scarce stressed country, Jordan due to climatic changes, will have strong implications on rain-fed and irrigated agriculture and on household water supplies with very severe socio-economic percussions expressed in increasing unemployment and poverty which may lead to social and political unrest. Therefore, proactive measures have to be implemented before disasters hit. Such measures are limited in Jordan to seawater desalination, intensified water harvesting and improved water use efficiency in agriculture.

A Deep Learning Approach for Multi-Depth Soil Water Content Prediction in Summer Maize Growth Period

Advance knowledge of soil water content (SWC) in the soil wetting layer of crop irrigation can help develop more reasonable irrigation plans and improve the efficiency of agricultural irrigation water use. To improve the accuracy of predicting SWC at multiple depths, the ResBiLSTM model was proposed, in which continuous meteorological and SWC data were gridded and transformed as model inputs, and then high-dimensional spatial and time series features were extracted by ResNet and BiLSTM, respectively, and integrated by a meta-learner. Meteorological, SWC and growth stage records data from seven typical maize monitoring stations in Hebei Province, China, during the 2016-2018 summer maize planting process were utilized for the training, evaluation and testing of the ResBiLSTM model, with model prediction targets set at 20cm, 30cm, 40cm and 50cm depths. Experimental results showed that: 1) ResBiLSTM model could achieve better model fit and prediction of meteorological and SWC data at all growth stages, with R <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup> within [0.818, 0.991], average MAE within [0.79%, 2.00%], and the overall prediction accuracy ranked as follows: anthesis maturity stage > seedling stage > tassel stage; 2) The average MSE of the ResBiLSTM model for the prediction of SWC in the next 1-6 days was within [3.91%, 15.82%], and the prediction accuracy decreased with the extension of the prediction time; 3) Compared with the classical machine learning model and related deep learning models, the ResBiLSTM model was able to obtain better prediction accuracy performance.

Spatial-Temporal Differences in Water Footprints of Grain Crops in Northwest China: LMDI Decomposition Analysis

Agriculture and crop production is the sector with the highest water demand, and because of water shortages and an unbalanced distribution of natural resources in China, improving the efficiency of agricultural water use is essential. In this study, we quantified the total water footprint (WF) of major crop products in Northwest China using the Penman–Monteith formula. The logarithmic mean divisor index (LMDI) was used to explain the four factors driving the spatial and temporal differences in the WFs of the major crops in five provinces and regions in Northwest China. The results showed that from 2006 to 2015, the total WF of the major crops was increasing overall. From a temporal perspective, the crop area and yield effects, which were the factors driving the overall increase in the WF, positively impacted the overall change in the WF of the major crops in Northwest China. The effects of the virtual water content (VWC) and crop structure were both volatile. The effect of the crop structure made a relatively small contribution, while the effect of the VWC played a significant role in changing the overall WF. From a spatial perspective, the changes in the VWC and crop structure negatively inhibited the increase of the WF, widening the difference between these provinces and regions and Shanxi. The increased yields in Xinjiang most clearly increased the WF, followed by those in Ningxia, Qinghai, and Gansu. In comparison with Shanxi, in all the provinces and regions except Xinjiang, the change in cultivated area was less effective in promoting the WF. Therefore, scientific planting plans should be developed for adapting to climate change, considering the differences in natural features among various provinces and regions. Water conservation and advanced agricultural technology should be promoted to enhance the sustainability of agricultural development.

A New Principle for Measuring the Average Relative Humidity in Large Volumes of Non-Homogenous Gas.

Due to the current extent of arid regions, the pressure on available water resources is increasing. A suitable measure for water availability and dynamics in dry soil is the relative humidity of the soil air. Due to the heterogeneity of soil, water inputs, and root water uptake, the humidity of soil air will vary in space. Therefore, area-representative measurement methods are needed to find a representative measure of the soil water status. Existing sensors for the direct determination of relative humidity only represent a single location with a spatial extent of up to several cm. We introduce a new measuring principle that averages over a spatially heterogeneously distributed relative humidity. It is based on the selective diffusion of water vapor pressure through a tubular semipermeable membrane to/from a closed measurement chamber. A measured pressure change is sensitive to the water vapor pressure and enables, without any external calibration, to estimate an average of the relative humidity. The comparison of our first laboratory prototype of the new sensor with calibrated reference sensors for relative humidity in a range of approx. 4 to 100% proves the linearity of the measuring method and its high accuracy. For further optimization improved reference measurement techniques are necessary. A potential application is the improvement of water use efficiency in irrigated agriculture.

Climate-smart water technologies for sustainable agriculture: a review

AbstractWorldwide water management in irrigated and rain-fed agriculture is becoming more and more complex to overcome the expected water scarcity stress. In addition to this, challenges of global warming and climate change would have to be met through the judicious application of water in agriculture through climate-smart water technologies. Agriculture is an important sector in India and many developing countries, providing huge employment opportunities to rural populations, and supporting them to achieve food and nutritional security goals. In this paper, an attempt has been made to address challenges of increasing food production and improving rural livelihoods, while safeguarding critical water resources for sustainable use through adaptive measures for effective water management, particularly in drought-prone regions. An integrated approach needs to be implemented in agricultural water management through adoption of innovations such as water harvesting, micro-irrigation and resource conservation farming to increase water-use efficiency in agriculture and other critical services to humans and animals. The aim of this study is to facilitate an improved understanding of the potential implications of climate change and adaptation options for agricultural water management and thereby assist policymakers in taking up adaptation challenges and developing measures to reduce the vulnerability of the farming sector to climate change.

A BASELINE QUANTIFICATION OF AGRICULTURAL WATER USE EFFICIENCY OVER INDIAN REGION USING GEO-LEO SATELLITES

Abstract. The agricultural water use efficiency (AWUE) over India was evaluated during 2009–2014 through three steps e.g. productivity mapping using MODIS GPP; consumptive water use (CWU) mapping in terms of evapotranspiration (ET) partioned into green (CWUg; ET streaming from rainfall) and blue (CWUb; ET streaming from irrigation) water; AWUE mapping i.e. the ratio of the seasonal sum of GPP and CWU in terms of green (AWUFg) and blue (AWUFb) water. The CWU was estimated from seasonal sum of crop ET (ETc). ETc was obtained from composite crop co-efficient from INSAT and corresponding reference ET (ET0), where daily ET0 was estimated using daily solar insolation (Kalpana-1VHRR) and metrological data from Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) variables through data fusion in FAO-56 framework. Monthly effective rainfall (ER) was estimated from daily NOAA CPC rainfall data using USDA SCS method. Actual ET (ETa) was estimated using single-source surface energy balance framework with thermal observations from MODIS and MERRA reanalysis data. The CWUg at seasonal scale was determined using ER, ETa and CWU, whereas CWUb was estimated as the difference between ETa and CWUg followed by estimation of AWUEg and AWUEb. The average AWUEg and AWUEb during kharif and rabi seasons were found to be 1.13 kg Cm−3 and 1.25 kg Cm−3 respectively with highest share goes to Indo-gangetic plains due to high crop intensification. The arid and semiarid tract showed low AWUE. The baseline assessment of satellite based AWUE at country scale providesa scope for better management of agricultural water with respect to food security.

Water-Use Efficiency of Crops in the Arid Area of the Middle Reaches of the Heihe River: Taking Zhangye City as an Example

The middle reaches of the Heihe River are an important food base in the arid regions of Northwest China. The agricultural water consumption in this region accounts for about 90% of the total water consumption. The shortage of water resources is the primary reason for restricting agricultural development. Therefore, studying the efficiency of agricultural water use is essential to improving the effective use of water resources. Under the premise of considering agricultural water saving, we improved the water efficiency model from the perspective of pure agricultural income that farmers are more concerned about. In this study, we took Zhangye City in the middle reaches of the Heihe River as an example, based on meteorological crop data and farmer survey data. Then, we used the input–output method to quantitatively analyze the net income of the crops in Zhangye City. We used the CROPWAT model to calculate the water demand of crops during the growing season. Lastly, we used the improved water-use efficiency (WUE) model to analyze WUE differences of crops in the study area. We reached the following conclusions: (1) among the six crops in the study area, the net profit of seed corn was 20,520 yuan/ha, followed by field corn, 11,700 yuan/ha, then followed by potato, rapeseed, wheat, and barley; (2) the maximum water requirement for the crop growth period was 597.2 mm for field corn, followed by 577.3 mm for seed corn, then followed by rapeseed, wheat, barley, and potato; (3) among the six crops, the WUE calculated using the water efficiency model before and after improvement had obvious differences. The WUE calculated using the original model reached 9.03 yuan/m3 for potato, followed by 6.33 yuan/m3 for seed corn. The WUE calculated using the improved model reached 3.44 yuan/m3 for seed corn, which is the maximum, followed by potato with 2.25 yuan/m3. Considering the agricultural water saving and crop yields, we propose to properly expand the cultivation of seed corn and potato in the middle reaches of the Heihe River. This would be more conducive to achieving a “win-win” situation for water conservation and revenue.

LCIS DSS—An irrigation supporting system for water use efficiency improvement in precision agriculture: A maize case study

The efficient use of water in agriculture is one of the most significant agricultural challenges that modern technologies are helping to cope with through Irrigation Advisory Services (IAS) and Decision Support Systems (DSS). These last are considered powerful management instruments able to help farmers achieve the best efficiency in irrigation water use and to increase their incomes through obtaining the highest possible crop yield. In this context, within the project “An advanced low cost system for farm irrigation support – LCIS” (a joint Italian-Israeli R&D project), a fully transferable DSS for irrigation support, based on three different methodologies representative of the state of the art in irrigation management tools (W-Tens, in situ soil sensor; IRRISAT®, remote sensing; W-Mod, simulation modelling of water balance in the soil-plant and atmosphere system), has been developed. These three LCIS-DSS tools have been evaluated, in terms of their ability to support the farmer in irrigation management, in a real applicative case study on maize grown on Andosols in a private farm in southern Italy in the 2018 season. The evaluation considered the predictive performance of the tools and also the pros and cons of their application, due their different spatial scale applicability, costs and complexity of use. The results have shown that all three approaches are able to realise the maximum obtainable maize production. However, the method based on in situ soil sensor (W-Tens) supplied 40% more water compared to the other two methods, whereas the IRRISAT® and W-Mod approaches represent the best solution in terms of irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE). Moreover, IRRISAT® has the advantage of being able to work without soil spatial information, although unlike W-Tens both the latter methods need a high level of user expertise and consequently support of external service providers. Integration between different tools represents an opportunity for improved water use efficiency in agriculture (e.g., field sensors and remote sensing).