The Hetao irrigation scheme is located in the northwest inland of China and the upper and middle reaches of the Yellow River. It is dry and rainless, with an average annual precipitation of 144mm and an average annual water surface evaporation of 2,377mm, and is one of the driest areas in the world. More than 90% of the water used in the irrigation scheme is from the Yellow River. The current irrigation area from the Yellow River is 11 million mu, involving 215,000 farmers and about 800,000 people.

The shortage of water resources is a common occurrence in the Hetao irrigation sche ...Read more

The Hetao irrigation scheme is located in the northwest inland of China and the upper and middle reaches of the Yellow River. It is dry and rainless, with an average annual precipitation of 144mm and an average annual water surface evaporation of 2,377mm, and is one of the driest areas in the world. More than 90% of the water used in the irrigation scheme is from the Yellow River. The current irrigation area from the Yellow River is 11 million mu, involving 215,000 farmers and about 800,000 people.

The shortage of water resources is a common occurrence in the Hetao irrigation scheme, which has caused a bottleneck in economic and social development. Therefore, under the rigid constraints of the water resources management scheme, ensuring the irrigation scheme's sustainable economic and social development through the rational allocation and efficient development and utilization of water resources has become the most urgent and inevitable choice.

Shenwu irrigation canal is located in the west of the Hetao irrigation scheme, which takes water from the upstream of Sanshenggong water control project and uses water independently. The total irrigation area is 871,660 mu. From 2014 to 2018, Hetao Irrigation Scheme Water Resource Development Center organized the water rights trading project in Shenwu irrigation canal. By using the early-stage water resource fees transferred to industrial enterprises, the comprehensive water conservation transformation and construction of the water transmission and distribution channel project and the Shenwu irrigation canal field irrigation project are carried out. As a result, water is saved through the water conservation project. To ensure the water safety in the irrigation area, water rights are traded to industrial enterprises across regions and industries through the water rights trading platform.

From 2016 to 2021, the Hetao irrigation scheme began the 'household management of water rights' with "clear ownership, defined rights and responsibilities, and effective supervision" as the goal of water rights management. According to the irrigated land area of each water user, each water user is given the corresponding water rights. Such water rights may be traded, stimulating the farmers' awareness and potential for water conservation.

Irrigated agriculture is at the heart of Morocco's economic and social development. It plays a crucial role in meeting Morocco's food demands. It also generates more than 75% of the country's agricultural exports, providing jobs for half the rural labour force. However, irrigation monopolises the country's scarce water resources, accounting for 85% of water usage. With water resources becoming increasingly scarce, Morocco urgently needs to find a better way to manage water for irrigation. Indeed, the irrigation sector in Morocco is confronted with several constraints, mainly ...Read more

Irrigated agriculture is at the heart of Morocco's economic and social development. It plays a crucial role in meeting Morocco's food demands. It also generates more than 75% of the country's agricultural exports, providing jobs for half the rural labour force. However, irrigation monopolises the country's scarce water resources, accounting for 85% of water usage. With water resources becoming increasingly scarce, Morocco urgently needs to find a better way to manage water for irrigation. Indeed, the irrigation sector in Morocco is confronted with several constraints, mainly because of the limits of the institutional framework that continues to govern the sector. These limits, which mainly concern the Regional Offices for Agricultural Development (ORMVAs), can be summarised as follows: their statutory framework as public institutions of an administrative nature; their current budgetary framework, which does not establish the principle of separation of public service missions and commercial missions; their dependence on the State's budgetary resources; and the relational framework that establishes a state-to-user relationship in which the farmer positions himself in the State's favour rather than as a customer of the water service.

These limits have not allowed the irrigation sector to generate sufficient internal financial resources to guarantee the equipment's sustainability and ensure an efficient water service. Even recurrent expenses of this service continue to be partly covered by budgetary transfers. In this context and since the end of the 1990s, the Department of Agriculture, after a thorough examination of the feasibility of the various possible options: (i) the autonomy of the water service within the ORMVA, (ii) the transfer of management to farmers, and (iii) the delegated management in a private setting, concluded that the option of delegated management in a public-private partnership framework that represents an innovation is appropriate.

The public-private partnership in irrigation consists of interesting private operators in investing and managing irrigation infrastructure in irrigated perimeters under delegated management/concession contracts. The irrigation water service in this perimeter is a public service delegated under the law.

The objective is to improve the technical, economic, and financial conditions of the management of the irrigation water service in these perimeters, in this case:

• Better Water and energy efficiency;
• Optimisation of the use of water resources and the costs of operation and

• maintenance;
• The sustainability of the developments achieved.
• Improvement of the water service;
• And The reduction of Government budget transfers for the management of irrigation schemes.

In this innovation, the intervention of the private sector covers the following main tasks:

• Co-finance irrigation schemes;
• Design and build irrigation infrastructure;
• Manage, operate and maintain these infrastructures to ensure water distribution to the farmer, who is the user, in optimal conditions. Of course, the irrigation infrastructure remains public property;
• Bring expertise and innovation for the modernisation of irrigation;
• Support the risks related to the irrigation project (construction risks, operation, and maintenance risks, financial risks, commercial risks, etc.),
• Collect remuneration from the users based on a tariff of the water service validated by the government, etc.

Water Saving through the Innovation

About 70% of the irrigated areas of the region are fed by groundwater. For twenty years now, the abstraction of irrigation water far exceeds the possibilities of renewal of the water table of Souss. This situation has resulted in an annual reduction of the groundwater of the order of 1.5 to 2 m.

It should be noted that the EL Guerdane perimeter (10,000 ha), the only perimeter currently in delegated operation, has continued since its inception in 2009 to record the best-expected performance in terms of satisfaction of contractual water allocations, the efficiency of distribution, recovery rate, the satisfaction of user complaints and their information in real-time, intervention diligence, quality of maintenance and maintenance.

Environmental and social impacts:

• Energy-saving: Reduction of Water pumping costs by more than 50%;
• Inhibition of the phenomenon of abandonment of farms and

• safeguarding the wealth of the district ;
• Preservation of around 11,000 jobs in the region;
• Creation of 40 direct permanent jobs in the region, and between 300 and 400 jobs when the work is carried out (28 months).
• Preservation of the Souss water table: 65 MCM
• Water-saving on pumping the water table by mobilising a resource alternative: 45 MCM from the Aoulouz-Mokhtar Soussi dam complex
• Saving irrigation water: by adopting drip irrigation systems commonly called Goutte à Goutte at the level of farms benefiting from the water service

Implementation of the Innovation

This innovation brought about the realisation of the Public-Private Partnership project to safeguard the citrus area of El Guerdane in Souss (10,000 ha). A delegated management agreement was signed in 2005 between the Ministry of Agriculture and a private operator (Amensouss company) to co-finance, implement and manage the irrigation infrastructure. Indeed, the construction was completed in July 2009, and management by the delegate started in October 2009 after inauguration by HM King Mohammed VI on October 2, 2010.

Scope for Further Expansion of the Innovation

For decades attempts have been made to avoid jeopardising the whole effort of the national community in the field of irrigation. The salvation by which the sector must be sustainably improved is reforming the institutional framework governing this service. The content of this reform is summarised in:

• The adaptation of the texts by repealing the statutory and regulatory provisions of a prescriptive nature.
• The continuation and consolidation of the policy encourage users to invest in modernising irrigation techniques on the plot (localised irrigation, pivot, improved spraying, etc.).
• The separation of the management of the irrigation service from the other activities of the ORMVAs.
• The financing of the extension of irrigation, particularly through the opening of the irrigation sector to private developers in the framework of public-private partnership, was the most appropriate choice of management of the water irrigation service to ensure its durability and quality.

The PPP Irrigation Program was launched in September 2008. To maximise the chances of success of delegated irrigation management, the Department of Agriculture is proceeding with the structuring of each of the PPP projects through in-depth studies. Each project has two critical phases: (i) a feasibility study and definition of strategic partnership options, at all legal, institutional, technical, economic, and financial levels; and (ii) the execution of the call for tenders for the designation of the private delegate and the establishment and signing of the contractual documents (delegated management agreement, specifications, user contracts, public financing agreement, and water supply agreement). The program concerned the following perimeters:

• The existing irrigation schemes for modernisation and improvement of their management: Loukkos (26,500 ha), Tadla (98,000 ha), Doukkala (95,000 ha), Gharb (117,000 ha), Moulouya (65,400 ha), Haouz (143,000 ha). These projects have been the subject of feasibility studies;
• New hydro-agricultural development projects (in the feasibility study phase): extension of irrigation in Gharb (113,900 ha) and the Loukkos perimeter (9,700 ha); Dar Khrofa project in Loukkos (21,000 ha); development of newly irrigated areas downstream of the Kaddoussa Dam (5,442 ha); extension of irrigation in the Dakhla zone irrigated from desalinated Water (5,000 ha) which is in the phase of negotiation;
•  Irrigation safeguard projects in areas with high agricultural production potential: the seawater desalination irrigation project in the Chtouka area in Souss-Massa (15,000 ha); Azemmour - BirJdid coastal zone irrigation project (3,200 ha), which are in the phase of construction and subscription.

The record of the PPP program exceeded all expectations. The structuring studies carried out or in progress have involved 545,000 ha in the existing perimeters, 185,000 ha of new irrigation schemes, and 18,000 ha of conservation irrigation projects.

The Faizabad-MahVelat area in Khorasan Razavi province is one of the most important pomegranates producing regions in Iran; however, it has faced extreme weather, rising temperatures, and water scarcity in the last few years. To promote pomegranate production, a favorable environment was created by implementing a combination of several techniques.

The problem of water scarcity was solved with drip and subsurface irrigation technology. But high temperatures and direct sunlight on trees caused problems such as the trees not being able to absorb the water they need, the destruction o ...Read more

The Faizabad-MahVelat area in Khorasan Razavi province is one of the most important pomegranates producing regions in Iran; however, it has faced extreme weather, rising temperatures, and water scarcity in the last few years. To promote pomegranate production, a favorable environment was created by implementing a combination of several techniques.

The problem of water scarcity was solved with drip and subsurface irrigation technology. But high temperatures and direct sunlight on trees caused problems such as the trees not being able to absorb the water they need, the destruction of the natural moisture, the withering of the leaves, insufficient breathing, and an increase in water consumption.

Awnings were designed for pomegranate trees as well as steam generators in the field. Columns were installed in the row of trees supported with 60% density lace nets placed over them. This reduced the intense sunlight on the tree as well as balanced the temperature preventing the loss of moisture. The design of the columns and the selection of nets used were in line with regional conditions (the presence of severe seasonal winds) as well as experiments performed earlier to have the least imposed costs.

The dimensions of a block of pomegranate tree orchards were 160 m by 100 m. There were 24 rows of trees along 100 m and 40 rows of trees along 160 m. Awnings were implemented in the row of trees along the 100 m, and the share of each tree in the width was 4 m. In each row of 100 m, 5 columns with a distance of 25 m were installed.

The steps of the operation were as follows:

• Foundation of the columns in 5 rows of 100 m.
• Cutting profiles and scaffolding tubes according to the desired details by a skilled welder.
• Scaffolding columns buried in the foundation after concreting, and installing profiles i on the plate after the concrete has been set.
• Plastic nets as well as longitudinal strips of tarpaulin with the desired dimensions placed on both sides by tarpaulin strips along the length.
• Nets to be spaced every 30 cm and then connected with rivets.
• Cables are cut as per the required size and connected by clamps in the required places.
• To prevent buckling of the columns, the beginning and end columns to be restrained to the foundation.
• Cables laid on the columns along the entire row, stretched and restrained at the beginning and end of the foundation.
• Using scaffolding and footboard, the nets with a width of 3 m, to be installed with great precision and step by step on low-end cables.
• To prevent the nets from tearing due to strong winds, two cables are added to the grid installed along the length.
• With wire, each of the rings is to be mounted on the grid connected to the side cables.
• Finally, after installing the columns of the side rows, the columns are to be welded to each other through a scaffolding pipe so that the assembly is connected. Then, the stretched set of adjacent rows connect by a cable at every 7 m.

Water consumption was reduced to almost 50% using this management technique. Before running the project, each pomegranate tree needed about 300 LLL of water every 5 days, but after the project, the water requirement reached approximately 150 LLL in 8 days. It also led to increased irrigation periods. The project began with a 100 ha of pomegranate and pistachio orchard, and the awareness campaigns and experience-sharing activities were organized for the benefit of other gardeners in the area.

Trangie-Nevertire Co-operative Ltd (TNCL), a member-owned irrigation scheme, pumps water out of the Macquarie River in the central west of New South Wales-Australia (NSW) that had reached its use-by-date in the middle of the Millennium Drought. The combined impact of high conveyance losses, a series of low or zero water allocation years, the threat of losing water, and the possibility of government’s buying back the saved water from the members and ever-increasing costs, led to the general realization that it is high time to modernize the water use system.

To apply for the g ...Read more

Trangie-Nevertire Co-operative Ltd (TNCL), a member-owned irrigation scheme, pumps water out of the Macquarie River in the central west of New South Wales-Australia (NSW) that had reached its use-by-date in the middle of the Millennium Drought. The combined impact of high conveyance losses, a series of low or zero water allocation years, the threat of losing water, and the possibility of government’s buying back the saved water from the members and ever-increasing costs, led to the general realization that it is high time to modernize the water use system.

To apply for the government funding, a strategic plan from a cooperative membership base, which quantified the issues, was developed for a modernization feasibility study, comprising of the following 5 major elements:

• Reducing the earthen channel system from 240 km to 138 km and retiring 17 members permanently from the irrigation scheme to improve sustainability.
• Rebuilding the remaining 138 km of channel system, lining 108 km with Firestone EPDM rubber membrane, and installing a complete Rubicon water gate system, all enclosed within electric animal exclusion fencing.
• Installing a 230 km pipeline from the river to all continuing and retiring farms to replace the previous reliance on the channel system.
• Modernizing the remaining members’ on-farm irrigation infrastructure, with 24 linear move or centre pivot irrigators installed, as well as upgraded field layouts, tailwater return systems, and storages.
• Decommissioning the irrigation infrastructure on retiring farms and reconfiguring them back to a dryland basis, including piped stock and domestic water reticulation.

The water savings in the modernization project came from 4 main areas:

• The lining of 138 km of the rebuilt main channel with EPDM rubber led to a massive reduction in seepage losses. The selection of Firestone Geo Gard EPDM for the channel liner was a major leap of faith as the product had never been used on such a large scale in irrigation channels worldwide. The inclusion of the automated Rubicon Total Channel Control system substantially increased the water delivery service level to the members, allowing on-time and accurate on-farm water supply and measurement.
• The combination of the technologies reduced the channel conveyance losses from a historical average of 25% (ranging between 20% to 50%) to 7%. A substantial volume of rainfall was captured and stored in the lined channel sections, often providing the initial pool fills before the pumping season. This led to the farming members having more water available at the farm gate as compared to the pre-project stage.
• The Stock and Domestic pipeline system exceeded all expectations, with over 90% water savings, and available clean pressurized river water around the year as compared to linked irrigation supplies. In years of low or no irrigation allocation, such deliveries were either unavailable or with very high wet-up losses, which meant thousands of ML needed to be pumped to deliver only a couple of hundred ML into open dams. This also resulted in a huge improvement in livestock health and human amenity, especially during droughts.
• The on-farm infrastructure up-gradation led to water savings and increased yield for summer and winter crops. Most of these projects were based on replacing traditional furrow surface irrigation with overhead sprinkler centre pivot and linear move irrigators. Water use on the predominant cotton crop with these machines reduced by around 1 ML/ha while crop yields rose by 0.45 ton/ha, leading to a 30% increase in water use efficiency. Rotational winter crops have also shown improvements, especially in chickpeas where surface flood irrigation would often damage the crop from phytophra root disease but the sprinkler irrigation allowed controlled application rates, prevented waterlogging, and enabled higher yields.

As a result of this project, channel conveyance losses have been reduced and on-farm productivity improved from greater water availability and promoted the installation of “state of the art” farm irrigation systems. Previous off-farm and on-farm irrigation losses are now being used for environmental benefit.

Given the system’s success, Narromine Irrigation Board of Management applied EPDM to a substantial length of their channel system using the TNCL developed laying system as part of their modernization plan. There is substantial scope for this channel lining system to be adopted across Australia and worldwide wherever seepage losses in open channels are a significant problem.

About 98% of Alberta’s irrigation is in Southern Alberta, where more than fifty different irrigated crops are grown. Water is diverted from three rivers (Oldman, Bow, and St. Mary) and delivered to about 6,000 irrigation districts through an interconnected system of about 50 storage reservoirs, and 7,900 km of canals and pipelines. Groundwater is not used for irrigation in Alberta. About 7,600 km of the canals and pipelines are owned and operated by the irrigation districts, and about 300 km by the Government of Alberta (GoA). Irrigation in Alberta was about ...Read more

About 98% of Alberta’s irrigation is in Southern Alberta, where more than fifty different irrigated crops are grown. Water is diverted from three rivers (Oldman, Bow, and St. Mary) and delivered to about 6,000 irrigation districts through an interconnected system of about 50 storage reservoirs, and 7,900 km of canals and pipelines. Groundwater is not used for irrigation in Alberta. About 7,600 km of the canals and pipelines are owned and operated by the irrigation districts, and about 300 km by the Government of Alberta (GoA). Irrigation in Alberta was about 708,000 ha in 2016 and amounted to almost 70% of Canada’s irrigated area.

Development and implementation of technologies related to rehabilitation of water supply infrastructure and on-farm irrigation within the irrigation districts have resulted in significant water savings through reduction of distribution losses (seepage, evaporation) and improvements in on-farm water use efficiency and productivity. Salinity and waterlogging, which affected about 20% of the irrigated area throughout the irrigation districts in the 1970s, were essentially eliminated because of the irrigation rehabilitation program and improvements in on-farm irrigation technologies.

Rehabilitation measures adopted were as follows:

1. Replacing Surface Canals with the Underground pipeline - Surface canals were replaced with buried polyvinyl chloride (PVC). It was carried out in about 4,100 km (54%) of the 7,600 km of irrigation district-owned water distribution systems. These pipelines eliminated seepage, evaporation, and operational spills; reduced soil salinity and waterlogging on adjacent lands; improved water distribution efficiency and water delivery effectiveness for irrigation producers; and freed valuable land for irrigation development.
2. Surface Canal Rehabilitation - The rehabilitation of surface canals was focused on the larger canals, which cannot be replaced with underground pipelines. Priority was given to canals where seepage was a problem. Rehabilitated canals were designed to optimize water delivery effectiveness, and incorporate armor on the canal banks to protect against erosion. A buried plastic membrane was installed in the canal bottom and banks to prevent seepage losses. Automation and remote flow control of water in the canals continued to be an integral part of the irrigation rehabilitation program. This included pump control, reservoir control, upstream level control, downstream flow control, and water ordering by irrigation producers.
3. On-Farm Irrigation Technology Improvements - Newer irrigation technologies, such as low-pressure drop-tube pivot systems, and the production of higher-value specialty irrigation crops were introduced. About 76% of the on-farm irrigation in the districts were carried out using low-pressure, drop-tube pivot irrigation systems which had an efficiency rating of about 84%.
4. Irrigation Demand Model - The Irrigation Demand Model (IDM), developed in 2002, enabled irrigation districts to assess long-term water supplies relative to expected irrigation demand more accurately. This informed water allocation and expansion decision-making ensured equitable water sharing for all the irrigation producers and other water users. The IDM determines the on-farm water demand for each irrigated parcel of land within each irrigation district, using historic and current weather data and annually updated cropping and on-farm irrigation system data. The model links this data with the irrigation district water distribution Network Management Module, which is then used to estimate conveyance losses (return flow, evaporation, and seepage). The IDM was updated in 2017 which enabled an even more accurate assessment of ongoing water demand within the irrigation districts.
5. Alberta Irrigation Management Model (AIMM) - This decision support software package helped in informed irrigation scheduling. The software acquires the necessary climate parameters required to calculate evapotranspiration and irrigation recommendations from a comprehensive network of automated weather stations located throughout the irrigation districts. Producers can choose the closest weather station for their information requirements.

Until 2012, improvements to the irrigation conveyance infrastructure resulted in annual water-savings of about 50 MCM. In addition, advances in sprinkler irrigation technology resulted in significant improvements in on-farm irrigation efficiency, which increased from about 35% in 1965 to about 78% in 2012. This reduced the mean on-farm irrigation demand, based on a 10% chance of exceedance, from about 474 mm in 1999 to about 419 mm in 2012. On-farm irrigation efficiency is expected to increase to 85% by 2025. By 2012, changes in irrigation systems and water conveyance infrastructure reduced the gross demand by 74 mm, which included a 55 mm reduction in on-farm demand and a 19 mm decrease in conveyance losses, at a 10% chance of exceedance. During this period, rehabilitation of the canal distribution infrastructure, combined with improvements in the on-farm irrigation systems, reduced annual gross irrigation demand by 170 to 200 MCM, even including about 30,300 ha of irrigation districts’ expansion during that time.

Implementation of a cost-shared funding program, specifically for the rehabilitation and upgrading of existing irrigation water supply infrastructure, was initiated in 1969. With the introduction of PVC pipe technology in the early 1980s, the focus of the program shifted to the replacement of surface canals with underground pipelines. Total pipeline installation within the 13 irrigation districts averaged about 105 km/year from 1999 to 2012 and represented almost 90% of the total annual rehabilitation work carried out by the irrigation districts.

Irrigation districts authorized a further expansion of about 0.612 Mha because of improved water savings from the newly developed water supply infrastructure; and automated water conveyance systems. This expansion represents an increase in the irrigated area by about 57,000 ha from 2012 levels and about 34,000 ha from 2016 levels. Furthermore, Irrigation producers were expected to upgrade to more efficient irrigation systems on an additional 160,000 ha of land to reduce energy and labour costs, increase water use efficiency, and improve management of available irrigation water for higher value crop production. Increasing use of higher efficiency sprinkler nozzles and variable-rate irrigation technologies by irrigation producers on low-pressure centre pivot irrigation systems also enhanced on-farm efficiency gains. Irrigation districts are continuing the replacement of surface canals with underground pipelines wherever possible, and rehabilitation of an additional 1,600 km of un-rehabilitated surface water conveyance infrastructure.

To build water-saving irrigation systems for efficient and sustainable utilization of water resources, revolutionary policies for planning and implementing water-saving irrigation projects, promoting modernized transformation of irrigation schemes, enhancing awareness, and extending water-saving irrigation technology were implemented in China. As a part of the policy implementation, the construction of auxiliary facilities, up-gradation of existing equipment, and water-saving irrigation technologies demonstrations were organised in different districts.

Working out policies on prom ...Read more

To build water-saving irrigation systems for efficient and sustainable utilization of water resources, revolutionary policies for planning and implementing water-saving irrigation projects, promoting modernized transformation of irrigation schemes, enhancing awareness, and extending water-saving irrigation technology were implemented in China. As a part of the policy implementation, the construction of auxiliary facilities, up-gradation of existing equipment, and water-saving irrigation technologies demonstrations were organised in different districts.

Working out policies on promoting the development of water-saving irrigation: The policy draft document was accepted by the Government and included in the Outline of the National Agricultural Water Conservation Program (2012 - 2020). It was implemented as one of the key national policy areas for efficient and sustainable water management. Enterprises, village-level organizations, and individuals were encouraged to invest in water-saving facilities with financial subsidies from the government to purchase the requisite equipment. Additionally, Regulations for Irrigation and Drainage were composed to improve the comprehensive agricultural production capacity and to ensure national food security. The regulations were put into force as of July 1, 2016, in China.

Working out plans for water-saving irrigation development: National plans were formulated for developing modern irrigation, building auxiliary facilities, transformation projects in large and medium-sized irrigation schemes, water-saving irrigation in pastureland, upgrading large-scale pump stations, and the implementation strategies for saving water and increasing grain output in four provinces and autonomous regions in northeast China. They also restricted the over-extraction of groundwater to develop highly efficient water-saving irrigation in North and South China. These plans laid the foundation for the strategy, management, and investment of the national water-saving irrigation development.

Promoting investment in water-saving irrigation projects by Central Government: Discussions were held to increase Central Government’s investment in water-saving irrigation projects. The Central Government allocated 30 to 50 billion RMB (1 USD= 6.9 RMB) annually for developing water-saving irrigation projects, with the focus on the transformation of large and medium-sized irrigation schemes, large-scale development of efficient water-saving irrigation on the farm, and upgrading large-scale pump stations for irrigation or drainage. Along with adopting advanced agro-techniques and agricultural mechanization, such as laser control levelling equipment, comprehensive grain production capacity and efficient water resource utilization were also promoted, creating the base for modern agriculture.

With the implementation of these plans and policies, the water-saving irrigation area in China increased by 10.2 Mha, irrigation water application quota per hectare reduced from 5,910 m³ to 5,610 m³, irrigation water use efficiency increased from 47.6% to 53.6%, and water use efficiency increased by 12.6 %. Each year about 3,060 MCM of water is saved due to the development of water-saving irrigation in China. At present, there are more than 2,000 specialized manufacturers in China, whose water-saving equipment can annually irrigate more than 2 Mha.

To promote large-scale and integrated development with distinctive regional characteristics, efforts were made to construct the national demonstration counties for efficient water-saving irrigation across the country. To assess the effectiveness of the national demonstration counties, six national demonstration counties were selected for assessment.

Technical training programs were also organised for different regions, and levels. The main topics of the training were technology and application management of sprinkling irrigation, micro-irrigation, and pressurized water supply technology, IT application in irrigation schemes, calculation, and analysis of the water use efficiency in irrigation, and management of water-saving irrigation projects. Efforts were also made to limit the irrigation quota management and monitor the total water used for irrigation. Water use cooperation associations were promoted among the farmers to upgrade water management at the farm level. Comprehensive reform on agricultural water prices was launched, and a specialized user service system in water-saving irrigation was established. To tackle the water shortage problem the government targeted to expand water-saving irrigation area by 1.33 Mha every year and to reach 55% of water use efficiency in China by 2030. These targets were to be achieved by the implementation of the National Water Conservation Program, incorporating water-saving indicators, and modernising the irrigation schemes.

In 2004, Japan and other countries including Thailand formed a new body named the International Network for Water and Ecosystem in Paddy Fields, (INWEPF). The broad goal of INWEPF was to increase rice yield in a sustainable and ecologically sound manner. In August of 2012, the best practices of Alternate Wet and Dry Irrigation (AWDI) technique were incorporated with Smart Farming innovations as a new model. The model promoted the AWDI technique while managing practicalities in the real world, such as minimized labour intensity with maximum water-saving. Out of four wet and dry periods, only ...Read more

In 2004, Japan and other countries including Thailand formed a new body named the International Network for Water and Ecosystem in Paddy Fields, (INWEPF). The broad goal of INWEPF was to increase rice yield in a sustainable and ecologically sound manner. In August of 2012, the best practices of Alternate Wet and Dry Irrigation (AWDI) technique were incorporated with Smart Farming innovations as a new model. The model promoted the AWDI technique while managing practicalities in the real world, such as minimized labour intensity with maximum water-saving. Out of four wet and dry periods, only two wet and dry periods were used, resulting in 20-33% water-saving in paddy production.

Under this adapted method, rice is submerged to a depth of 5 cm above ground level until the pollinated plant starts to bloom, then water depth is increased to 7-10 cm above the ground. In the next stage, when the plant is 35-45 days old, the cultivation area is not irrigated for 14 days. This period is referred to as the first dry period and the water level in the paddy field is expected to drop to 10-15 cm below ground level. Then the ground gets dry and cracks appear on the surface. After the first dry period, the area is irrigated again until the water level reaches 7-10 cm above the ground. This wet period continues until the rice plant is 60-65 days old. Then begins the 14 days of the second dry period following the same procedure as the first dry period. After the second dry period, the field is once again irrigated to 7-10 cm above-ground and this level is maintained until harvest, approximately for another 40 days. During the two dry periods, the plant becomes stressed and struggles for survival, and therefore changing both the root structure and the above-ground parts of the plant leads to increased yields whilst at the same time saving a significant amount of irrigation water.

Against the conventional four alternate wet and dry periods which is labour intensive, only two-period cycle was practiced. The Integrated Smart Farming - AWDI technique can help manage modern world challenges like increasing demand, water scarcity, and the negative effects of chemical fertilizers. The technique reduces irrigation water use by 1/3 and cuts the need for chemical fertilizers by 70-100%. Overall, this method can cut the cultivation budget by half and increase the yield at the same time. Usually, a yield of 5000 kg/ha would be expected, but under this technique, it can increase by 25% to 6,250 kg/ha.

Under the Integrated Smart Farming - AWDI technique, 23% less water, 67% less initial seed, 38% less fertilizer, and 50% less pesticide are required. The time required also reduces by 19% while the yield increases, increasing the economic efficiency of cultivation.

In Thailand 1.6 Mha of dry season paddy is fed by more than 12,500 MCM of irrigation water which can be saved substantially using this technique. If the Integrated Smart Farming - AWDI technique is applied throughout Thailand, it is expected that irrigation water-saving during the dry season can be increased by 33%, which is more than 4,100 Mha. This has the potential to further expand the irrigated dry season paddy field area from 1.6 to 2.16 Mha. Additionally, the technique reduces the emission of greenhouse gas (GHGs) enabling Thailand in fulfilling its legal obligations to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The innovation demonstrated that knowledge dissemination and technology go hand in hand to achieve water-saving at a large scale.

Feeding a population growing at an annual rate of 1.84% with limited land and water resources is the most important challenge for Egypt today. There is a large gap between the production of all strategic crops and their consumption. More than 85% of the water withdrawal from the Nile is used for irrigated agriculture. Water availability, therefore, has a direct influence on national food security. At present, surface irrigation is used on over 80% of Egypt’s cultivated land. Poor water management is contributing to irrigation water wastage.

Previous research ...Read more

Feeding a population growing at an annual rate of 1.84% with limited land and water resources is the most important challenge for Egypt today. There is a large gap between the production of all strategic crops and their consumption. More than 85% of the water withdrawal from the Nile is used for irrigated agriculture. Water availability, therefore, has a direct influence on national food security. At present, surface irrigation is used on over 80% of Egypt’s cultivated land. Poor water management is contributing to irrigation water wastage.

Previous research demonstrated that improved agricultural management practices such as raised bed cultivation can save a good percentage of irrigation water, improve the environment for growing crops, increase the yield, and can positively impact the farmer's net revenue. Crop rotation was touted as one such technique that can save applied irrigation water in various crops with medium to low water requirements. Using crop rotations further helped in the sustainable use of natural agricultural resources and increased agricultural productivity under the prevailing conditions of water scarcity.

In South Egypt, the cropping choices in the old land, new land, and salt-affected lands (sandy and calcareous soils), in addition to sugarcane cultivation, consume a high amount of irrigation water and fertilizers. Therefore, crop rotation was implemented in each of the above locations. These rotations were characterized by cultivation on raised beds, saved about 20% of the applied surface irrigation water. Furthermore, high water-requirement crops were replaced with water-extensive crops during these rotations. Finally, intercropping was practiced, two crops were cultivated on the same unit of land using the same amount of applied irrigation water. In the old land, with proposed rotations, the saved irrigation water varied from 1,095 to 1,331 m^3/ha, while 1,546 m³/ha was saved in Lower, Middle, and Upper Egypt, respectively. On the other hand, in calcareous soil 3,160 m³/ha could be saved with the proposed rotations. However, in sandy soil a low amount of water was saved – 53, 67, and 152 m³/ha in Lower, Middle, and Upper Egypt, respectively. In salt-affected soil, 3,426 m³/ha was saved. The saved amount of irrigation water under sugarcane rotations was 3,596 and 7,609 m³/ha for spring and autumn rotations, respectively.

The second step was to validate the results of these experiments by replicating them in different locations. Demonstration experiments were conducted, and these field days and harvest days were attended by the farmers from the surrounding areas. After that, farmers adopted these innovative techniques under the supervision of workers of the Central Extension Administration.

Crop rotation in conjunction with intercropping solved the food insecurity problem by increasing water and land productivity. Climate change is expected to negatively affect water resources in Egypt in the future, worsening the existing situation further. Therefore, the urgency to adopt unconventional procedures to increase crop production and maintain irrigation water is greater today than ever.

Maize is one of the most important cereal crops in Egypt, sown as a summer crop for human consumption, animal feeding, and industrial purposes specifically for oil and starch production. Due to the production deficit, efforts are made to increase the productivity of the cultivated area by using high-yielding seeds, improving agronomic practices, and optimizing water use. Using the right amount of water at the right time in the irrigation cycle is pertinent to establish good water management practices in line with the strategy of irrigation policy in Egypt. The innovation presented here is a ...Read more

Maize is one of the most important cereal crops in Egypt, sown as a summer crop for human consumption, animal feeding, and industrial purposes specifically for oil and starch production. Due to the production deficit, efforts are made to increase the productivity of the cultivated area by using high-yielding seeds, improving agronomic practices, and optimizing water use. Using the right amount of water at the right time in the irrigation cycle is pertinent to establish good water management practices in line with the strategy of irrigation policy in Egypt. The innovation presented here is a new planting method with surface irrigation technique to increase the irrigation application efficiency, water-saving, field water use efficiency as well as increased quality and quantity of the yield.

In this method, the irrigated area was divided into furrows. The top furrow was named (Border) and the bottom one was named (Tape) and the combination of one border and tape was named (Strip). Grains were planted in the bottommost furrow using the same plant density as recommended in one or two rows of plants according to strip width. Sufficient irrigation water was provided to reach the saturation for top furrows depending on the dimension of the strip. Then the next batch of irrigation water was provided for only tapes in addition to small portions on both the sides of furrows as a result of water flow in these tapes. Accordingly, the wet area of the strip was less, and consequently, water-saving increased by about 30-50% or more without compromising the yield.

Along with the conventional farming technique, called Treatment A, two new treatments were evaluated during the irrigation cycle.

Planting on a strip of furrows with 80 cm width (bottom of furrows) following the width of the traditional furrow, with one row of plants of 22 cm in between. Grains were planted in the bottoms of furrows using the traditional plant density method. This was named treatment B.

Planting on a strip of furrows with 160 cm width with one row of plants of 22 cm in between. Grains were planted in the bottoms of furrows using the traditional plant density. This was named treatment C.

The amounts of irrigation water applied for each treatment group during growing seasons were measured by a calibrated flow meter (in m³) for each irrigation cycle. Irrigation water was transmitted to each plot through polyethylene pipes of 6-inch diameter and there was a valve in front of each plot to control the water distribution. The maize plant received 7 irrigation cycles throughout the growing season including planting irrigation where equal amounts were provided for all treatment groups until soil saturation (peddling) was achieved for all areas. Life or first irrigation was started after 21 days from planting, then irrigation interval was 14 days each. After 90 and 95 days from planting, the irrigation was stopped.

It was found that the amount of applied water was the highest for treatment A which recorded a maximum value of 8,143 m³/ha. On the other hand, the lowest value of 3,810 m³/ha was obtained from the strip of the furrow with 160 cm (treatment C), while treatment B recorded 5,676 m³/ha. The water applied and water productivity data (WP = Grain yield (kg/ha)/water applied (m³/ha)) revealed that treatments B and C saved around 30.4-53.22% of applied irrigation water, respectively, compared to treatment A. Treatment group C had the highest value of WP (1.78 kg/m³) followed by treatment B which was 1.17 kg/m³, while treatment A recorded the lowest value of 0.77 kg/m³. Concerning grain yield, it was noticed that the decrease in grain yield in treatment A may be due to the excess of applied water which led to partial aeration deficiency in the upper part of the root zone. Also, the excess wetting of the top of the furrow may have resulted in leaching out of some nutrients from the root zone. The slight increase in grains yield (6.18%) for treatment B was due to the increased plants. This was also true for treatment C. In terms of economic evaluation, it was found that treatment C had the highest value of net profit because of low irrigation and labour costs. On the other hand, it gave the highest value of grain yield resulting in economic efficiency for capital investment and investment ratio compared to the other treatments.

In the 2010-2011 growing seasons, the innovation demonstrated positive results in two different sizes of cultivable areas in terms of water-saving, increased water productivity, and an overall increase in economic benefits. By controlling the application and the timing of irrigation water in an appropriate planting setting, the amount of labour was also reduced, thus creating the possibility of employing these resources in further extension of the irrigation area.

The Jiamakou Irrigation Scheme (JIS) was constructed from July 1958 to July 960, and it is the first large high-lift irrigation scheme in the Yellow River Basin in China. After nearly 40 years of operation and obvious wear and tear, some problems emerged, such as outdated facilities, obsolete infrastructure, overstaffing, organizational overlapping, and old-school management.

In 1998, the scheme was revived, the pumping stations and irrigation canals were rehabilitated to provide better services. The rehabilitation and reform innovations in JIS were extended in 10 large irrigation ...Read more

The Jiamakou Irrigation Scheme (JIS) was constructed from July 1958 to July 960, and it is the first large high-lift irrigation scheme in the Yellow River Basin in China. After nearly 40 years of operation and obvious wear and tear, some problems emerged, such as outdated facilities, obsolete infrastructure, overstaffing, organizational overlapping, and old-school management.

In 1998, the scheme was revived, the pumping stations and irrigation canals were rehabilitated to provide better services. The rehabilitation and reform innovations in JIS were extended in 10 large irrigation schemes in Shanxi Province, 3 large irrigation schemes in Gansu Province, and 2 large irrigation schemes in Henan Province of China. The reforms covered an area of 6,45,000 ha and 630 MCM water was saved in three years.

The reform and innovations were implemented gradually in the irrigation scheme. First of all, the infrastructure and facilities of the scheme were upgraded for enhancing the system capacity for water supply, delivery, measurement, and control. Secondly, management system reforms were introduced to strengthen the operation and maintenance of the system. Benchmarking was also adopted to evaluate the progress. The monitoring and analytical results indicated that water use efficiency, water productivity, and sustainability of the JIS system have improved significantly.

The Geographic Information System, water measurement techniques, digital and image technologies were integrated into irrigation water management information system. Technical improvements were conducted to increase the operational duration of the pump. It led to an increased 2,630 hours of operation, reduced annual maintenance cost up to 10% of the original cost, and the service life of the impeller jumped from 1,000 hours to 4,000 hours. Cast-in-place U-type concrete section and arc-bottom trapezoidal section were used in the main canal, which is the largest cast-in-place concrete canal in China with a discharge of 30.5 m³/s. It has a strong frost resistance, a low coefficient of roughness, a high flow rate, and good sediment transport capacity. In 2001, a floating pumping station was designed which could accommodate the fluctuating water level of the Yellow River.

An integrated and scientific irrigation management system, which included human resources management, water supply management, water-entity management, assets management, financial management, information management, and technological advancements was implemented and it proved successful. With these reforms, the efficiency of JIS improved remarkably. The establishment of WUAs strengthened the tertiary canal management, facilitated farmers' participation in the system’s maintenance, and decision-making.

Water-saving: The water use efficiency at the main and branch canals increased from 0.68 in 1996 to 0.83 in 2012. More than 18 MCM water was saved every year, and about 120 MCM of water was saved from 2000 to 2012.

Increased revenue: The annual added value of irrigation water increased from 570 million RMB Yuan (93.4 million USD) to 1,730 million RMB Yuan (283.6 million USD) and added value of per cubic meter of irrigation water in the JIS increased from 10.62 RMB Yuan (1.74 USD) to 22.34 RMB Yuan (3.66 USD). During the same period, the annual net income per farmer increased from 5,040 RMB Yuan (826 USD) to 14,100 RMB Yuan (2,311 USD).

Increased irrigated area: The irrigated area increased from 12,333 ha in 1998 to 33,530 ha in 2007. With the north extension project in 2008, the irrigated area increased to 60,600 ha in 2012.

Increased income of staff: The annual average income of each staff member increased from 3,300 RMB Yuan (540 USD) in 1998 to 35,263 RMB Yuan (5,780 USD) in 2012.

Social benefits: FAO’s 2006 five-day assessment of the irrigated area stated "The overall irrigation benefits, water use efficiency and irrigation water productivity are all higher, compared with other irrigated areas with the same conditions and lead the way in China and the Asia-Pacific region"  The innovations and experiences in JIS have been summarized and replicated in other irrigation schemes. In the JIS operation, three primary elements of the water supply were reformed, known as the “three flows”: the commodity (water) flow, the capital (water fee) flow, and the information (water information) flow. The same model and concept can be followed in similar large projects.

Northern Victoria Irrigation Renewal Project (NVIRP) delivered a large?scale irrigation modernization project in the Goulburn Murray Irrigation District (GMID), a region that is responsible for approximately 25% of the state’s agricultural production and contributes around AUD 1.45 billion per year in dairy and agricultural industries.

NVIRP provided an irrigation system that improved customer service levels, leveraged farm efficiencies, and increased productivity and profitability. Some of the features are presented below:

The 6,300 km irrigation channel network i ...Read more

Northern Victoria Irrigation Renewal Project (NVIRP) delivered a large?scale irrigation modernization project in the Goulburn Murray Irrigation District (GMID), a region that is responsible for approximately 25% of the state’s agricultural production and contributes around AUD 1.45 billion per year in dairy and agricultural industries.

NVIRP provided an irrigation system that improved customer service levels, leveraged farm efficiencies, and increased productivity and profitability. Some of the features are presented below:

The 6,300 km irrigation channel network in operation for a century encountered inefficiencies due to record low rainfalls and long?term drought. NVIRP improvised the system to provide water at irrigator’s near?on?demand with higher and consistent flow rates facilitating increased opportunities and optimized water use efficiency and productivity. The project led to the installation of over 2,716 Rubicon gates and major control structures, as well as 117 km of channel lining with over 1,000 metered outlets decommissioned.

Full automation of the system reduced the carbon footprint of the scheme as the multiple daily manual adjustments of regulator gates and meters were no longer required. This significantly reduced the vehicle travel requirements too. Removing largely redundant assets reduced system water losses, increased operational efficiency, and reduced ongoing operations and maintenance costs – increasing the overall affordability of the scheme for current and future generations of irrigators.

Channels with high seepage and/or leakage rates were identified through a range of techniques such as soil maps, sandy soils, prior streams, aerial maps, leakage history (system operator), geophysics, field walks, and the operator’s knowledge. These were controlled with automated mechanisms.

Improved metering to customers allowed better water management and reduced losses occurring at customer outlets. Irrigation modernization project under the ten-year program reduced system water losses and generated savings which benefited both the environment and consumptive water users.

NVIRP works closely with partner agencies such as the Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority to support other water-savings projects such as on?farm efficiency programs which leverage off the benefits of a modernized distribution system. The lessons learned and implemented water-saving technology over the four years of the project were further used in catchment areas and irrigation regions throughout Australia and more broadly around the world. The Murray Darling Basin Authority has indicated that there is a need to improve the management practices. It is well established that infrastructural improvements targeted at savings will also enable new investments in agriculture and other industries across the basin.

In Vidharba region of Maharashtra, a south-western state of India, around 93% (5 Mha) of the cultivated land is dependent on rainwater for crop production. Due to variable and uncertain rainfall in the monsoon season, crop yields are quite low and unstable. Rainfed agriculture supports about 65% of the rural population and is also the major producer of cereals, pulses, and oilseeds. To manage this situation and increase water productivity, the farmers’ community implemented participatory rainwater management in the region.

To enhance crop productivity and reduc ...Read more

In Vidharba region of Maharashtra, a south-western state of India, around 93% (5 Mha) of the cultivated land is dependent on rainwater for crop production. Due to variable and uncertain rainfall in the monsoon season, crop yields are quite low and unstable. Rainfed agriculture supports about 65% of the rural population and is also the major producer of cereals, pulses, and oilseeds. To manage this situation and increase water productivity, the farmers’ community implemented participatory rainwater management in the region.

To enhance crop productivity and reduce unstable crop yields during uneven rainfall, farmers used a participatory approach to adopt in-situ rainwater conservation practice. It enhanced soil moisture and captured the runoff water in farm ponds for irrigation during dry spells.

In-situ rainwater conservation consists of various rainwater conservation measures included modified land configurations like deep cultivation, contour and across the slope cultivation, intercropping, and opening furrows (intermittently broken) among others. Farm pond storages were created, runoff harvested from the cultivated fields into the farm ponds was used to provide protective irrigation during a prolonged spell of rainfall in Kharif (monsoon) and moisture stress in Rabi (winter) seasons.

In deep cultivation, the water use efficiency (kg/ha-mm) achieved was between 1.24 - 1.49 for soybean crops and between 0.98 - 1.09 for cotton. Compared to shallow or conventional cultivation, the crop yields in deep cultivation were found to be higher by 11% to 37%, runoff also decreased by 8% to 13%, and soil loss was reduced by 17% to 31%.

The opening of tide furrows in crops like cotton, soybean, black gram, green gram, and sorghum enhanced the yield levels by 4% to 14% and water use efficiency from 1.18 to 2.82 kg/ha-mm than the conventional field layout.

In the case of across the slope cultivation higher crop yields up to 50% and water use efficiency of 0.55 - 2.67 kg/ha-mm were achieved. Similarly, in contour cultivation, the crop yields were higher by 39% to 88%, and the water use efficiency between 0.55 - 2.67 kg/ha-mm was achieved. Similarly, trends of higher crop productivity and water use efficiency were observed in alternate furrows across the slope and in contour cultivation.

Square basins (20 m x 20 m) prepared before the commencement of rains enhanced the yield of chickpea by 67% and rainwater use efficiency in the range of 0.89 to 1.48 kg/ha-mm over the control trial. Green manuring of the basins during monsoon season enhanced the soil moisture content from 43% to 64%, increased yield of chickpea by 38%, and rainwater use efficiency from 0.89 to 1.22 kg/ha-mm over the control treatment.

The protective irrigation using drip system enhanced the yield of pigeon pea by 67% and water use efficiency was between 0.89 to 1.38 kg/ha-mm. Two protective irrigations through drip systems in cotton enhanced the yield level by 51% and water use efficiency between 1.61 to 2.13 kg/ha-mm. One protective irrigation in soybean through sprinkler system using farm pond storage enhanced the yield by 24% and water use efficiency from 2.15 to 3.48 kg/ha-mm over the controlled field treatment.

Participatory water management technique which was followed by 9,500 farmers from 115 villages in the region conserved an estimated 227 Mha of water on 21,000 ha land between 2009 and 2010. Furthermore, 50,000 m³ of water was made available for protective irrigation by promoting the construction of 15,000 farm ponds, leading to a significant increase in crop yields.

Field experiences over the years showed that modified land configurations like deep cultivation, across the slope or contour cultivation, and opening of furrows and tied furrows, green manuring, square basin layout, enhances rainfall storage in the soil profile. Farm ponds provide irrigation water to crops during dry spells.

With an integrated effort from the government and the community, participatory practices can bring change on the ground leading to social and economic benefits while increasing water productivity.

The Vaalharts irrigation scheme is situated at the confluence of the Harts and Vaal rivers on the border between the North West and the Northern Cape provinces in South Africa. It is the largest irrigation scheme in the country, with a scheduled area of 29,181 ha. The scheme consists of a network of canals covering a distance of more than 100 km supplying water to about 1,873 abstraction points through pressure regulating sluices.

Vaalharts water distribution practices suffered from the limitations of a manual system including higher labour force requirements, calculation/estimati ...Read more

The Vaalharts irrigation scheme is situated at the confluence of the Harts and Vaal rivers on the border between the North West and the Northern Cape provinces in South Africa. It is the largest irrigation scheme in the country, with a scheduled area of 29,181 ha. The scheme consists of a network of canals covering a distance of more than 100 km supplying water to about 1,873 abstraction points through pressure regulating sluices.

Vaalharts water distribution practices suffered from the limitations of a manual system including higher labour force requirements, calculation/estimation errors, indirect method of estimation of releases, difficulty in incorporating the changes in demand, individual’s experience, and information collation in the distribution management making the water use efficiency reports time consuming and inaccurate.

The weekly water distribution management practices at Vaalharts Water were very labour-intensive. Moreover, preventing water losses and maintaining a good rapport with farmers was becoming increasingly difficult for the management.  These limitations were overcome by developing and introducing a computerized system in the form of the Water Administration System (WAS).

Water orders were captured directly by water control officers, calculation errors were eliminated, water balances were updated daily, conventional charts were replaced by digitized systems, and release volumes were computed weekly instead of earlier monthly volumes. The water distribution sheets were modified quickly incorporating the changes in the demand and water use efficiency reports were generated automatically with the WAS. The computer system facilitated the water control officers to carry out more inspections and minor repairs like canal leakages and breakages which were easily monitored while maintaining a timeline for clients.

Productivity vastly improved with reliable water use efficiency reports produced using WAS. The water control officers developed a positive attitude as their administrative responsibilities were reduced and they could invest more time in strategic planning. Water losses on the scheme decreased from 32% to 26.7% in a single year due to WAS’s efficient mechanisms.

The implementation of the WAS program made water-savings at Vaalharts Irrigation scheme sustainable with the potential for future advancements. As the proficiency and knowledge of the personnel increased, the accuracy of supplying the correct amount of water to the right place at the right time improved, and more water was saved.

Sharing close ties with Vaalharts irrigation scheme, Taung irrigation scheme was also recommended to adopt a similar approach under the guidance and supervision of the team. The use of modern tools and Information Technology could improvise water management practices in terms of computations as well as infrastructure maintenance ensuring easy experience sharing and a seamless knowledge transfer.

The participatory Irrigation Management (PIM) approach was introduced in India in the 1990s. The Government of India has been promoting PIM in irrigation schemes, with the objective of improved operation and maintenance of irrigation infrastructure, reducing fiscal burden, increased cost recovery, and higher crop production through better water management. As a result, more than 50,00 Water User Associations (WUA) were formed all over the country. Waghad Irrigation Scheme of in the Maharashtra State is one such example that created an impact on the ground.

Waghad Irrigation Scheme ...Read more

The participatory Irrigation Management (PIM) approach was introduced in India in the 1990s. The Government of India has been promoting PIM in irrigation schemes, with the objective of improved operation and maintenance of irrigation infrastructure, reducing fiscal burden, increased cost recovery, and higher crop production through better water management. As a result, more than 50,00 Water User Associations (WUA) were formed all over the country. Waghad Irrigation Scheme of in the Maharashtra State is one such example that created an impact on the ground.

Waghad Irrigation Scheme located in Nashik district of Maharashtra; India was commissioned in 1981. The scheme’s cultivable command area was 9,642 ha but only one-third of it (3,212 ha) was irrigated as farmers in tail areas were deprived of irrigation water. 

In 1990, a local civil society called Samaj Parivartan Kendra (Centre for Social Transformation) in collaboration with the Water Resources Department (WRD) of the state motivated farmers to take over the operation and management of the scheme. At the outset, only three Water User Associations were formed at the tail area of the canal command. Initially, these WUAs struggled to get their share of irrigation water. But with the transfer of management to WUAs, farmers in the tail area received their fair quota of irrigation water and thus could irrigate the more cropped area.

Enthused with the success of the WUAs, farmers from the entire command gradually formed twenty-four WUAs. As a step forward, in the year 2003, all the WUAs came together and managed the operations and maintenance of the entire irrigation scheme by forming an apex organization called Waghad Project Level Water Users Association (PLWUA). 

Functioning of PLWUA: The PLWUA undertook water management with technical guidance and support from WRD. Water was supplied volumetrically at the head of the canal and subsequently, the PLWUA distributes the water among other WUAs as per their demand and entitlements. As the average landholding of farmers was very small (0.5-1.0 ha), volumetric supply to each farm holding was difficult, so farmers devised an innovative way to share water on a timely basis.

The association collected water charges from its members and used them in the operations and management costs of the system. Management transfer to PLWUA resulted in 100 % utilization of irrigation potential, water-saving, crop diversification, and 100 % collection of water charges.

Innovative Water Management by PLWUA in Waghad Project resulted in 13 MCM of saved water in the irrigation year 2008-2009 which is almost one-third of the water diverted for irrigation. During the period 2003 to 2008 the area irrigated increased from 7,377 ha to 10,400 ha, the water use in ha/ MCM increased from 218 to 300. In addition, the farmers were able to grow high-value crops like grapes, vegetables, and flowers, along with traditional crops like rice, bajra (Pearl millet), sorghum, wheat, gram, etc. The farmers’ income in 2003-2004 was INR 60,000/ha (USD 1200/ha) which doubled to INR 120,000/ha (USD 2,400/ha) in 2008-09. This management technique generated local employment and reduced the migration of farm labourers from villages to cities.

Based on the success of participatory irrigation management in Waghad project, the Govt of Maharashtra, India took a policy decision to facilitate the supply of irrigation water by forming WUAs only. This efficient water management model was projected to be replicated at different locations in the country as well as in other developing nations of the world.

Rice is one of the most inefficient crops in terms of water use because it is conventionally grown under submerged conditions increasing the pressure on limited area resources in the country and contributing to irrigation water shortage during the peak summer season.

This study was performed to seek the possibility of growing rice variety (cultivar Sakha 104) on strips to decrease the amount of irrigation water as well as to increase crop productivity. This method depends on reducing irrigated area by land division into furrows. The top of the furrow was named (border) and ...Read more

Rice is one of the most inefficient crops in terms of water use because it is conventionally grown under submerged conditions increasing the pressure on limited area resources in the country and contributing to irrigation water shortage during the peak summer season.

This study was performed to seek the possibility of growing rice variety (cultivar Sakha 104) on strips to decrease the amount of irrigation water as well as to increase crop productivity. This method depends on reducing irrigated area by land division into furrows. The top of the furrow was named (border) and the bottom of the furrow was named (tape). Every border and tape were named (strip). The seedlings were transplanted at bottom of the furrow using the same plant density as recommended into two rows of plants according to strip width. Irrigation was provided with enough amount for reaching the puddling stage then the next irrigation was given for tapes only with a depth of 7 cm. Accordingly, flooding area was less and consequently increased water-saving by about 30%-40%, this new method also increased irrigation application efficiency and water productivity, however, it decreased percolation losses and decreased evaporation.

Two planting methods were followed in the permanent field: M1: Traditional transplanting: Transplanting of seedlings rice on flat at the hills (4-5 plants) distance of 20 × 20 cm to give the rate of (25 hills/m²) and, M2: Transplanting in strips of furrows 80 cm wide: (Top of furrow 45cm and 35 cm for bottom). Seedlings were transplanted in hills (4-5 plants) 10 cm apart from the two rows on the strips keeping the same population as in the traditional method (25 hills/m²).

The highest grain yield/ha (9.275 t/ha) was obtained from M2 treatment, while the lowest value was recorded from M1 treatment (8.789 t/ha). The results showed that total water used by rice according to the different planting methods were 14,960 and 9,023 m³/ha for M1 and M2 treatments respectively. From these results, it was reported that water saved was about 5,938 m³/ha (39.69%), and yield increased by 5.86% for M2 treatment. The highest water use efficiency was recorded for M2 treatment at (1.032 kg/m³) while the lowest one was recorded for M1 treatment at (0.588 kg/m³).

Therefore, it can be concluded that transplanting rice using strips of furrows 80 cm in the second method (M2) is potentially high for water-saving as approximately 40% was saved, with a 6% increase in grain yield/ha in addition to a 75% increase in water use efficiency. This innovative method was conducted in 2002 on a small research area as experimental work. After that, between 2003-2005, the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation co-operated with Water Management Research Institute and extended it in different governorates covering all climate and soil conditions in Egypt.

The Water Administration System (WAS) is designed to be a water management tool for irrigation schemes, Water User Associations (WUA’s), Catchment Management Agencies (CMA’s), and water management offices that want to manage their water usage, water distribution, and water accounts. 

The main aim during the development of the WAS program was to minimise water losses for irrigation schemes that work on the demand system and that distribute water through canal networks. Currently the WAS program is in use at all the major irrigation schemes cross South Africa and it ...Read more

The Water Administration System (WAS) is designed to be a water management tool for irrigation schemes, Water User Associations (WUA’s), Catchment Management Agencies (CMA’s), and water management offices that want to manage their water usage, water distribution, and water accounts. 

The main aim during the development of the WAS program was to minimise water losses for irrigation schemes that work on the demand system and that distribute water through canal networks. Currently the WAS program is in use at all the major irrigation schemes cross South Africa and it manages an irrigated area of more than 142 000 ha including 9 500 farms. The main benefits of using the WAS program is: 

• The minimising of water distribution losses.
• The excellent management of water quota allocations and water usage per farmer.
• The availability of an extensive list of water reports on farm and scheme level.
• The increased productivity of scheme management personnel.
• An integrated debit accounting system that improves debit management.
• The improvement of the overall water administration management on irrigation schemes.

TYPES OF APPLICATION

WAS is an integrated database driven system with many water management capabilities. WAS can be implemented in a small water office that manages a few abstractions and measuring stations up to a CMA level that manages thousands of abstractions and measuring stations. WAS is used for the efficient administration of:

• Address information.
• Scheduled or rateable areas.
• Water quota allocations.
• Water delivered through pressure-regulated sluice gates, measuring structures and water
• Water transfers between users (Automatic and manually).
• Water use calculations for planted areas based on crop water use data.
• Date and time related flow data collected from electronic loggers or mechanical chart recorders.
• Discharge tables (DT) to do conversions between water depth and flow rate for measuring structures or vice versa.
• List of rateable areas (LRA) information.
• Calculation of water releases for water distribution through canal networks, pipelines and rivers taking lag times, evaporation, transpiration and seepage into account.
• Billing system that links to the water usage information.
• Flexible user charges based on water usage, a flat rate or scheduled area.
• Images and photos that can be linked to different types of information in the database.
• Automatic weather station database with a build in calculation of Eto values.
• Mail merge facility for sending letters to clients.

The WAS program saves all information in a Firebird database that can be installed on a single PC or on a server for use over a network. This makes it possible for the scheme manager, accounts personnel and water office personnel to access the database from PC's in their own offices. There is no limitation on the number of PC's that can be linked to the database.

What makes the WAS program unique is the fact that it is an integrated system that includes the water allocations, water use, water distribution and billing information. WAS will generate monthly invoices automatically using water usage or scheduled areas information captured in the database. Different user names and passwords can be used to control access to certain information in the database.

The ?Neyrpic Modules? method replace the conventional splitting methods in the face of abnormal volatility due to the asymmetric, unbalanced, non ? voluntary and seasonal runoff and drain of agricultural water.

The ?Neyrpic Modules? method replace the conventional splitting methods in the face of abnormal volatility due to the asymmetric, unbalanced, non ? voluntary and seasonal runoff and drain of agricultural water.

The improved techniques used are precision land leveling, dry planting of clover and wet planting of cotton, using seed drill and row planting for wheat, planting cotton, maize, sugar beet and faba bean in relative long furrows and application of gypsum requirement according to the chemical analysis of soil.

The improved techniques used are precision land leveling, dry planting of clover and wet planting of cotton, using seed drill and row planting for wheat, planting cotton, maize, sugar beet and faba bean in relative long furrows and application of gypsum requirement according to the chemical analysis of soil.

Agricultural uses are approximately 48% of the total annual water use in South Korea. While approximately 70% of the annual rainfall is received during the summer season, most of the agricultural water is utilized from May to June. Therefore, irrigation facilities using reservoirs, canals, and pumps were installed to efficiently manage water on the farms. The supply of agricultural water also varies from season to season due to climate factors, regional topographies, characteristics of the river, and the water level. Over time, the imbalance between supply and demand undermined efficiency i ...Read more

Agricultural uses are approximately 48% of the total annual water use in South Korea. While approximately 70% of the annual rainfall is received during the summer season, most of the agricultural water is utilized from May to June. Therefore, irrigation facilities using reservoirs, canals, and pumps were installed to efficiently manage water on the farms. The supply of agricultural water also varies from season to season due to climate factors, regional topographies, characteristics of the river, and the water level. Over time, the imbalance between supply and demand undermined efficiency in supply and management. In such a situation, scientific decision support systems became necessary to resolve water efficiency problems and maintain long-term sustainability.

South Korea modernized its reservoir irrigation system through the effective use of information and communication technology (ICT) for periodic monitoring and analysis of the collected data. ICT informed decision makers and assisted in operation and management tasks in the irrigation system. The upgraded system improved irrigation efficiencies and increased productivity by providing refined irrigation scheduling plans for different crops for different seasons.

A web-based measurement system was developed with a standard model to calculate the optimal amount of water to be supplied to the respective area and provide relevant information. The system also created a real-time evaluation of the efficiency in the amount of water used, better allocation of water resources, and improved water services to farmers.

Automatic water gauges were installed at the main and branch irrigation canals in the Dongjin River Basin. The water levels were monitored and calibrated, and the irrigation water supply and irrigation efficiencies were calculated from 2012. An irrigation model taking into consideration intermittent irrigation was developed to compare the estimated irrigation demands with the actual supplies to develop decision-making and demand strategies. The optimal water supply curve based on the precipitation scenario and the previous water supply curve developed through monitoring and modelling were also suggested.  A risk-based decision support system (DSS) for the operation and management of the agricultural water supply was developed and evaluated. The smart water management system was applied to a total area of 16,567 ha, consisting of 16 canals and branch lines (59km). It was difficult to secure enough water to be used for irrigation through the local streams or rivers alone. Therefore, an operation method of classifying the upstream and downstream by the day of the week was developed.

Application on the site consisted of major facilities (reservoirs, water pumping, and distribution systems, and weirs). In particular, 141 measurement facilities were installed at the beginning and the end of the regional stream as well as at water gates to prevent natural disasters and measure rainfall, water flow, and water levels to capture images. This system allowed optimum management of irrigation water. The cutting-edge IoT technology in measurement systems on sites allowed real-time information to be delivered regardless of time or space to the decision-maker. The smart water management system was based on the web or mobile network to receive real-time data from the on-site measurement device and the water systems chart. Information such as the amount of rainfall, water levels, river levels, and images was provided, along with the current status of the water supplied through each branch of the water source along with warnings for abnormal water levels.

Unlike the existing SCADA system, this smart management technique formed an autonomous network based on the internet and enabled wireless communication making remote monitoring possible. This technique can be further replicated in other basins for efficient water management.

In the absence of any water source other than brackish drainage water and no land for agricultural production other than wetlands, Lake Manzala (LM) basin in Egypt needed to identify water for agricultural production. To overcome the issue, a unique approach was followed, wetlands were constructed to treat brackish drainage water which reclaimed the saline-sodic soil as well as led to vegetable production on rice bales as an alternate growing media. The approach was later called the El-Salaam Canal project, a successful project that reclaimed saline lands by apply ...Read more

In the absence of any water source other than brackish drainage water and no land for agricultural production other than wetlands, Lake Manzala (LM) basin in Egypt needed to identify water for agricultural production. To overcome the issue, a unique approach was followed, wetlands were constructed to treat brackish drainage water which reclaimed the saline-sodic soil as well as led to vegetable production on rice bales as an alternate growing media. The approach was later called the El-Salaam Canal project, a successful project that reclaimed saline lands by applying mixed drainage water with fresh Nile water (EC = 1-1.5 dS/m) in North-eastern Nile Delta. Within 20 years (1995-2015), 500,000 acres (202,343 ha) were added to the Egyptian croplands after reducing their salinity and toxicity.

Two demonstration farms (DF) located on LM fringes were prepared, the first had a waterlogged saline-sodic soil, electrical conductivity (ECe) of 47-73 dS/m, and exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP) of 60-88%. While the second farm had rice bales placed on top of such soil to act as an alternate cultivation media for vegetable production. The salinity of irrigation water (EC) was in the range of 5.4 and 8 dS/m.

Land reclamation continued for 5 years starting with land levelling, salts leaching, cultivation of salt-tolerant grasses followed by salt-tolerant crops (fodder beets then sugar beets). Rice bales were arranged in rows, equipped with a drip irrigation system, and were initially irrigated for one month for composting. The bales were cultivated during 2015-2016 with vegetables like tomato, eggplant, and chili pepper in summer followed by onions and cabbages during winter.

Treated water application provided an alternative water source; local wastewater was reused instead of importing freshwater from far away catchments. The good quality water was then used for new land and crop expansion projects. Landowners, fishermen, and farmers accepted the idea and started to reclaim their fallow lands and produced vegetables on rice bales media.

Within 5 years, by using treated brackish drainage water, salinity and infiltration rate were improved significantly especially at the topsoil (0.5 m depth). Produced fodder and sugar beets crop yields were 52% and 70% of the Delta beets yield which was economically acceptable. Bale-media yields were 30.0, 23.3, 6.67, 37, and 13 ton/ha for tomato, eggplant chili pepper, onions, and cabbages, respectively, almost equivalent to the average production of fertile soils irrigated with fresh Nile water.

An economic evaluation of the two demonstration farms indicated that the rice bale cultivation gave early net income gains ranging from 35 to 3,230 USD/ha compared to the almost positive income (200 -500 USD/ha) obtained after five years of continuous reclaiming of the adjacent farm.

Rice bale cultivation managed to reduce the overall costs as well as saved time and water. The water consumption per kg of produced rice bale cultivated tomato, eggplant, and chili pepper were 0.05, 0.06, and 0.22 m³/kg when compared to the 0.32 m³/kg of the reclaimed lands sugar beets.

Furthermore, the fishermen community at the LM fringes imitated the technique and reclaimed their lands by cultivating vegetables on rice bales using a small portion of the treated water. They managed to develop their lifestyle by producing and marketing high-value vegetables and cash crops. It also helped in saving the environment from rice straw burning and maximizing its value.

Egypt has five northern lakes (Manzala, Burullus, Idko, Mariut, and Bardaweel). These lakes are receiving agricultural water loaded with nutrients, salts, and biological contaminations. The estimated land irrigated by these lakes is 15,000 ha with waterlogged saline-sodic soils. This technique of using rice bales as wetlands to treat drainage water in crop production can be replicated in such regions. The available excess drainage water that is currently dropped at the northern lakes is nearly 13 BCM/year. Only 3% of such water is sufficient to reclaim the available 15,000 ha saline area surrounding the Egyptian lakes.

A participatory water management system in Iran’s Golestan province, aimed to promote the efficient use of water resources for irrigation and reduce water consumption, was implemented in the Tazehabad region. The objective was to improve efficiency with the active participation of farmers, a mechanism that can be replicated in other areas. Activities were set to achieve tangible goals such as increasing the irrigated lands and efficiency upgrades in three parts: transmission, distribution, and water use.

The project cycle management methodology was used and a logical ...Read more

A participatory water management system in Iran’s Golestan province, aimed to promote the efficient use of water resources for irrigation and reduce water consumption, was implemented in the Tazehabad region. The objective was to improve efficiency with the active participation of farmers, a mechanism that can be replicated in other areas. Activities were set to achieve tangible goals such as increasing the irrigated lands and efficiency upgrades in three parts: transmission, distribution, and water use.

The project cycle management methodology was used and a logical framework of Project Design Matrix (PDM) and the plan of operation (PO) was created for implementation and monitoring. The decisions were taken with due consideration of the infrastructure and the climatic data in the presence of farmers. Facilitating and meta-facilitating techniques were used based on the community’s responses. 

Activities such as data collection, farm plot certificates, certificates of irrigation network structures, low-cost methods of soil analysis, and measurement of water flow in canals were done by the farmers themselves. On one hand, farmers were responsible for the assessment of water requirements and the amount needed for their farms; on the other hand, they became more familiar with the thrift-based systems in surface irrigation and started using water by turns. Simple irrigation techniques like land levelling were also introduced. Other irrigation techniques such as furrow (leakage) and strips, irrigation programs, and strategies were also managed by the farmers and the community. Water management units comprising of water users from all the channels were constituted and the administrative units provided technical support and good practices as well as monitored the implementation progress.

After the project’s successful completion in January 2013, the quantitative results showed that water efficiency reached 1.67 from 0.8 in pilot farms, and in the last crop year (2013-2014) it nearly reached 1.17 in the whole region of Tazehabad. Irrigation efficiency increased from 20 to 30% (for irrigation in width, length, and angle) to 40 - 60%. The irrigation area increased almost twice from 430 ha to 900 ha in one year. The established partnerships among stakeholders led to an exponential growth in the region to this extent that they rented their storage dam (reservoir) for fishery and resorted to alternative approaches like organic farming.

IRRISAT is a satellite-based irrigation advisory service developed in Italy and operational since 2007 in the Campania region (Southern Italy); nowadays it has been used in Australia (with name COALA). The service aims at providing farms and managers of water resources with real time information on crop water needs. Irrigation needs are estimated using high resolution data from Earth observation satellites and meteorological gridded data (including 5-days forecast) by using the FAO 56 “direct” calculation method. Data are aggregated at various spatial ...Read more

IRRISAT is a satellite-based irrigation advisory service developed in Italy and operational since 2007 in the Campania region (Southern Italy); nowadays it has been used in Australia (with name COALA). The service aims at providing farms and managers of water resources with real time information on crop water needs. Irrigation needs are estimated using high resolution data from Earth observation satellites and meteorological gridded data (including 5-days forecast) by using the FAO 56 “direct” calculation method. Data are aggregated at various spatial scales (from field or irrigation unit to district or river basin scale) and temporal scales (real time, historical series). Information is distributed in near-real time to the users (farmers and/or water agencies) by using ICTs, namely web- mapping applications. Several water user associations in Italy are using IRRISAT for supporting their everyday management of irrigation distribution, as well as for detecting non-authorized water withdrawals.

At the farm scale, farmers have been slowly by slowly integrating their knowledge and experience with the site- specific evaluation of irrigation volumes given by IRRISAT; as a result, the applied volumes have been progressively reduced of about 20o/ compared to the previous values. This corresponds roughly to about 1000 mc/ha/year, over a total surface (referred to Southern Italy and Australia) of 150 000 ha; the resulting estimated water saved is at least 150 Millions of cubic meters per year.

The IRRISAT method has also the following advantages

• qualitative/quantitative information data is provided on the real performance and the status of crops growth;
• large areas can be covered with a single image;
• processing of the data is rapid (images are usually supplied already pre-processed);
• support can be readily provided to water managers, i.e. it’s possible to carry out targeted controls on the ground based on satellite information, thus maximizing the utilization of dedicated personnel;
• procedures can be simply automated;
• information provided at an affordable cost.

The Water Resources Institute has categorised India as being the 13th most water stressed country in the world. Agriculture is India’s largest consumer of fresh water, accounting for 80% of all fresh water resources. 
The State of Karnataka is one of the fastest growing economies in India and is heavily dependent on agriculture. Agriculture consumes an estimated 85% of the state’s available fresh water.
Increases in population growth, coupled with increasing water requirements across the agricultural, urban and industrial sectors have placed significant stress ...Read more

The Water Resources Institute has categorised India as being the 13th most water stressed country in the world. Agriculture is India’s largest consumer of fresh water, accounting for 80% of all fresh water resources. 
The State of Karnataka is one of the fastest growing economies in India and is heavily dependent on agriculture. Agriculture consumes an estimated 85% of the state’s available fresh water.
Increases in population growth, coupled with increasing water requirements across the agricultural, urban and industrial sectors have placed significant stress on the state’s river basins, resulting in a water supply-demand deficit. Due to these factors, an urgent need has been identified for coordinated action across Karnataka to better manage fresh water resources.
Solution details:
Karnataka’s Krishna Bhagya Jala Nigam Ltd. (KBJNL) is utilising Rubicon Water’s gravity-fed irrigation technology to modernise and rehabilitate their manually operated NLBC network to improve the efficiency, productivity and sustainability of the district’s water resources.  
In 2019, Rubicon Water won the tender to deliver innovative gravity-fed automation technology to improve the efficiency and productivity of the Narayanpur Left Bank Canal (NLBC) system in the Indian state of Karnataka.
The project scope includes the installation of more than 4,000 automated Rubicon control and regulating gates, along with sophisticated software and communications infrastructure that will precisely manage the delivery of water to farmers located along approximately 1,500km of canals. In addition, 60 microclimate weather stations and soil moisture probes will be strategically installed to assist farmers in making informed irrigation scheduling decisions. 
KBJNL operators have the ability to leverage the power of the solution’s irrigation management software to plan, manage and deliver water more efficiently while providing an equitable service to farmers, 24/7. 
The irrigation management software has the capability to precisely manage the demand of water within the system and coordinate the automated gates to adjust in real-time to precisely deliver the desired flow and volume to farmers located throughout the network.
To support the large project scope and align with the country’s ‘Made In India’ campaign, a purpose-built manufacturing facility was constructed in Hyderabad to produce the canal automation technology. The construction of the facility commenced in May 2019, with production of Rubicon’s precision PikoMeter flow measurement and control devices starting in 2020. To date, the facility has successfully manufactured more than 2,800 PikoMeters.
The original project completion was set for 2021. However, COVID-19 complications delayed the delivery of the project which is now scheduled for completion this year. 
The project is expected to improve water efficiency within the NLBC network by up to 20%, while delivering an equitable service to farmers and supplying water at consistent flow rates enabling farmers to increase their on-farm crop production and economic productivity. 
Automation of the NLBC system has already demonstrated benefits by improving tail end serviceability. For example, farmers located on the end of the network reported received water for the first time in decades. Farmers are praising the modernisation project, with one stating that “earlier [prior to modernisation], we never used to get [irrigation] water, but this year we got water.”
Farmers are also reporting significant improvements in crop yield in comparison to previous years. The table below highlights the yield improvements that farmers are already achieving from the early stages of modernisation. As automation throughout the network continues, it is expected that these yield improvements will continue to increase.
Upon completion, Rubicon’s canal automation technology will be servicing over 90% or 4.08 lakh hectares (408,000 hectares) of the NLBC command area.
Key Project Facts & Objectives:

• Largest automation project of its kind across the world
• Equitable service and on-farm efficiency improvements to support farmers in achieving higher yields and diversification into higher-value crops
• Modernisation is improving Seasonal Relative Water Deficit (RWD).
• Modernisation has the potential to significantly recover unserviced land and avoid over-watering of existing areas
• 80% of automated gates are built in India with the supply chain fully sourced from India
• In line with the National Water Missions goals, the modernisation project will improve water use efficiency by 20%, 

1.1. Hybrid Irrigation Method

The innovative method provides a hybrid between surface and pressurised irrigation methods to overcome the disadvantages of both methods. The hybrid irrigation method can be defined as the group of application techniques where water is applied and distributed over the soil surface, same as in surface irrigation but one or more of the main components of micro-irrigation or sprinkler irrigation methods is introduced (e.g. mainlines, sub-mainlines, or manifolds). The hybrid irrigation methods enable a significant degree of management and ...Read more

1.1. Hybrid Irrigation Method

The innovative method provides a hybrid between surface and pressurised irrigation methods to overcome the disadvantages of both methods. The hybrid irrigation method can be defined as the group of application techniques where water is applied and distributed over the soil surface, same as in surface irrigation but one or more of the main components of micro-irrigation or sprinkler irrigation methods is introduced (e.g. mainlines, sub-mainlines, or manifolds). The hybrid irrigation methods enable a significant degree of management and increase application efficiency. Depending on the systems used, the efficiency of this method can be as high as that of sprinkler irrigation systems.

1.2. Hybrid Irrigation Systems

Pressurised irrigation systems are closed conduit systems, whereas surface irrigation systems are open flow systems, so hybrid irrigation systems are semi-closed conduit systems. Therefore, eight irrigation systems could be classified as hybrid irrigation, such as the multiple-inlet irrigation system, multioutlet hybrid irrigation system, Simulated Low Energy Precision Application (Simulated LEPA), low-head bubbler, micro flood, perforated pipes irrigation system, gated pipes irrigation system, and Multiset irrigation system.

1.3. The Multioutlet Hybrid Irrigation System

The multioutlet hybrid irrigation system is a semi-closed conduit system accomplished by flowing water under pressure over the soil surface through outlets as in surface irrigation using the main components of the pressurised irrigation methods (mainlines, sub-mainlines, and manifolds) without lateral lines and distributors (drippers, bubbles, sprinklers, etc.); each lateral line and its distributors are replaced by an outlet for irrigating a certain plot. The outlets are devices that release water from high-head pipelines into basins, borders, strips, or furrows (i.e., in the multioutlet hybrid irrigation system, the outlets consist of a riser pipe and one or more valves to control the flow). The outlets should release into fields without causing erosion. They may include alfalfa or orchard valves, various types of hydrants, etc.

The multioutlet hybrid irrigation system may achieve high distribution efficiency, equal to that of pressurised irrigation systems, by using the main components of its networks. Also, it may reach a high application efficiency by decreasing advance time. The multioutlet hybrid irrigation system theory and applications will be presented in detail in the following sections.

Water Saving through the Innovation

The multioutlet hybrid irrigation system maximises the water distribution efficiency to equal the performance of pressurised irrigation systems by using a network of pipelines that decrease water losses by eliminating evaporation, deep percolation, surface run-off, and seepage, as occurs under normal conditions of surface irrigation using earthen ditches. Moreover, application efficiency was modified by delivering water under pressure inside the field plot to minimise advance time, decreasing water losses. The system design also ensures that the depths and discharge variations over the field are relatively uniform. As a result, available soil water in the root zone is also uniform.

Implementation of the Innovation

The multioutlet hybrid irrigation system was first developed as an experimental system in 2005 in Egypt's National Water Research Center. Several studies were conducted to evaluate the potential use of the innovative system for irrigating crops in the Western Nile Delta. The technology was introduced to farmers, producers, decision-makers, and policy planners in Egypt, Mali, South Sudan, Brazil, India, China, Qatar, Jordon, Sri Lanka, and the USA via direct meetings, presentations, farmer field events, workshops etc. throughout national and international organisations. The following two up-scaling models were developed to improve surface irrigation systems and achieve food security in the depressed agricultural and water-scarce areas of Egypt and Mali.

Model for Up-Scaling in Egypt: In Egypt, water shortage is the country's central dilemma, and inefficient surface irrigation systems are the predominant systems in the Nile Valley and Delta. Consequently, the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation and the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation adopted the multioutlet hybrid irrigation system to be implemented on a large scale. It was also adopted as the new model for the Irrigation Improvement Project in the West Nile Delta of Egypt, on an area of nearly 504 ha. In addition, some orchard producers have adopted the system for irrigating about 3.8 ha of citrus trees in the East Nile Delta. Moreover, the experimental fields equipped by the multioutlet hybrid irrigation system at the Water Management Research Institute (WMRI) increased from 1.3 ha to 2.6 ha. It is also planned to replace the 6.7 ha of lined ditches with the multioutlet hybrid irrigation system in the experiment stations of WMRI. It is further planned to use the multioutlet hybrid irrigation system model in all ongoing and future irrigation improvement projects.

Model for Up-Scaling in Mali and Sub-Saharan Africa: Mali is one of the poorest countries in the world, with approximately 60% of the population living in poverty and 28% malnourished, as per UN-FAO. Agriculture accounts for a substantial portion of Mali's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employs a large section of the country's workforce. Many Malian farmers still use primitive irrigation methods, manual tillage tools, flood irrigation without drainage systems, and unimproved crop varieties to produce their food. As a result, they have dispersed and small cultivated plots (100 m²/family), water and soil quality degradation and desertification, insignificant income and extreme poverty, joblessness, food insecurity, and widespread hunger. Thus, another up-scaling model of the multioutlet hybrid irrigation system was developed and implemented in Mali (Tibibas Project) for irrigating 365 ha as an example for converting from monoculture crop in rain-fed production systems to multi-cropping through an appropriate irrigation system for achieving food security and rural income sustainability in depressed areas of sub-Saharan Africa. The overall goal of this up-scaling model was to establish multi-season agriculture and crop diversification along with achieving increased yield and crop water productivity. Other benefits of this model include water and food security, mitigating extreme poverty, promoting gender equality and empowering women by increasing the cultivated area per woman (by 2500%), improving soil and water quality, controlling malaria, and combating malaria desertification. The model will also ensure water, environment, livelihoods, and rural income sustainability.

Scope for Further Expansion of the Innovation

The Hybrid irrigation method and its eight irrigation systems are promising, alternative technologies for marginal farmers to produce their food. The technique and its systems have a range of long-term advantages; therefore, they have scope for significant expansion.

The multioutlet system was adopted and developed by farmers and producers in both developed and developing countries to improve surface irrigation efficiencies, achieve food security, and increase rural income sustainability by increasing cultivated area per woman in sub-Saharan Africa. In Egypt, farmers are moving from using surface irrigation to the multioutlet hybrid irrigation system to irrigate high water consumption crops in the Nile Valley and Delta, such as sugarcane, rice, bananas, etc. Lately, some international organisations have adopted the multioutlet hybrid irrigation system in sub-Saharan Africa to increase the impacts of their food security projects, especially in depressed regions. The multioutlet irrigation system is recently spreading worldwide and adopted by small farmers in many areas of Africa, Asia, the USA, and Latin America for its significant long-term advantages.

Pistachio Research Institute located in Rafsanjan city of Iran developed an innovative irrigation technique between 2011-2014 along with few gardeners, approved by the Institute of Technical Research and Engineering considering its positive results.

In this technique, water from the source of irrigation water supply (well or water storage pool) is transferred to pressurized pipes up to the garden using the pumping system and then poured into the pool by special valves. The water, coming out of the pressurized state, moves by the force of gravity based on the slope of the ea ...Read more

Pistachio Research Institute located in Rafsanjan city of Iran developed an innovative irrigation technique between 2011-2014 along with few gardeners, approved by the Institute of Technical Research and Engineering considering its positive results.

In this technique, water from the source of irrigation water supply (well or water storage pool) is transferred to pressurized pipes up to the garden using the pumping system and then poured into the pool by special valves. The water, coming out of the pressurized state, moves by the force of gravity based on the slope of the earth, inside the water pipes. Inside each pool, water pipes transport the water under the soil and around the roots of the trees. The ends of the discharge tubes are also open and are connected by a knee to a vertical tube (ventilator). This ventilator is responsible for discharging air into the pipe and facilitating the flow of water inside. Water pipes with different diameters (90 mm to 125 mm) are installed depending on the soil texture, length of rows, irrigation system flow, land slope on both sides of the row of trees, and at a certain depth from the soil surface (30 cm to 60 cm). The installation depth of the water pipes depends on the soil texture and is usually chosen to have the least amount of moisture on the soil surface to prevent surface water evaporation losses. If the distance between the rows of trees is less than 5 m, only one pipeline in the middle of the rows of trees is used. The distance of the pipes from the trunk of the tree also depends on the texture of the soil, the age of the plant, and the dimensions of the crown of pistachio trees and usually varies between 0.8 and 1.3 m. The length of the pipelines between 30 and 100 m is usually acceptable and is considered less in light soils (maximum 70 m). The diameter and distance of the holes on the pipes also depend on the texture of the soil, the planted trees rows’ length, and the amount of discharge entering each pipe. So, the diameter of the holes varies between 9 mm and 12 mm and their distance from each other varies between 15 cm to 35 cm.

Unlike micro?irrigation systems, in this technique, the heavier the soil, the larger the diameter of the holes, and the shorter the distance between the holes. Since a large volume of water must be distributed in a short time in the root zone of trees, the main holes responsible for distributing water in the soil, are placed at an angle of about 45 degrees to the line perpendicular to the floor of the pipe at a certain distance. Holes are also installed in the floor of the pipe one by one between the main holes to completely drain the pipe water. The inflow of water to each pipeline depends on factors such as pipe diameter, pipeline length, and soil texture and usually varies between 2-8 l/s. Around the tubes, a layer of gravel about 10 cm thick is placed as a filter. The diameter of the filter particles is usually between 6 mm and 12 mm. The filter is used on the bottom and sides of the pipe and there is no need for a filter on the pipe. This gravel layer prevents soil particles from entering the pipe, prevents soil leakage, creates a uniform environment for better water distribution along the pipeline, and prevents plant roots from entering the pipe. A layer of nylon on the pipes is used to prevent soil particles from entering the filter during winter leaching.

In addition to reducing water consumption, and increasing water use efficiency, the technique has 3 main advantages:

• Possibility of using it in saline waters due to its low sensitivity to clogging water outlets.
• Good adaptation to retail conditions due to the possibility of distributing large volumes of water in the root zone of garden trees in a short time.
• Possibility of reducing irrigation frequency in gardens with a high irrigation cycle.

First research work on this irrigation system resulted in a 25% reduction in water consumption (about 1,800 m³/ha) and a 62% increase in water use efficiency compared to flood irrigation. Additionally, depending on the planting distance of trees, it is possible to reduce water consumption by 50% compared to conventional flood irrigation in pistachio trees in the region. Another important advantage of this system over micro?irrigation systems is its good adaptation to micro?property conditions and the possibility to reduce the irrigation cycle in pistachio orchards with long irrigation frequency.

In the last few years, different installation depths of the pipe, the diameter of the pipe, and the diameter and distance of the holes on the pipes have been evaluated. In addition, the effect of the design on moisture distribution, and soil salinity were evaluated more accurately. Other complementary tasks included optimizing and manufacturing a special filter for round pipes or polyethylene prefabricated pools to facilitate the implementation of this irrigation system.

Secondary salinization induced by improper irrigation is recognized as a threat to agriculture all over the world, especially in arid and semi-arid areas. Secondary salinization is typically caused by flood irrigation because of the rise in the water table and the subsequent intense phreatic evaporation leading to an upward movement of salt contained in the groundwater which ultimately accumulates in the surface soil. Utilizing micro-irrigation techniques also leads to an increase in salinization, but in this case, secondary salinization is caused by insufficient leaching due to inadequate ...Read more

Secondary salinization induced by improper irrigation is recognized as a threat to agriculture all over the world, especially in arid and semi-arid areas. Secondary salinization is typically caused by flood irrigation because of the rise in the water table and the subsequent intense phreatic evaporation leading to an upward movement of salt contained in the groundwater which ultimately accumulates in the surface soil. Utilizing micro-irrigation techniques also leads to an increase in salinization, but in this case, secondary salinization is caused by insufficient leaching due to inadequate watering as demonstrated by Figure 3.7. An increase in salinization resulting from drip irrigation techniques has occurred in many dry areas including Israel, Egypt, the United States, Lebanon, China, among others.

Mulched drip irrigation (MDI) incorporates surface drip irrigation methods combined with film-mulching techniques both of which save water and labour while increasing the crop yield. In this study, a numerical model of soil water and salt movement under MDI conditions was developed. Guided by both experimental data and numerical simulations, soil water and salt distribution patterns at multiple spatio-temporal scales were ascertained, and an optimal irrigation schedule for the cotton-growing season coupled with comprehensive soil water and salt regulatory scheme for MDI was developed in an experimental research station in China. The model demonstrated high computational efficiency and robust numerical stability, making it suitable for long-term continuous simulations of soil water and salt migration under drip irrigation.

Irrigation quotas and intervals are two important parameters of the mulched drip irrigation system. From field experiments and theoretical analyses, it was found that, within a set range of water volumes, crop yields increase with irrigation quotas, however, water use efficiency tends to decrease. For a fixed irrigation quota, there exists an optimal irrigation interval that maximizes water use efficiency. This allows the determination of an optimal irrigation schedule, based on the integrated index of water and salt stresses. A holistic scheme of water and salt regulation for MDI cotton fields was developed by integrating an optimal irrigation schedule during the growth period, a flush scheme during non-growth periods, and a salinity reduction scheme of applying chemical ameliorants. This innovative technology has been extensively applied to a 20,000-ha region of cotton fields, resulting in the saving of 500 MCM of water.

During the growth period, by using optimizing irrigation systems, water-saving was achieved by improving the utilization efficiency of irrigation water. During the non-growth period, through flush irrigation scheme, yearly flush irrigation was replaced by a multi-year flush irrigation scheme, and the flush irrigation quota was reduced compared to traditional methods. The amount of water used for salt-leaching was also reduced. Additional water-savings were also realized by reducing the amount of salt leaching water through the application of chemical ameliorants. Compared to traditional irrigation methods, about 25% less water was required with the water and salt regulation scheme. Also, the cotton yield increased by 17% with stable soil salinity.

Proven to be one of the major agricultural technologies for saving water and increasing crop yields, drip irrigation technology has been applied on a large scale in the north-western and north-eastern regions of China as well as in other Central Asian countries. This technology has wide application prospects, especially in China and Central Asia, where more than 70 Mha of cotton is grown. It is estimated that promoting the application of this technology can generate more than 7 billion USD each year and save up to 17.5 BCM of water resources. It also has played an important role in regional economies, social development, and poverty reduction. The technology demonstrated that non-conventional and systematically calculated irrigation water requirements not only save water but also help in increasing the crop yield and it applies to a variety of crops.

A proper irrigation scheduling method adjusted to the actual crop water requirements is crucial to use available water resources better. Following this approach, an app called IrriSAT was developed in Australia to manage daily crop water use based on weather data.

IrriSAT is weather-based irrigation management and benchmarking technology app that uses remote sensing to provide site-specific crop water management information across large spatial scales at acceptable resolution. It calculates crop coefficients (KC) from relationships with freely available satellite- ...Read more

A proper irrigation scheduling method adjusted to the actual crop water requirements is crucial to use available water resources better. Following this approach, an app called IrriSAT was developed in Australia to manage daily crop water use based on weather data.

IrriSAT is weather-based irrigation management and benchmarking technology app that uses remote sensing to provide site-specific crop water management information across large spatial scales at acceptable resolution. It calculates crop coefficients (KC) from relationships with freely available satellite-derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data. Daily crop water use (ETc) is determined by multiplying KC and daily reference evapotranspiration (ETo) observations from nearby weather stations or nationally provided gridded ETo data.

IrriSAT is moving weather-based scheduling into the future. It automates satellite processing from both the Landsat NASA satellite platforms and the Sentinel ESA satellite platforms. Developed using the Google Earth Engine, it deliveries crop water use information to assist in irrigation scheduling and crop productivity benchmarking. It provides daily crop water use as well as a 7-day crop water use forecast. The app provides users with an estimate of crop water information that can be used for assisting with irrigation scheduling, ordering water, and also benchmarking the performance of crops within and between fields and regions. Daily, it shows historical and current crop water use for a selected field or region as well as cumulative crop water from the planting date.

Users can also enter applied irrigations, and the tool undertakes a water balance for the selected field or region, showing irrigation deficit information. IrriSAT also undertakes a 7-day crop water use forecast and provides an estimate of the following irrigation period based on the user-selected irrigation deficit.

IrriSAT was introduced to irrigators through a range of mediums, including direct meetings and presentations to irrigators and irrigation consultants at farmer field events throughout the Australian cotton and grain growing areas. The users reported water savings from using the tool in many ways, some of which are listed below:

• Modifying irrigation timing to better match crop water demands
• Better prediction  of extreme climate events (like high ET_C days) and modifying irrigation schedules/deficits to minimize impacts on crops
• Identifying poorer performing areas within irrigated crops and changing management, for instance using laser levelling
• Benchmarking performance of irrigated fields across farms and regions and using limited water resources on better performing fields

Currently, the app has full functionality across the entire Australian Continent and the USA. It allows users in these areas to get site-specific crop water use information historically. The app is useful across the globe to get seven-day crop water use forecasts. However, this scientific innovation needs the experience of irrigation scheduling and also access to and availability of gridded ET0 data.

In 2009, the Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority (GB CMA) and other Victorian and regional groups formed a consortium to develop the Farm Water Program (FWP). Developed under FWP, the water-saving calculator built on 20 years of agricultural data (Goulburn Murray Irrigation District (GMID), is an innovative way of determining water savings in real-time. 

The water-savings calculator was first used in 2010 to determine water-savings for the first few FWP projects. This followed further improvements and some work with FWP consortium partners to ensure that the calcul ...Read more

In 2009, the Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority (GB CMA) and other Victorian and regional groups formed a consortium to develop the Farm Water Program (FWP). Developed under FWP, the water-saving calculator built on 20 years of agricultural data (Goulburn Murray Irrigation District (GMID), is an innovative way of determining water savings in real-time. 

The water-savings calculator was first used in 2010 to determine water-savings for the first few FWP projects. This followed further improvements and some work with FWP consortium partners to ensure that the calculations were correct and accepted. Several irrigators and irrigation specialists reviewed some examples of water-savings calculations and provided feedback on their accuracy and use.

Essentially the water-savings calculator gives an irrigator the confidence to adopt a new more water-efficient irrigation technology by estimating the expected annual water-savings if that irrigation technology were to be adopted on a predetermined area of land. It does this by taking into account both the existing and future irrigation methods, the soil type, and the crop type. Eligible irrigators work with FWP staff to develop a project using a previously prepared property farm plan which provides details of the proposed changes to the farm irrigation system. Using the whole farm plan, irrigators are then able to nominate all or parts of their property to be improved through an FWP project with a detailed change plan. The upgrades to the public delivery system included the renovation of sections of channels to minimise leakage and seepage with the use of clay or plastic lining together with the installation of remote-controlled, automated channel regulators and delivery gates to properties. Some sections of channels were replaced with pipelines while others were removed where no longer required. These changes resulted in a higher level of delivery service for irrigation farmers with more consistent and larger flows of water available which allowed for higher speed irrigations and improved water use efficiency. Irrigators were able to utilize the internet to plan and order the delivery of water onto their properties to suit their needs

FWP projects contain technologies and work for three types of irrigation systems:

Surface irrigation with activities including:

• Laser grading of irrigation bays to achieve a consistent grade down the bay to minimize waterlogging.
• Drainage reuse systems for collecting irrigation and rainfall-runoff and store it in a constructed sump and pump the water for irrigation.
• Improved gravity earthen channels and pumped pipe and riser systems that can accurately control the flow of water.

Micro and drip irrigation including:

• Installation and upgrades of pumps, piping, and sprays, and drippers.

Overhead sprinkler irrigation including:

Installation and upgrades of centre pivot, lateral move, and fixed sprinkler systems.

Water-savings Calculator: The water-savings calculator uses three crop types comprising

• Annual crops and pastures (ET_O = 3 ML/ha/year)
• Summer crops and horticulture (ET_O = 6 ML/ha/year)
• Perennial pastures, citrus, and almonds (ET_O = 8 ML/ha/year)

To calculate the amount of water saved, three groupings of soil types were used with the lightest textured soils, the sands, and sandy loams grouped as Light Soils, the loam soil types were grouped as Medium Soils and the clays grouped as Heavy Soils.

In a typical example with crops requiring 3 ML/ha/year, water-saving was as follows

• Improved surface irrigation adopting laser grading (14 ML/ha/year)
• Drainage reuse (16 ML/ha/year)
• Gravity earthen channel (36.5 ML/ha/year)
• Sprinkler upgrade, micro/ drip irrigation upgrade (no water-saving)

The water-savings calculator has now been used across 622 FWP projects, covering more than 37,000 ha with an expected 82,000 ML of the saved water. The improved irrigation systems provided irrigators with additional benefits of reduced labour requirement and ease of operating a more flexible irrigation system. Other irrigators have kept identical crops with the new upgraded system and experienced both a reduction in water use (ML/ha) and an increase in production (ton/ha and ton/ML).

The water-saving calculator was developed for a specific region using land use, crop type, irrigation activity in the form of drip or sprinkler, on-farm development and activity, improvement in the irrigation application tools, and so on. Thus, it is region-specific but can be developed for other regions as well. Besides GMID, the calculator has wider use in providing water use efficiency information for irrigators as they plan changes to their farm irrigation systems. It can be used as a decision support tool for irrigators to compare water use efficiency merits of technologies and practices they may consider adopting.

Irrigated farmland contributes approximately 75% of grain and more than 90% of vegetables produced in China. Unfortunately, the increasing water scarcity coupled with population increase and climate change has aggravated food security issues. Newly designed sprinklers and micro-irrigation systems have been implemented in China to improve the situation.

Following are the specific cases and findings reported after the implementation of these sprinklers:

1. Consumption mechanism of sprinkler water intercepted by the crop canopy: Lack of knowledge on canopy interception ...Read more

Irrigated farmland contributes approximately 75% of grain and more than 90% of vegetables produced in China. Unfortunately, the increasing water scarcity coupled with population increase and climate change has aggravated food security issues. Newly designed sprinklers and micro-irrigation systems have been implemented in China to improve the situation.

Following are the specific cases and findings reported after the implementation of these sprinklers:

1. Consumption mechanism of sprinkler water intercepted by the crop canopy: Lack of knowledge on canopy interception led to farmer’s hesitance in adopting the technology. Studies were conducted between 2001-2010 to quantify the amounts of canopy interception for sprinkled crops and to investigate their consumption mechanism. Results indicated that the interception varied with growing stages from 0.7 to 3 mm for winter wheat and 0.8 to 2.6 mm for maize. Moreover, the evaporation of water intercepted by canopy compensated for partial loss of sprinkler water as the plant transpiration and soil surface evaporation could be suppressed by increased humidity and reduced temperature within the sprinkled field resulting from the evaporation of the water intercepted. Through energy balance measurements (Bowen ratio and eddy covariance methods) and modelling, the net losses were separated from the gross losses and quantified to be 4.3-6.5% of the water applied during the irrigation season of maize and approaching zero for winter wheat. The net losses accounted for a relatively small portion of water applied, confirming the water-saving merits of sprinkler irrigation. Thus, a software package to determine net loss under varying environments and operation conditions of sprinkler irrigation systems was developed.
2. Droplet size distributions from sprinklers: Droplet size distribution from the sprinkler is an important parameter that controls evaporation loss from spray and soil erosion caused by droplet impact. Extensive measurements and modelling of droplet size distributions from different shaped sprinkler nozzles were conducted. These works significantly contributed to the development and revisions of Chinese national technical standards of sprinkler irrigation.
3. Design standards of sprinkler uniformity: Based on field observation, a sprinkler uniformity lower than the value suggested by the current standards (C_u = 80%) was recommended to reduce the installation and operation costs of sprinkler irrigation systems. Lateral and vertical redistribution of water and solutes in soil were caused by a non-uniform distribution. These findings were adopted in the development and revisions of the Chinese national standards related to sprinkler irrigation.
4. Variable rate irrigation for centre pivots: Variable rate irrigation (VRI) is an emerging efficient irrigation technology to determine the optimal cycle time of solenoid valves at specific travel speeds of the pivot. The traits of VRI system in enhancing water use efficiency and reducing deep percolation were evaluated for winter wheat and summer maize in the alluvial flood plain of China. VRI reduced irrigation water use by 17.6% during the irrigation season of maize and reduced the variability of deep percolation within the entire field. Fieldwork suggested that AWC (available water holding capacity) can be an alternative parameter for zone identification in VRI management.
5. Design of landscape sprinklers: The study assured that the arc-controlling unit of sprinkler rotation stays in place and undamaged when the sprinkler was accessed or driven by casual or misoperation, thus increasing sprinklers' service life and stability.
6. Transport of water and nitrogen in soil under drip fertigation: The study addressed the concerns about potential toxic rhizospheric environments caused by fertigation. The research included design and operation strategies for injectors, laboratory and fieldwork on nitrogen in homogeneous and heterogeneous soils, and the response of plant growth and crop yield and quality to water management practices and fertilizers under surface and subsurface drip irrigation.
7. Design standards of drip irrigation system uniformity: Extensive investigations were conducted on the influence of drip irrigation uniformity and spatial soil variability on the dynamics of water, nitrogen, and salts as well as crop yield and quality under a wide range of environments from arid to sub-humid, for cotton, maize, and vegetable crops. It was found that the effect of drip irrigation uniformity on crop yield and water and nitrogen deep percolation is less than expected. It was concluded that micro-irrigation system uniformities as low as 60%, although lower than the current standards, may be acceptable in terms of yield and nitrate leaching; and a lower uniformity coefficient can be used in the humid and semi-humid regions than in the arid regions.
8. Efficient and safe utilization of reclaimed sewage effluent through micro-irrigation: With the increasing use of reclaimed sewage effluent in irrigated agriculture, experiments were conducted to study pathogens behaviour in the soil-plant system. It was found that the potential pollution risk of E. coli to soil can be reduced. Using the 15N tracing technique, the effectiveness of nitrogen-containing in sewage to crop production was also quantified and No E.coli uptake was detected when drip irrigation was used.

A management practice of irrigation at 100% ET_C (evapotranspiration), along with a nitrogen application rate of 160 kg/ha was recommended and widely used in the region. On average, the requirement of seasonal irrigation and fertilizers reduced by 20-30% and 15-20%, respectively compared to traditional surface irrigation. Studies revealed that increasing frequency from traditional monthly fertilization to weekly fertigation for greenhouse vegetable crops can increase yield by 18% and reduce nitrogen usage by 15-30%. The three years of field experiments in the sub-humid region of Northeast China revealed the advantage of plastic mulch in saving water by 10-15% via reducing evaporation from the soil surface and enhancing crop growth through increasing soil temperature at the beginning stages of maize. Using two or three in-season fertigation splits could meet crop nutrients requirements on time, thus increasing crop yield by 5-10% and reducing the need for nitrogen. The estimated water saving was about 180 MCM in the three years of the experiment.

These technologies, mainly sprinkler and micro-irrigation, were extended to around 60,000 ha in several provinces covering winter wheat, maize, and several vegetable crops. Approximately estimated acreage of direct use was about 1,200 ha with total water savings of about 3.7 MCM and fertilizer reduced by 270 tons. Currently, drip irrigation has become an acceptable irrigating method for greenhouse vegetable crops in China. The developed management practices were used in 330 ha of maize cultivation (10 centre pivot installations) from 2012 to 2015. The estimated total accumulative water-saving was 1.6 MCM in the three years. It was further extended in two counties of Heilongjiang Province from 2012 to 2015, with a total acreage of about 3,400 ha maize irrigated by centre pivots. The amount of water savings was about 70 m³/ha with a total estimation of 14 MCM. Currently, the number of centre pivots and linear move systems in China has reached 7,000 installations with a total area of 40,000 ha. These management practices are planned to be implemented in a larger area and more water and fertilizer saving can be expected. These sprinklers contributed to the domestic industrialization of landscape sprinklers as well as water and soil conservation for landscape irrigation in China. They were also exported to the USA, Brazil, Mexico, Iran, and other countries. The findings provide a complete guide for the design, management, and evaluation of micro irrigation systems to maximize their benefits.

After three decades of research, the controlled irrigation methodology was introduced in paddy growing fields of Guangxi province, China, to overcome concurrent challenges. The technique includes an optimal combination of irrigation timing, frequency, irrigation control of water level in the field, and the amount of fertilizer.

China has a large output of paddy rice with an area of 461 million mu and an output of 185 MT, ranking the second and the first in the world respectively. Guangxi, the largest growing base of sugarcane in China, has a mango growing area of 900,000 mu and is ...Read more

After three decades of research, the controlled irrigation methodology was introduced in paddy growing fields of Guangxi province, China, to overcome concurrent challenges. The technique includes an optimal combination of irrigation timing, frequency, irrigation control of water level in the field, and the amount of fertilizer.

China has a large output of paddy rice with an area of 461 million mu and an output of 185 MT, ranking the second and the first in the world respectively. Guangxi, the largest growing base of sugarcane in China, has a mango growing area of 900,000 mu and is also one of the most suitable places for the production of black tea, green tea, and Oolong tea. It has 1,500,000 mu tea gardens and 2,400,000 mu citrus growing area. Despite the rich rainfall and water resources in South China, the extremely uneven distribution of yearly rainfall led to an ever-increasing water shortage, weak infrastructures, insufficient innovating capacity, and low awareness of water-saving irrigation technologies. Most farmers lack the basic knowledge of selecting the time, amount, number, and mode of crops for irrigation. In South China, paddy fields are traditionally watered through flood and plot-to-plot irrigation with the help of gravity, and the fields are inundated for long periods which leads to plant diseases and pests, unproductive tiller, weak stem, and lodging, resulting in yield decline. Secondly, with annual water consumption reaching 12,000-15,000 m³/ha, the conventional irrigation method leads to water wastage and consequent farmers’ disputes over water sharing in dry seasons. To boost outputs, farmers have been applying fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides in large quantities, leading to contamination of surface water and shallow groundwater.

To address these problems, after more than three decades of experimentation and studies at the Guilin Irrigation Experimental Station, a controlled irrigation methodology was devised. The controlled irrigation technique for paddy rice develops an optimal combination of irrigation timing, frequency, water, the water level in the field, and the amount of fertilizer. The technique has been promoted on a total area of 15.3 Mha in the region resulting in 28.7 BCM of water savings during the period 1990 to 2013. The innovation focuses on water content production function, irrigation principles, temporal and spatial changes, recycling rural sewages through fast infiltration, wetland general system, and farmland irrigation. It revolves around the connection of physiological water demand of paddy Rice, field water consumption, water, and fertilizer coupling, channel irrigation management, and ecological repair. This technology addresses four indices of the paddy rice irrigation system from the perspectives of water resource, environment, and management, i.e., irrigation time, irrigation number, irrigation quantity, and irrigation quotas which correspond to the total quantity control and quantity management technology adopted in the process of soil testing formula, fertilization time, fertilization number, fertilization load, and channel management.

As a result of these techniques, in an area of 667,000 ha with 1872 m³/ha under paddy, up to 1.25 BCM of irrigation water was saved cumulatively; crop yield increased by 300 kg/ha and 200,000 tons cumulatively, and farmers’ income was increased by 900 yuan/ha (USD 137) and 600 million yuan (94 million USD) in total. From 1990 to 2013, the cumulative water-saving in Guangxi Autonomous Region amounted to 28.704 BCM; total crop yield growth added up to 4.6 MT; and the income growth totalled 276 billion Yuan (44 billion USD), while the consumptions of fertilizer fell by 2.3 MT, and nitrogen and phosphorus elements washed away dropped by 30%, and the emission of non-point source pollution was reduced by 26 BCM.

Field surveys were carried out in the countryside in the irrigation zone and selected 240,000 mu farmlands in Pingle and Lipu counties as the pilot zone for water-saving irrigation of paddy rice. Significant achievements were made in the same year. The water consumption of late rice in Lipu was 290.5 m³/mu with scientific irrigation while the water consumption was 377.5 m³ in the conventional deep-water submerged irrigation, hence saving water by about 89 m³/mu. The output increased to 462.8 kg from 399.4 kg with scientific irrigation per mu hence increasing the output by 63.4 kg/mu. According to domestic experts, the incremental output per mu is 25.4 kg with scientific Irrigation based on a ratio of 0.4. In Pingle County, the incremental output per mu was 24.2 kg.

Pilots were also conducted for the cultivation of sugarcane, mangos, tea, and citruses in Liuzhou, Laibin, Nanning, Chongzuo, and Baise of Guangxi Province, with a cumulative promotional area of 3 million mu; saving water and fertilizers by 36,000 m³ and 45 million kg cumulatively and respectively and increasing incomes by 4.5 billion Yuan (700 million USD).

The water-saving irrigation technology was mainly characterized by a combination of drip irrigation, micro-irrigation, and soil testing formula fertilization in the implementation of sugarcane, mango, tea, and citrus in an area of 3 million mu. The economic and social benefits from the irrigation experiment were obtained every year since the 1960s. In 1992 and 1993, 1.78 Mha of rice field was spread with the “shallow water, wet and dry irrigation method” in the Guangxi region. The total water saved was 2.53 BCM and the total increased rice yield of rice was 672000 tons in two years. The average value of saving water was 1.42 ton/ha and the average value of the increase in yield was 377.1 kg/ha. The total direct economic benefit was 543 million RMB (8,38,10,518.7 USD) with an average direct benefit of 304.5 RMB/ha (47 USD). 86 countries, 922 townships, 1132 irrigation districts, 6302 villages, and 25 million framer families were involved in the project implementation and benefitted from the technique.

A growing population and competing demands for limited water resources prompted California-USA to pass the Water Conservation Act. In addition to a 20% reduction in per-capita urban consumption by 2020, the law required agricultural suppliers to “implement efficient water management practices” and volumetric pricing. With a state-wide assessment of water use underway, the South San Joaquin Irrigation District (SSJID) Board of Directors realized the issue posed a potential threat and approved the Division 9 pressure system upgrade to demonstrate that the district is proactively a ...Read more

A growing population and competing demands for limited water resources prompted California-USA to pass the Water Conservation Act. In addition to a 20% reduction in per-capita urban consumption by 2020, the law required agricultural suppliers to “implement efficient water management practices” and volumetric pricing. With a state-wide assessment of water use underway, the South San Joaquin Irrigation District (SSJID) Board of Directors realized the issue posed a potential threat and approved the Division 9 pressure system upgrade to demonstrate that the district is proactively addressing California’s conservation goals.

The SSJID historically delivered water to farmers through 400 miles of gravity-based canals and pipelines. Farmers drew from the network of laterals at scheduled times via flood irrigation or private pumps used for sprinkler or drip systems. While the system worked well for flood irrigation, the combination of flood and sprinkler usage on a single system became problematic. As a result, some customers did not buy water from the SSJID, opting instead to draw from their private, salinity-stricken wells. With the new pressure system, the customers increased and efficiency was improved.

The newly approved Division 9 pressure system efficiently managed water delivered by reducing water needs by up to 30% and accounted for water use through magnetic flow meters at each customer connection.

A portion of one of the district’s nine divisions – 1537 ha in Division 9 – was chosen as the site for building, testing, and optimizing a pilot pressure irrigation project. The vision for the system included the following fundamental capabilities:

Pressurization – pumping water from a 56-acre-foot pond to individual farms through 19 miles of pressurized pipeline

Calculated use – letting farmers choose the time, volume, and flow rate of deliveries

Automated/mobile access – developing a web-based tool that allows farmers to schedule deliveries from a computer, smartphone, or iPad based on current and past weather forecasts, previous water usage and historical evapotranspiration rates, and orchard moisture sensors.

The project consisted of a 19-mile network of pipelines with flexible pressurization (currently set at 60 psi), a 56-acre-foot water storage basin, a 1,225- hp (913482 W) pumping station containing seven vertical turbine pumps capable of pumping a total of 23,500 gal/min (52.4 ft3/s), and a total of 55 solar-powered Field Telemetry Units or FTU’s controlling 77 customer connections. The FTU consisted of a PV panel, a flow control valve, and meter, and a radio-based supervisory control that communicates with a data acquisition (SCADA) system in the pump control room.

With the Division 9 pressure system, each customer had one connection point, with a magnetic flow meter to measure and transmit water deliveries; historic data are automatically stored on the district’s server for uploading into the district’s billing software.

With the new system, irrigation water was distributed to the customers across 3,800 acres of California’s Central Valley through an automated channel. Using an online system similar to an airline ticketing platform, growers were able to login and schedule water deliveries. Additional information on current and past weather forecasts, previous water usage, historical evapotranspiration rates, and real-time moisture sensor readings were also available on the website. Each farmer selected from available delivery dates and received alerts via email and text message before and after delivery to confirm volume and flow rate data. To promote efficient water usage, moisture sensors placed in the ground on each grower’s property indicated optimal ordering times when orchards were at their greatest need.

The survey revealed that the customers received irrigation water at the exact time, flow rate, pressure, and duration they needed. In addition, the reduced number of customers using the gravity system allowed the flood runs to be accomplished faster and more efficiently, with less stress on the previously overloaded gravity system and reduced long-term maintenance costs.

The survey data indicates as follows:

With the Division 9 pressure system, Farmers were able to irrigate based on surface water availability and crop water requirement, at the exact flow rate and duration they desired. With the pressure system upgrade, the district proactively addressed California’s conservation goals. The system efficiently managed water delivered by reducing water needs by up to 30%. The farmers in the SSJID service area have historically been charged a flat rate of 24 USD/acre for irrigation water. A typical 40-acre orchard has numerous valve structures to flood irrigate the land. This posed a difficult and expensive challenge for the district to comply with due to the thousands of exit points off of the gravity system. However, in the new system, each customer has one connection point, with a magnetic flow meter to measure and transmit water deliveries. The historic data are automatically stored on the district’s server for uploading into the district’s billing software, complying with the Water Conservation Act.

The district’s fixed, the 10-day delivery schedule does not provide an optimal water supply at the frequency needed to maximize crop yield. The system’s East Basin Pump Station doubled as a regulating reservoir, storing and pumping irrigation water to 77 customer connections on an on-demand basis, the pressure system induced a demand to convert from flood irrigation to sprinkler/drip application methods. Of the 77 customer connections in the system, 18 installed sprinkler or drip systems immediately after the pressure system was available to serve their land. The increased use of sprinkler/drip increased the irrigation efficiency of the farming operation and contributed to the goal of maximizing beneficial use of the district’s water rights.

The system tapped into abundantly available solar energy in the region to meet the power demands of all of the customer connections. The solar system powered the solenoids of the flow control valve, magnetic flow meter, moisture sensors, process logic controller, and radio communications to operate the turnouts and provided real-time information on flow rate, crop moisture conditions, turnout pressure, control, and battery component status, and delivery details (start time, end time, total hours irrigated, average flow rate, total water delivered).

The ten-year average water supply (2002-2011) to the Division 9 pressure system customer base has been 7,528 acre-feet. The summation of water deliveries (calculated via magnetic flow meters at each customer connection) through the pressure system for the first year amounted to 4,695 acre-ft. Thus, a 2,833 acre-ft conservation has been achieved.

On a water delivered per acre basis, the savings magnified because 50% of the customers of the pressure system were using their wells before the pressure irrigation system. Now, the District was able to re-enrol these farmers and reduced groundwater pumping while higher quality surface water use increased. Before the pressure system, 19,924 acre-ft of water was delivered to Division 9 to support 3,151 acres, or 6.32 ft of water per acre. Water deliveries for the pressure system customer connection for the 2012 irrigation year amounted to 4,695 acre-ft to support 2,389 acres, or 1.96 ft/acre of water. The system reduced the acreage pumping from the groundwater aquifer by 50%. Groundwater pumping in the area was primarily conducted using diesel-driven pumps. The reduction in diesel emissions improved the air quality, and the high-quality surface water improved crop (primarily almond and walnut orchards) health.

Farmers participating in the pressure system used the direct injection of fertilizer at their filter stations and delivered chemicals directly to the root zone area; thus reduced the deposition of fertilizer in the local surface and groundwater.

To provide a manageable pressure system for both the SSJID and the customers, a user-friendly software interface was developed. Tools at the farmers' fingertips to plan their irrigations included national weather service alerts for the area (including frost and wind alerts), weather forecasts, Doppler radar imaging, customizable and exportable/printable charts on past weather (rainfall, wind, temperature, humidity, evapotranspiration rates), water deliveries (time start, time end, total hours irrigated, average flow rate, and total water delivered), and moisture sensor information.

Although data evidence on the increase in yield due to the Division 9 pressure system will take some time, other case studies reveal that farmers will see a 30% increase in yield. With increased control of irrigation timing, duration, and application rate, there has been a marked decrease in pests and diseases associated with water delivery. A major benefit was the consolidation of pumping operations.

Due to the new surface water-based pressure system, there was a considerable reduction in the pumping of salinity-stricken groundwater. Farmers reduced flood irrigation and utilized drip, micro, and solid-state sprinklers to irrigate their land which improved crop yield, conserved water by up to 30%, and reduced erosion and deposition of fertilizer into local surface and groundwater.

The pilot project showed a marked benefit over the conventional system therefore the same can be extended and replicated to other areas as well.

Water scarcity is a big crisis in South China. Focus on water conservation using simplified and scalable technology is a necessity. The canal linking, thin and exposed irrigation for paddy, and economical sprinkler, and other micro-irrigation are some of the water-saving technologies which were implemented and studied in a research area. In the agricultural area of 5.11 Mha of farmland, 5.15 BCM of water was saved, 1.58 billion kg of grain increase was witnessed, and 0.30 billion KW of power was saved using these technologies. Besides ecological bene?t, the direct economic bene?t was RMB 11 ...Read more

Water scarcity is a big crisis in South China. Focus on water conservation using simplified and scalable technology is a necessity. The canal linking, thin and exposed irrigation for paddy, and economical sprinkler, and other micro-irrigation are some of the water-saving technologies which were implemented and studied in a research area. In the agricultural area of 5.11 Mha of farmland, 5.15 BCM of water was saved, 1.58 billion kg of grain increase was witnessed, and 0.30 billion KW of power was saved using these technologies. Besides ecological bene?t, the direct economic bene?t was RMB 11.98 Yuan (USD 1.93 billion).

To overcome deficiencies of the conventional long-standing irrigation water practice in paddy cultivation thin and exposed irrigation method was suggested, whereas “thin” refers to a thin irrigation layer (around 20 mm) and “exposed” refers to ?eld surface being exposed to the air to absorb oxygen and emit harmful gases. It was found that as long as there is water in the root system, the paddy can grow normally. Even though the straw was not inundated by water and the yield was very high. With no-water layer irrigation, the soil moisture in the ?eld was kept at 100% only in striking root period, then the soil moisture was kept between 70% and 95% to make full use of precipitation and two to six times of irrigation, while there was no water layer on the ?led surface. The average irrigation quantity for flood irrigation is 1000 m³/ha, however thin and exposed irrigation saved up to 53% of irrigation water. The yield increased from 685 kg/ha in case of flood irrigation to 1080 kg/ha. The water productivity with the new technology was 2.8 kg/m³.

Another contribution was the development of low costs sprinklers by reducing the material cost through “economical sprinkler and micro-irrigation”. Furthermore, the idea of “miniaturization of irrigation unit” emerged. The irrigation unit is the irrigation area covered by one pumping station. The cost for pipes accounts for 50% to 60% of the total expense, and the cost of the pipes is determined by the diameter, while the diameter for pipes is determined by the rotation area. After theoretical calculation and consultations, the rotation area was controlled around 0.67 ha, with 15 rotations, the controlled irrigation unit area was around 10 ha, and the farmers’ managed the system within a radius of 400 m. The idea brought forward the conception of “permeable lift loss hgp”. The common approach was to design the sprinkler and micro-irrigation, and ?nally calculate the total lift (H) of the system. Low costs sprinklers made using PE pipes reduced the overall costs making this technology more economical. The cost was cut down to the extent of 50% leading to its further extension.

Thin wall and multiple holes sprinkler hose replaced micro-sprinkler nozzle, saving around RMB 45,000-6,000 yuan/ha. Thick walls of drip irrigation tubes were replaced with thin walls, and then reduced the waste of pipe materials caused by blocking of drip holes. Finally, the expensive fertilizer applicator was replaced with the simple negative pressure absorption instrument of pumps.

The technology was widely implemented in Yuyao municipality. In 1990, three different canal lining types were developed based on different groundwater tables and soil type. Special water plugs with steel wire meshed concrete pipes were used in the thin walls. Since 1994, this technology has been extended in Zhejiang province over 4.20 Mha in total, where 3.91 BCM of water and 0.26 billion KW of power have been saved and 1.45 kg of grain has been increased, the economic bene?t was RMB 3.63 billion Yuan (USD 0.70 billion).

In 2008, the Chinese Ministry of Water Resources, the Department of Irrigation and Rural Water Supply as well as China Irrigation and Drainage Development Centre investigated the technology and approved its extension in China. In 2009, Zhejiang provincial government extended it over 67,000 ha of farmland in Zhejiang province. So far, this technology has been extended in over 6,30,000 ha of farmland and 1,55,000 ha of livestock farms in South China. It saved 0.94 BCM of water, and farmers’ net income was increased by RMB 7.25 billion (USD 1.17 billion).

By the end of 2012, this technology was extended in over 2,80,000 ha of farmland, saved 0.30 BCM of water, increased 0.13 billion kg of grain, and saved 34 million KW of power, the direct economic bene?t was RMB 1.1 billion yuan (USD 0.18 billion). It can be seen that water-saving could be achieved by assessing the soil moisture at the root level and determining the right water requirements thereby changing the conventional method of flood irrigation with limited supply to sprinkler technology making it more affordable and available for multiple users. Over and above these land farm applications developed the supply-side infrastructure and the conveyance losses were reduced to a large extent and the concept of piped irrigation was established.

Food security is facing the challenge of severe water scarcity in China. Agricultural non-point source pollution caused by unreasonable irrigation and drainage management is increasing in intensity. In China rice is a major staple food crop and is grown on 30 Mha. With rapidly growing sectoral demands, the Government has been investing and promoting various water-saving technologies like the Controlled Irrigation Technology. The technology saves irrigation water, increases grain yield, enhances rice quality, reduces agricultural non-point pollution and greenhouse gas emission from paddy fie ...Read more

Food security is facing the challenge of severe water scarcity in China. Agricultural non-point source pollution caused by unreasonable irrigation and drainage management is increasing in intensity. In China rice is a major staple food crop and is grown on 30 Mha. With rapidly growing sectoral demands, the Government has been investing and promoting various water-saving technologies like the Controlled Irrigation Technology. The technology saves irrigation water, increases grain yield, enhances rice quality, reduces agricultural non-point pollution and greenhouse gas emission from paddy fields.

Controlled irrigation (CI) is a new and widely adopted water-saving irrigation technology for rice cultivation in China. The concept of rice-controlled irrigation defines the lower limits of root layer soil moisture in different growth periods and forms a practical model of CI technology. The irrigation thresholds of the technology were determined based on the sensitivity of rice to soil moisture conditions and water requirements at different growth stages. A set of field characterization indicators for different rice growth stages were established. For example, when the tread does not trap the foot, and cracks of about 10 mm wide appear in the paddy fields during the late tillering stage, irrigation should be applied until the soil moisture reaches saturation level in the observed root zone. After the crop’s regreening stage, there is no need for ponding water. In case of rainfall, flooded water up to 5 cm depth can be maintained for less than 5 days to take full advantage of the rainfall. In large irrigation districts, CI technology can be implemented based on the management of the irrigation frequency and irrigation duration.

Under CI technology, the transpiration and evaporation of rice were reduced by 20.7-43.8% and 7.9-21.9%, respectively compared to traditional irrigation. Similarly, seepage and water use in paddy fields were decreased by 38.4-61.4% and 29.4- 36.9%, respectively compared with traditional irrigation. The yield and water use efficiency of rice increased by 3.2-12.4% and 47.4-74.1% respectively, compared with conventional irrigation.

Application of the CI technology not only leads to a reduction in irrigation water, increase in yield, enhancement of rice quality, but also results in the reduction of nitrogen, phosphorus losses, and methane emission from paddy fields by 80%, 65%, and over 80%, respectively. The efficient irrigation and drainage mode has been widely applied in rice irrigation districts of Jiangsu Province, and Heilongjiang Province, and Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in China. A cumulative 4.46 BCM of irrigation water was saved because of the efficient irrigation and drainage technology. The accumulated total benefits were increased by 2.08 billion yuan (0.33 billion USD).

From 1991 to 1995, the CI technology in rice was widely applied in the Xiaobudong irrigation district and the Nansihu irrigation district in Shandong Province. While the application area reached 33,300 ha, the irrigation water was reduced by 120 MCM, and the accumulated total benefits were increased by 2.82 million yuan (4,35,260 USD). The technology was widely applied in the irrigation districts of Beijing suburbs, Shanghai state farms, Hunan Province, Jiangxi Province, Anhui Province, Hainan Province in China.

Subsequently, the technology was promoted in the Ruhai irrigation district, Jiangdu irrigation district in Jiangsu Province, the Qingtongxia irrigation district in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, and the Ganfu Plain irrigation district in Jiangxi Province of China. The cumulative saved irrigation water was by 4.46 BCM, and the accumulated total benefits were increased by 2.08 billion yuan (321 million USD). In Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, the accumulated application area reached 95,600 ha. The irrigation water was reduced by 580 MCM, and the accumulated total benefits increased by 98.04 million yuan (15.32 million USD). The total yield was increased by 48.94 million kg.

Overall, the CI technology has been adopted over 3 Mha of rice grown area, saved about 9 BCM of water, and increased the rice grain production by about 1.6 MT, annually. This integrative water-saving mode of rice irrigation district can be applied to more than 5.33 Mha in the northern rice grain-producing areas in Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Liaoning provinces, and can be widely applied in mid-eastern provinces in China (Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi, etc.) to achieve a comprehensive extension. The expected applied area of technological achievements can reach about 16.7 Mha, more than 50% of China's rice fields.

In South Africa, the major rivers are already over-extended, and irrigation uses about 60% of the total water supply; good planning and management of irrigation water are of utter importance to increase the efficiency of irrigation water use. Irrigation water managers required an easy-to-use planning tool to estimate water requirements and enable the supply of the right amount of water at the right time.

A user-friendly computer model was developed that enabled irrigation water users to plan the amount of irrigation water required by an irrigation farm, an irrigation scheme, or a ...Read more

In South Africa, the major rivers are already over-extended, and irrigation uses about 60% of the total water supply; good planning and management of irrigation water are of utter importance to increase the efficiency of irrigation water use. Irrigation water managers required an easy-to-use planning tool to estimate water requirements and enable the supply of the right amount of water at the right time.

A user-friendly computer model was developed that enabled irrigation water users to plan the amount of irrigation water required by an irrigation farm, an irrigation scheme, or a water management area monthly. This tool, SAPWAT, was a further development of CROPWAT and is being used by more than 300 users in 13 countries, even though it was designed against the background of South African needs. SAPWAT 3 the latest version of the computer model is not a crop growth model. It is designed to allow the user to imitate through interaction the situation in an irrigated field. This allows the user to do “what if” with different irrigation scenarios to see what the effect of a specific management decision is on irrigation water requirements. Some characteristics are as follows:

Data Management: The program has the facility of data management including big data sets, the data is stored on board for easy access and addresses the limitations of web accessibility. CLIMWAT, CROPWAT weather data have been included along with daily data of 5,100 weather stations. Daily data for any number of successive years is used to do year-on-year irrigation requirement estimates, the result of which allows the user to include risk analysis as part of the planning process.

Crops: 104 crops are included in the crops data now expanded to 2,500 crop records by providing for differences in growth and development because of different planting types at different times of the year and in different climates.

Salinity stress and water stress situations can be imitated. This module works from two sides. The effect of stress on yield is displayed, or the user can also define a level of yield reduction to stretch the water need. If yield reduction is defined, the program will apply water stress so that yield reduction reflects the required level.

All irrigation requirement estimates can be stored and revisited to determine what effect changes in irrigation water management, irrigation system and changes in planting dates could have.

The editing functions of weather stations allow the user to adapt data to represent predicted climate change scenarios which can be used to predict irrigation water requirements under climate change situations. “Now-then what-if” scenarios could be set.

Data can be exported for use in other applications such as for use in spreadsheets. A module for small (back-yard) water harvesting situations where the amount of water required for a small garden can be estimated. Runoff from roof and/or adjacent hard-packed surfaces and storage requirements are determined. Maximum garden size for balance with harvest area and storage is calculated. Pumping times with low technology pumps such as the treadle pump is also calculated. Large data sets can safely be handled. The weather data amounts to about 38 million records.

SAPWAT3 Model: The program provides the user with the ability to manage all the background data that is used by SAPWAT3. These include crops, irrigation systems, soils, area water distribution systems, weather stations, enterprise budgets, countries, and an address list. Köppen climate definitions are also given, but these are read-only. The user does an area, farm, field, crop set-up to reflect the area of work. Provision is made for back-wards summation of crop irrigation requirement to field, farm, and area irrigation requirement. The efficiencies of irrigation water reticulation systems at different levels are included in this calculation.

The crop for which irrigation requirement needs to be estimated is defined in terms of weather stations and climate, soil type, irrigation system, planting date, foliage cover, yield, area planted, and irrigation management strategy. For year-on-year irrigation requirement estimates, subsets of the weather data, such as a period that is known to have had a below-average rainfall, can be selected.

The results are graphically displayed as crop coefficient, evaporation, and crop evapotranspiration as well as soil water content over the growing season.

Further results show monthly and total irrigation water required for different levels of non-exceedance, as well as levels of efficiency of irrigation water use and rainfall use efficiency. Daily water balances can be inspected, specifically for identifying water stress situations.

SAPWAT3 is used by irrigation designers in South Africa to optimize water use to its fullest extent. One such case is short grower maize planted on 15 December. If the irrigation strategy is to make the best possible use of rainfall by not filling the soil profile to field capacity during irrigation, the irrigation water required is 320 mm. If the irrigation strategy is changed to always fill the soil profile to field capacity, which results in low rainfall use efficiency, the irrigation requirement is 500 mm. Irrigation water-saving by using the better strategy amounts to 180 mm, or 36%. If this saving is translated to the 1.5 Mha irrigated in South Africa, total annual irrigation water-saving could amount to 27,000 MCM.

The SAPWAT3 has been fully endorsed by the Department of Water Affairs in South Africa as a tool to issue water licenses for irrigation purposes. A survey amongst users about one year after publication shows that 51% found it a useful tool and that 46% found it easy to use. Apart from application in South Africa, SAPWAT3 has been used in Angola, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Swaziland, and Uzbekistan for irrigation system design and irrigation water use planning.

In the UK, most irrigation water is abstracted from local rivers and streams and is used immediately with relatively little on-farm storage. The volumes are a very small proportion of the national total water use, but they have a significant environmental impact because they are concentrated in the driest parts of the country and at the driest times of the year when resources are scarcest. The growth in irrigation water demand is rising at 2% per annum. Climate change will increase demand further, while Summer River flows and water availability will be reduced.

This technology pro ...Read more

In the UK, most irrigation water is abstracted from local rivers and streams and is used immediately with relatively little on-farm storage. The volumes are a very small proportion of the national total water use, but they have a significant environmental impact because they are concentrated in the driest parts of the country and at the driest times of the year when resources are scarcest. The growth in irrigation water demand is rising at 2% per annum. Climate change will increase demand further, while Summer River flows and water availability will be reduced.

This technology promotes the use of on-farm reservoirs to store surplus winter water for use in drier summers. The construction of on-farm reservoirs has provided the water security essential to achieve timely production of high-quality food that reduces water wastage from field to plate. With this objective, the farmers in the UK invested in reservoirs in the drier parts of the country, to secure water supplies for irrigating high-value fruit and vegetables. Farmers with a winter-filled reservoir have an assured supply for their summer irrigation needs, and the environmental impact of irrigation abstraction is reduced during the summer months when water resources are most constrained. However, there were economic, technical, and regulatory issues to resolve to achieve wider uptake of on-farm reservoirs. This innovation has addressed these issues.

• On-farm storage of higher flows during winter was an obvious solution. Once the water is in the reservoir, farmers can plan to crop for the following year. Reservoirs store the high winter river flows for use in the drier summer period. The water thus ‘conserved’ is then ‘saved’ for other domestic, industrial, and environmental uses during the summer months.
• Farmers with a winter-filled reservoir have an assured supply for their summer irrigation needs, and the environmental impact of irrigation abstraction is reduced during the summer months when water resources are most constrained. Evidence from EEDA over the past year showed that 18 agri-businesses in the eastern region have applied for grant funding for reservoirs totalling over 2 MCM and involving a private investment of over 6 million GBP (84,61,980 USD).
• However, challenges in adoption included planning, safety, environmental, leisure, and even archaeological which hampered reservoir developments and discouraged investment.
• A key recommendation from 2006’s consultations on agricultural water strategy was shared reservoirs that enabled investment and benefits to be spread among groups of farmers. Environmental regulators and governmental bodies responsible for business sustainability actively encouraged farmers across the region to rethink the role of on-farm storage.
• Subsequently, a detailed technical report and an information booklet “Thinking about an irrigation reservoir? – A guide to planning, designing, constructing, and commissioning a water storage reservoir” was prepared and disseminated to over 2,500 farmers and agri-food businesses across the eastern region which invited private investments for the reservoirs.
• Following the success in the eastern region, it further expanded to the Southern and Midlands Regions where high-value crops were irrigated in water stress areas. Steps were taken in the development and implementation of water strategies for both agriculture and horticulture with funding support from the Environment Agency, rural development agencies (e.g. EEDA), and grower levy boards which provided support to their growers (e.g. Horticultural Development Council). This provided the necessary framework within which future water issues for growers and the agri-industry can be addressed.

Water storage techniques are a key to the success of irrigation development and meeting the water needs when there are no rains or the source to meet the irrigation water requirements.

Raised Bed Technology has immense potential to achieve high irrigation water-saving and increased crop yield. It has been reported by many researchers that bed planting offers better weed control. Water management and fertilizer use efficiency along with less crop lodging is also achieved. Based on implementation reports from 2009, it has been further reported that bed planting increases yield by at least 10%, reduces production cost by 20-30%, and saves irrigation water up to 35% as compared to conventional planting. Therefore, bed planting can be considered as one of the most feasible wat ...Read more

Raised Bed Technology has immense potential to achieve high irrigation water-saving and increased crop yield. It has been reported by many researchers that bed planting offers better weed control. Water management and fertilizer use efficiency along with less crop lodging is also achieved. Based on implementation reports from 2009, it has been further reported that bed planting increases yield by at least 10%, reduces production cost by 20-30%, and saves irrigation water up to 35% as compared to conventional planting. Therefore, bed planting can be considered as one of the most feasible water conservation techniques to improve irrigation application efficiency in Pakistan.

However, the non-availability of proper machines in the country is a major constraint in bed planting for grain crops. Thus, there was a dire need for a well-designed Wheat Bed Planter for achieving water-saving consistent with better yields.

The wheat planting machine was improvised for direct planting of various crops on beds especially corn. It is the first mechanical machine developed locally for making beds and at the same time having provision of seeding corn, wheat, and cotton, the major crops of this region.

The Wheat Bed Planting Machine has the following salient features

• Planting mechanism on beds: The bed planting machine develops two beds and three furrows in a single operation. It is designed to plant four rows on one bed. A furrow for irrigation separates each bed. There is a buffer zone in the centre of four rows on the bed. The machine develops two lines of the crop on both sides of the furrow. Each furrow has to irrigate only 20 cm of the adjacent beds. The centre-to-centre distance of two beds is 90 cm with a bed of 60 cm. Thus, the machine has the provision to plant 4 lines in 90 cm width while maintaining the traditional plant population. The machine has also a provision of adjusting planting depth.
• . Furrow and bed size: The machine has an adjustable furrower/furrow opener, which enables the development of variable size of furrow, if desired. There is an adjustable planer on the machine to level the bed top for facilitating precise planting.
• Fertilizer application directly on beds: Wheat Bed Planting machine has the provision of direct fertilizer application along with sowing on the beds, which not only avoids extra fertilizer application in the furrows but also ensures efficient seed nutrition in the bed.

The machine was tested at the Water Management Research Centre (WMRC), and promoted by establishing demonstration plots on farmers' fields at Okara and Faisalabad as part of an ongoing research project. The findings are presented below:

The water-saving and increase in yield for the crops were tested on wheat, cotton, maize, and rice under different plot sizes. The plot size under wheat varied from 10 ha to about 290 ha, under cotton it varied from 10 ha to about 118 ha, under maize it varied from 15 to 110 ha, and under rice, it varied between 10 and 30 ha.

The water-saving under wheat was 51.3%, cotton was 47%, maize was 45.4% and rice was 31.1%. The corresponding increase in the maximum yield was 25.2%, 11.7%, 29.5%, and 25.1%, respectively. The average water-saving with different plot sizes and under different locations varied on average as wheat (45.5%), cotton (43%), maize (42.4%), and rice (30%). The corresponding average increase in the yield was 16.8%, 11.7%, 26.7%, and 25.1%, respectively.

Wheat under-bed planting resulted in a 16.8% increase in yield with 45.5% water-saving. According to Pakistan Economic Survey 2007-08, 21,749 000 ton of wheat was produced from an area of 8.41 Mha with an average yield of 2585 kg/ha. Adopting this bed planting machine for sowing wheat under raised bed technology witnessed an increase of 3,654 000 ton in production.

Moreover, the water-saving of 45.5% under-bed planting reflects that the complete replacement of conventional method by Raised Bed Technology at 8.41 Mha will save water for another 3.83 Mha land, which was about 60% of the then fallow land in 2007-08 (6.44 Mha).

Andhra Pradesh is one of the important agricultural states with the fifth largest population in India with over 70% of them dependent on agriculture. The total dependable flows of water from all important rivers flowing through the state was 74.14 BCM in 2002. More than 82% of water resources were used for agriculture purposes. Realizing the gravity of the situation, the government launched the Andhra Pradesh Micro-irrigation Project (APMIP), a unique, comprehensive micro-irrigation project in the year 2002.

The Micro-Irrigation systems designed and installed in the farmer&rs ...Read more

Andhra Pradesh is one of the important agricultural states with the fifth largest population in India with over 70% of them dependent on agriculture. The total dependable flows of water from all important rivers flowing through the state was 74.14 BCM in 2002. More than 82% of water resources were used for agriculture purposes. Realizing the gravity of the situation, the government launched the Andhra Pradesh Micro-irrigation Project (APMIP), a unique, comprehensive micro-irrigation project in the year 2002.

The Micro-Irrigation systems designed and installed in the farmer’s fields comprised of drip systems for wide-spaced orchards, in-line drip systems for row crops, portable sprinklers and rain guns for field crops like groundnut, pulses, etc., micro-sprinklers for raising nurseries, and micro-jets for oil palm. Agri extension services were also organised for two years. It was a revolutionary project for its time when micro-irrigation in India was emerging and yielded good results. The project details are provided below:

Implementing agencies were set up at the state level and district level for the implementation of the project. A technical committee headed by experts examined all issues. A state-level senior official headed the project as a Project Officer supported by five senior officers of different disciplines. The district-level team is comprised of administrators, experts, and farmers.

Independent quality control and monitoring and evaluation were done by external agencies. However, the farmers were experiencing difficulty in operating due to equipment design and operation constraints, which were tackled by replacing them with a low-cost hydraulically efficient semi-permanent sprinkler system to overcome the disadvantages of the conventional portable sprinkler systems.

In sprinkler irrigation, generally, 2 cm depth of water is applied in each irrigation based on the soil type, type of crop, and crop stages. Each sprinkler head covers a 144 m² area with a spacing of 12 x 12 m. A sprinkler head with a rated discharge of 0.5 lps needs to run for 96 mins to supply a 2 cm depth of water. Hence in a day of 7 hours power supply, a total of four shifts can be run with a total running time of 6 hours and 24 minutes. There is no loss of shift time and the entire duration of power availability can be effectively utilized.

Major lift projects were originally designed for surface irrigation to provide water for 4,000 ha/1 TMC (27 MCM). Now by micro-irrigation, the provision was revised to 6,000 ha per 1 TMC, indicating an increase of 50%. This helped in irrigating tail-end areas in canal commands under lift projects. Semi-permanent sprinkler systems eliminated ponding of water near the pipe joints and improved the working atmosphere.

The following results were obtained:

• Water-saving: 1,880 MCM (@5,000 m³/ha),
• Energy-saving: 188 million units (@500 units per ha),
• Employment generation: Over 4,000 professionals were employed by APMIP and MI companies,
• Prevention of migration: Labour migration was reduced substantially due to more crop activity,
• Poverty alleviation and Improved quality of life.

In four years over 0.376 Mha under micro-irrigation with 0.236 Mha under drip systems and 0.140 Mha of sprinkler systems was achieved. With further expansion over 6,000 Mha area was covered with semi-permanent sprinkler systems. By the year 2008 more than 376,000 ha area was covered with MI systems benefiting over 250,000 farmers.

Prof. Kang Shaozhong’s research is mainly on the principle and practice of water-saving agriculture and water management during the past 25 years. He has developed theories and practices to improve crop water use efficiency and regulated deficit irrigation by studying the water transport in soil-plant-atmosphere continuum (SPAC) and its regulation mechanisms for improving water use efficiency, presented the controlled indicators in Northwest China for high efficient irrigation by studying calculation method of crop water requirement and evapotranspiration model, and established the op ...Read more

Prof. Kang Shaozhong’s research is mainly on the principle and practice of water-saving agriculture and water management during the past 25 years. He has developed theories and practices to improve crop water use efficiency and regulated deficit irrigation by studying the water transport in soil-plant-atmosphere continuum (SPAC) and its regulation mechanisms for improving water use efficiency, presented the controlled indicators in Northwest China for high efficient irrigation by studying calculation method of crop water requirement and evapotranspiration model, and established the optimal regional water management model by studying the impacts of water-saving irrigation and regional irrigation development on hydrological processes and eco-environment. The high efficient irrigation model and new water-saving method developed by him have been extended broadly in Northwest China. His main contributions and achievements for water-saving agriculture and irrigation management have the following aspects:

(1) He developed the calculation method of crop evapotranspiration in arid and semiarid areas, and presented the high efficient irrigation models in Northwest China.

He presented a rice evapotranspiration calculation method and irrigation regime in Hanzhong basin of Shaanxi Province in 1980’s. Application of the results in water management in 80,000 hectares led to irrigation reduction by 10% and yield increase by 15% in rice production.

He presented a crop evapotranspiration model suitable to arid and semiarid areas of Northwest China, and found that crop evapotranspiration is apparently influenced by soil water content only when the relative soil available water content is lower than 0.5 in the Loess Plateau. The result supplied a basis for deficit irrigation in Loess region. And the method of calculating the ratio of soil evaporation and crop transpiration developed by him, which was applied by some scientists in China, is apparently better than the model raised by Richie and Burnet, and by Childs.

Moreover, he presented a new method to calculate the soil water-modified coefficient in crop evapotranspiration model under deficit irrigation, analyzed the effects of soil surface wetting patterns (partial rootzone wetting), cultivate patterns (plastic film mulching), groundwater table, and irrigation methods (drip irrigation under plastic film mulching) on crop coefficient, presented a relationship of crop coefficient and groundwater table, and crop coefficients in drip irrigation under plastic film mulching and in different wetting patterns. The results modified and supplemented the data recommended by Irrigation and Drainage Book 56 of FAO in 1998, supplied a scientific basis for water-saving irrigation in China.

He studied and presented water requirement indicators of wheat, maize, cotton, rice, oil bearing crops, millet, potato, sorghum, peanut, Chinese cabbage, tomato and tobacco based on the lysimeter experiment data, and made the isoline maps of water requirement for 6 main crops and irrigation water requirement in different hydrological years, studied and presented the high efficient irrigation models for wheat, maize, cotton, rice, oil bearing crops, millet, potato, sorghum, peanut, Chinese cabbage, tomato and tobacco and different regions in Shaanxi Province. The results have been extended and applied in accumulated 15,233,333 hectares in Shaanxi Province in recent 10 years, 7.125×108 m 3 of water was saved in irrigation, and the cost of ?71,250,000 was saved in crop production.

(2) He developed and extended the technique of controlled alternate partial root-zone irrigation in China.

He and Prof. Zhang Jianhua (Hong Kong Baptist University) developed a new irrigation method systematically, so called controlled alternate partial root-zone irrigation (CAPRI), in 1996 to improve crop water use efficiency by exploiting the plant physiological responses to partial soil drying in their rootzone. It is a new irrigation technique that can improve crop water use efficiency without significant yield reduction and exposes approximately half of the root system to soil drying while the remaining root system is irrigated as in full irrigation. The wetted and dried sides of the root system are alternated on a time cycle according to crop water requirements and soil drying rate. The method was developed on the basis of four theoretical backgrounds. Firstly, fully irrigated plants usually have widely opened stomata. A small narrowing of the stomatal opening may reduce water loss substantially with little effect on the photosynthesis. Secondly, part of the root system in drying soil can respond to the drying by sending a root-sourced signal to the shoots where stomata may be inhibited so that water loss is reduced. Thirdly, controlled partial root-zone wetting and drying alternately can stimulate the root uptake ability for soil water and nutrients. Fourthly, partial root-zone watering can enhance soil water movement from the wetted part to the dried part, and reduce the depth of water infiltration. Therefore the ineffective percolation can be reduced.

He and Prof. Zhang Jianhua (Hong Kong Baptist University) developed a new irrigation method systematically, so called controlled alternate partial root-zone irrigation (CAPRI), in 1996 to improve crop water use efficiency by exploiting the plant physiological responses to partial soil drying in their rootzone. It is a new irrigation technique that can improve crop water use efficiency without significant yield reduction and exposes approximately half of the root system to soil drying while the remaining root system is irrigated as in full irrigation. The wetted and dried sides of the root system are alternated on a time cycle according to crop water requirements and soil drying rate. The method was developed on the basis of four theoretical backgrounds. Firstly, fully irrigated plants usually have widely opened stomata. A small narrowing of the stomatal opening may reduce water loss substantially with little effect on the photosynthesis. Secondly, part of the root system in drying soil can respond to the drying by sending a root-sourced signal to the shoots where stomata may be inhibited so that water loss is reduced. Thirdly, controlled partial root-zone wetting and drying alternately can stimulate the root uptake ability for soil water and nutrients. Fourthly, partial root-zone watering can enhance soil water movement from the wetted part to the dried part, and reduce the depth of water infiltration. Therefore the ineffective percolation can be reduced.

(3) He studied and demonstrated systematically regulated deficit irrigation technology for field crops in Northwest China.

He with his colleagues studied systematically and extended regulated deficit irrigation technique for maize, wheat, cotton and other crops in Shanxi, Gansu, Shaanxi and Xinjiang of Northwest China from 1995-2002. In the experiments, controlled soil water deficit, either mild (50%-60% of field capacity) or severe (40%-50% of field capacity), was applied at both the seedling and the stem-elongation stages. A soil drying at the seedling stage plus a further mild soil drying at the stem-elongation stage is the optimum regulated deficit irrigation method for the maize production in this semi-arid area. The results on maize in Shanxi and Shaanxi, cotton in Xinjiang and Gansu, wheat in Shaanxi and Gansu also suggested that RDI should be applied at the early growth stage.

The degree of water deficit can reach 45%-50% of field capacity, which has no bad effect on crop yield and can increase crop water use efficiency obviously. From the research, it concluded that the feasible regulation deficit indicator of winter wheat as follows: the soil moisture content should not be below 60% of field capacity in 0-50 cm soil layer before living through winter, not be below 55% of field capacity in 0-50 cm soil layer from returning green to rising stages, be higher than 65% of field capacity in 0-50 cm soil layer in jointing stage, not be below 65% of field capacity in 0-80 cm soil layer in pregnant spike stage, be higher than 60% of field capacity in 0-100 cm soil layer in tassel to milking prophase, can be below 50%-55% of field capacity in 0-100 cm soil layer in milking evening without obvious reduction of yield. For maize, moderate or light water deficit is feasible, with the soil moisture above 50% of field capacity in seedling season, light water deficit is compatible, with the soil moisture above 60% of field capacity in jointing season, and sufficient irrigation for other periods. For cotton, bad effect of soil moisture as low as 48% of field capacity on cotton alimentation growth can be recovered by irrigation in budding season, and under condition of high soil moisture in the prophase, the soil moisture as low as 45% of field capacity has no bad effect on yield in flower and belling evening seasons.

Based on the experiments, he presented the optimal technique system of regulated deficit irrigation, the results were applied 6,667 hectares in Hongdong of Shanxi Province, irrigation water use was reduced 34.1% and crop yield was increased 19.3% on average than that of the conventional irrigation method?and the benefit of ?10,566,800 was got by extending the technique in this county. The technique was also extended in Minqin and Wuwei of Gansu Province for 1,787 hectares?2,140,000 m3 of irrigation water was saved?and the electric energy of 385,200 Kw·h for pumping groundwater was also saved?the benefit of ?667,100 was got in the region.

Furthermore, He and Prof. Chen Yaxin wrote a book of ?Principle and Practice of Deficit Irrigation?which was published by China Water Resources and Hydro-power Press in 1995 and cited more than 200 times by scientists, engineers, irrigation managers and postgraduates, it has been playing an important role for expanding deficit irrigation technology in China. And the research result in this area was published in ?Agricultural Water Management??Vol.55, No.3, p.203-216, 2002?in title of “Effects of limited irrigation on yield and water use efficiency of winter wheat in the Loess Plateau of China”was one of the most downloaded 25 papers of the journal in 2002.

(4) He developed the optimal irrigation technique parameters to improve water and fertilizer use efficiency for drip irrigation, sub-surface drip irrigation, and surface irrigation methods, studied the suitable flow measurement facilities and standardization for U-shape canals, and presented the flow measurement equipment for irrigation water with high sediment content in Northwest China.

He studied systematically the water and fertilizer movement in soil profile and soil-root system, water and fertilizer use efficiency in root-zone under different irrigation scheduling, irrigation technique parameters, different fertilizer use patterns, different depths of irrigation pipe for drip irrigation, sub-surface drip irrigation, and surface irrigation methods. He presented the optimal irrigation technique parameters for the lower cost sub-surface drip irrigation system suitable to apple orchards in north part of Shaanxi in order to improve water and fertilizer use efficiency, the results supplied the rational technique parameters for designing and managing irrigation systems, and were applied in large area in apple orchard irrigation of Shaanxi Province.

Evaluation has been made of the existing flow measurement techniques by him and his colleagues, selective and adoptive models which apply to the flow measurement techniques of different U-shaped channels have been given in Northwest China, he with his colleagues presented the design and standardization of flat parabolic non-floated segment of U-shaped channel flow measurement flume, and 28 standard flumes were proposed by using the form coefficient of the parabolic (P) as the index. The examinations and observations both in the lab and on the spot had shown that the measured values were identical with the theory value, which indicated that the flume can meet the demand of flow measurement. More than 2650 standard flow measurement flumes were expanded in Guanzhong canal irrigation districts of Shaanxi province and in Huangyang and Yingda irrigation districts, which controlled irrigation areas of about 6666.7 hectares.

(5) He studied systematically the groundwater management model in Fen-Wei Plain with a shallow groundwater table for water-saving and controlling soil salinity.

He presented the coefficients of groundwater use in winter wheat and maize growing seasons under different water tables were obtained based on the measured data by lysimeters in Yangling of Shaanxi province, and Qixian of Shanxi province. He found that yield and water use efficiency of winter wheat was decreased with groundwater table lifted when the depth of water table was shallower than 1.5 m, and the water table should be controlled deeper than 1.5 to 2.0 m in order to improve yield and water use efficiency in winter wheat growing season, deeper than 1.0 to 1.5 m for maize in Fen-Wei Plain of Shanxi and Shaanxi province. He established soil water and salt adjustment and control model, and simulation model of groundwater table for infiltration and evaporation processes, presented irrigation models under different groundwater tables. The irrigation model responded to the impact of groundwater table could reduce one time irrigation in generally compared to the conventional irrigation model in the region. The research results have been extended 3,333 hectares in Fenhe irrigation district during 1998-2001, and 840 m3 irrigation water could be saved for per hectare and each year, totally 11,200,000 m3 of irrigation water was saved in the region during 1998-2001.

(6) He studied systematically the reasonable allocation of water resources and water-saving in agriculture and ecology in Shiyanghe river basin of Gansu province in Northwest China, presented and extended six strategic measures for sustainable use of water resources and six kinds of water-saving models in agriculture and ecology which have been played an important role in this region.

The Shiyanghe river basin is a typical interior river basin with an area about 4.16×104 km2 . The area faces water shortage and environmental deterioration in the arid northwest of China. Due to its arid climate, limited water resources and some inappropriate water-related human activities, the area has developed serious loss of vegetation, and gradual soil salinization and desertification, which have greatly impeded the sustainable development of agriculture and economy in this region. The proportion of water use in the upper and middle reaches compared to the lower reach was increased from 1:0.57 in the 1960s, to 1:0.27 in the 1970s and 1:0.09 in the 1990s. A reduction of about 74% in the river inflow to the lower reaches and a 15-m drop in the groundwater table has occurred during the last four decades. The integration studies for reasonable allocation of water resources and water-saving in agriculture and ecology in Shiyanghe river basin have been carried out by him and his colleagues from 1995 up to now, which has been playing an important role to promote science research and subject progress, and sustainable utilization of water resources in the inland river basin of Northwest China. The research included applied basic theory, applied technology development and demonstration zone establishment. The applied basic theory study includes water resources transformation and ecology change mechanism, regional crop and plant evapotranspiration distribution and variation with time, water transport in soil-plant-atmosphere continuum and crop water-saving mechanism, water-saving potential evaluation model and reasonable allocation model of water resources in Shiyanghe river basin. The applied technology development includes no-full irrigation and regulated deficit irrigation technology for wheat, maize, cotton, grape, water melon and others, controlled alternate partial root-zone irrigation technology for grape, maize and cotton, drip irrigation technology for mulching cultivated cotton with plastic film and artificial planting ecological vegetation, irrigation and water resources management decision support system. And demonstration zone establishment includes water-saving in agriculture and in artificial ecological vegetation.

Based on the research works, strategies for improving the water–soil environment of the basin, such as the protection of the water resources of the Qilian Mountains which is the source of water in this basin, sustainable use of water resources, maintenance of the balance between land and water resources, development of water-saving agriculture, diverting of water from other rivers and control of soil desertification, were proposed. And the guidelines were also presented for reconstruction of the sustainable water management and development of agriculture in this region. He expanded a rainfall high efficient use model which includes rainfall harvesting technology, limited irrigation technology, and agronomic methods to improve crop water use efficiency in the upper reach of Shiyanghe river basin, irrigation water high efficient use model which includes canal flow monitoring and controlling technology, improving surface irrigation method by using small border irrigation, leveling land, using water-saving irrigation scheduling and so on in the middle reach, water-saving model by well water pumping in the lower reach. The technologies and models of water-saving were used about 333333.3 hectares, and about 5.60×108 m 3 of water use was saved in agriculture in Shiyanghe river basin from 1996-2003.

(7) He established academic organization and research laboratory of water-saving in agriculture, organized international and national conferences on water-saving in agriculture, and popularized and extended water-saving technologies in agriculture

He sponsored and established Agricultural Soil and Water Branch of Chinese Agricultural Engineering Society, and was selected as the Chairman of the branch, and organized academic conferences in Shaanxi, Inner Mongolia, Beijing and Shenyang for water-saving agriculture and sustainable use of water resources, also organized an international conference of water-saving in agriculture and sustainable use of water resources in Yangling in 2003. More than 300 participants attended the conference and came from USA, UK, Australia, Germany, France, Italy, Portugal, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Denmark, Yugoslavia, Japan, India, Thailand, Indonesia, Iran, Syrian, and China.

He established the Key Lab of Water-saving in Agriculture by Ministry of Agriculture, and the Key Lab of Agricultural Soil and Water Engineering in Arid and Semiarid Areas by Ministry of Education, and established the Research Center of Water-saving in Agriculture and Water Resources in Northwest Sci-Tech University of Agriculture and Forestry, and also established the Center for Agricultural Water Research in China, China Agricultural University.

He supervised 36 Ph.D students and 46 M.Sc. students for water-saving and irrigation management studies. He presented some suggestions to Chinese government about establishing national nets of water-saving irrigation experiment and monitoring, and importing the advanced water-saving technologies from developed counties according to Chinese conditions. He took part in the management of state key science and technology project of “Research on Water-saving Techniques in Agriculture and Development of New Products and Equipments for Water-saving in Agriculture”. He organized and took part in the research on “State Development Strategy of Science and Technology in Water-saving Agriculture of China in the Future 20 Years”, and the research on “State Development Strategy of Water-saving Agriculture in China during ‘the Eleventh Five Year Plan’ ”.

He wrote or organized several popular books about water-saving technology and irrigation water management in arid and semiarid areas for farmers and irrigation managers. He organized or lectured more than 20 classes of training irrigation managers and farmers in Shaanxi, Shanxi, Hubei, Henan, Beijing and Gansu Provinces. His works extended and popularized water-saving technology in agriculture. He made great contributions and achievements in water-saving theory development and technology application.

Lake Urmia is located in the North-Western part of Iran between two provinces of West and East Azerbaijan. The area of the lake has gradually shrunk since 2000 with the decrease in water inflow mainly because of the drought and the increase in the water outflow largely for agriculture. Water management practices were required to avoid the complete drying of the lake.

The traditional farming practices were changed with the use of newer technologies and by community participation with the support of the private sector in the development and management of Urmia L ...Read more

Lake Urmia is located in the North-Western part of Iran between two provinces of West and East Azerbaijan. The area of the lake has gradually shrunk since 2000 with the decrease in water inflow mainly because of the drought and the increase in the water outflow largely for agriculture. Water management practices were required to avoid the complete drying of the lake.

The traditional farming practices were changed with the use of newer technologies and by community participation with the support of the private sector in the development and management of Urmia Lake basin. The conventional method of surface irrigation was advanced by better agronomic and management techniques such as crop fertilizer management, pest and disease management, cultivation techniques and crop management, improvement of conventional surface irrigation systems, irrigation management, optimization of irrigation plots, using winnowed seeds, using seeds with a shorter growth period. The techniques saved water by reducing water loss in evaporation and deep percolation, improved water holding capacity, and decreased irrigation time.

The implemented techniques’ affect water application, yield, water productivity on wheat, barley, rapeseed, garlic, and sugar beet cultivation were studied. Training and farmers' skills in planning and decision-making for on-farm management indicated that on-farm water application reduced the water requirements between 5% and 45% compared to conventional methods. Water productivity increased in all the treatment farms. For example, wheat water productivity increased by 14% to 63% in the treatment and control field. Increased productivity in barley fields was between 21% and 32%. The water productivity of sugar beet increased by 39%.

Several private agricultural engineering companies (PAEC) were set up for providing training services to farmers in the Urmia Lake basin. Experts from PAEC prepared the training materials and equipped the trainers to communicate with farmers. The focus was on capacity building, knowledge dissemination, green technology, stakeholder participation, empowerment, and increased human resource skills rather than the transfer of hardware technology.

The empowerment and involvement of local communities in the rural sector and small landholders was the prime objective of the project. Some documentation was required to get approvals by local agricultural offices to support and encourage the private sector in other villages and regions. Some handbooks for introducing the technologies and their application were written by extension offices.

Irrigation systems and management in production nurseries are complex, and the interaction of individual components requires careful management for the system to operate at peak efficiency. The value of nursery production in South-East Queensland was estimated at AUD 628.6 million (484.52 million USD) (70% of Queensland production), with the remaining 30% (AUD 269.4 million) (207.65 USD) being produced throughout regional areas of the state, over a total production area of 2000 ha. This production supported horticultural markets with an estimated economic value of AUD 5.4 billion/annum (4.1 ...Read more

Irrigation systems and management in production nurseries are complex, and the interaction of individual components requires careful management for the system to operate at peak efficiency. The value of nursery production in South-East Queensland was estimated at AUD 628.6 million (484.52 million USD) (70% of Queensland production), with the remaining 30% (AUD 269.4 million) (207.65 USD) being produced throughout regional areas of the state, over a total production area of 2000 ha. This production supported horticultural markets with an estimated economic value of AUD 5.4 billion/annum (4.16 billion USD). With the ever-increasing pressure on water resources, the requirement for efficient water usage and the development of tools to collate available resources like land and water management plans increased.

At the same line, a project focused on assisting growers (in the nursery industry) in the three priority areas of irrigation scheduling, irrigation design, and irrigation recycling, was implemented with Queensland Government’s financial support. The project evaluated the best cost/benefit in improving water use efficiency and productivity. The details of the project are provided below:

After thorough research, experimentation, and field evaluation for the Australian Nursery Industry, a range of nursery industry resources. These resources assisted growers in implementing water use efficiency measures by applying updated information and techniques.

Field officers used site visits to assist growers in addressing their unique issues, introducing a range of resources, and enabling growers to develop plans for improving water use efficiency. In addition to site visits, further technical information via technical articles, case studies, technical videos, workshops, field days, regular project updates, and industry trade events were also held for the growers’ community.

Government funding also enabled the field offices to further develop the tools, therefore improving and extending their usefulness. Growers are time-poor and rely heavily on information being provided to them for decision making, rather than researching and testing information themselves. The tools and resources developed were used in guiding growers along with the required guidance from a field officer to implement and adopt.

The three priority areas and their related techniques covered under the project are:

• Irrigation scheduling: Irrigation scheduling can provide significant improvements in water use efficiency, whilst incurring little or no capital cost. During the project, growers used simple tools to schedule their irrigation more accurately, such as monitoring evapotranspiration or container weight. A container weight-monitoring tool (Portable Weight Based Scheduling Unit – PWBSU) was used to enable the changes in container weight to be displayed on a graph, giving a visual representation of the changes in the moisture content of the growing medium growers. - The information generated from the PWBSU was used to discuss possible changes to irrigation scheduling and fine-tune irrigation scheduling for each business. Evapotranspiration from a weather station installed onsite was also calculated and displayed on the graph, and growers were then able to use this as a guide for future irrigation scheduling decisions.

The characteristics of the growing medium had a major influence on irrigation management. Guidelines on the water holding capacity of different growing media types, and how they affect irrigation scheduling, were used in discussions with growers and, in conjunction with the PWBSU data.

• Irrigation design: From research work conducted previously, irrigation design guidelines were developed to assist in designing nursery irrigation systems to improve water use efficiency. In addition to this information, a database of sprinkler design performance was available to assist growers in determining the efficiency of an irrigation design or compare the efficiency of design options.  There were specific requirements for uniformity and application rates for containerised nursery production irrigation systems. Guidelines previously developed recommend sprinklers be laid out in a square pattern, at uniform spacing, with sprinklers located around the perimeter of the irrigated area, and efficiency parameters for Mean Application Rate (MAR < 15mm/hr), Coefficient of Uniformity (CU >85%) and Scheduling Coefficient (SC < 1.5) were used as the best management practice (bmp) benchmarks. These guidelines formed the basis for assisting growers to upgrade and design new sprinkler irrigation systems during site visits, and discuss available options. A major factor in determining the MAR of the system is the knowledge of the absorption rate of the growing media, and its influence on water use efficiency. Previous research identified absorption rates for different growing media types of < 15 mm/hr for bark-based growing media, < 20 mm/hr for bark-based media with wetting agents added and < 25 mm/hr for coir growing media. A database of modelled sprinkler performance (MAR, CU & SC) enabling emitter information, with a schematic outline of a proposed irrigation design was provided. It was used to guide growers as to the expected performance of a sprinkler design, and poorly performing systems were replaced  with high-efficiency designs.
• Recycling: The containerised nature of most production nurseries means that any water that does not get to a pot falls onto the production surface and can potentially be collected for reuse, but this method may incur significant capital costs. Information on designing and installing recycling and treatment systems was provided both through site visits and information resources. Significant issues with using recycled water are the control of plant pathogens and monitoring of water quality; several technical articles providing information to growers on the performance of different treatment systems and the nursery production bmp (NPBMP) guidelines were used as the main information source. In addition to the NPBMP guidelines, several case studies, technical articles and video resources were used in promoting this message and providing data to growers on how they can manage recycled water. Changes to irrigation scheduling enabled water-savings of up to 55%, with little or no capital outlay for growers. A project retrofitting Best Management Practice (BMP) sprinkler layouts in existing businesses identified annual water-savings of between 6.5 and 9.4 ML/annum or a reduction of 24-43% in water usage per annum. Recycling nursery irrigation drainage water can provide the largest water-savings, with up to 81% water-savings measured. Hand-watering was shown to be an inefficient method of irrigation water application, in both water use efficiency and productivity therefore drip irrigation systems were recommended to improve water use efficiency. A drip irrigation assessment and an evaluation tool were used to demonstrate to growers how these systems should be set up to achieve maximum water use efficiency. This technique calculates the optimum water requirement and monitors the supply of water following the assessed optimum need. Any extra water so supplied is recaptured and recycled. The water use efficiency is therefore maximised. The replicability of such a technique is simple to adopt. Extrapolating data to the entire Australian Nursery Industry, similar programs could achieve water savings of approximately 8 MCM across Australia, along with ongoing savings in subsequent years. Further, the techniques used in this project apply to any containerised nursery throughout the world, showing the worldwide potential of the innovation.

China is facing an acute shortage of water resources and farmland which is affecting its food production. On top of it, the significant shortage of labour restricted the development of modern agriculture. Therefore, high-efficiency water-saving irrigation technologies like sprinkler irrigation, micro-irrigation, and irrigation with pipe conveyance are used extensively, however, their operation requires technical expertise like assembling and disassembling for irrigation every day. Further, the overland equipment interferes with the farming machinery. Thus, a need to develop a new irrigation ...Read more

China is facing an acute shortage of water resources and farmland which is affecting its food production. On top of it, the significant shortage of labour restricted the development of modern agriculture. Therefore, high-efficiency water-saving irrigation technologies like sprinkler irrigation, micro-irrigation, and irrigation with pipe conveyance are used extensively, however, their operation requires technical expertise like assembling and disassembling for irrigation every day. Further, the overland equipment interferes with the farming machinery. Thus, a need to develop a new irrigation technology was felt, one which is suitable for tillage saves labour and water, and have no occupation of farmland.

To fulfil this need, a buried self-lifting irrigation device was invented to overcome the shortcomings of fixed irrigation devices. The irrigation equipment is buried under the tillage layer when it is not working. Some of the device’s modalities are presented below:

Based on the principle of reducing the shear strength of wet soil, the design theory of buried self-lifting irrigation devices was developed. Water ejection at the top of the device rapidly increases the soil moisture content leading to a quick reduction of soil shear strength. The device is lifted under force by the water pressure in the pipe. According to the force analysis of the buried self-lifting equipment, the maximum resistance and effective driving force in the self-lifting process, and the minimum inlet pressure formula for multi-type soil condition is calculated. The effect of the riser diameter on the minimum inlet pressure is also studied.

When the device is underground and begins to rise, a water jet ejects at the top of the device, and the soil moisture content increases while the soil shear strength decreases rapidly. At the same time, the riser is pushed upward by the force of water pressure, that is, the driving force. The effective driving force for breaking soil W (i.e., the upward force of water flow) is calculated by effective water pressure at the top of the riser multiplied by the cross-sectional area S1 of the riser. Among them, the effective pressure at the top of the riser is estimated by P0-PS-PW, in which P0 is the water pressure at the bottom of the system; PS is the local pressure loss at the nozzle outlet, and PW is the pressure of the water column in the riser and the casing. The effective driving force W is related to the inlet pressure, local hydraulic loss, length, and the cross-sectional area of the riser and the casing. When soil resistance is reduced to a value lower than the sum of the effective driving force, the friction force between soil and the riser, as well as the gravity of the riser is gradually destroyed, and the device is lifted over the ground.

The new hydrants are classified into four kinds. They are buried self-lifting hydrants for drip irrigation, buried self-lifting hydrants for sprinkler irrigation, buried self-lifting hydrants for irrigation with pipe conveyance, and universal buried self-lifting hydrants. The main bodies of these devices are made of plastic and can be directly buried under the tillage layer. Before irrigation, these devices can automatically rise above the ground under the design pressure. Easily connected to facilities to supply water, these hydrants can be used in irrigation such as sprinkler irrigation, drip irrigation, and irrigation with pipe conveyance. In addition to developing the system of self-lifting hydrants, the modification in sprinkler nozzles was also carried out.The new hydrants are classified into four kinds. They are buried self-lifting hydrants for drip irrigation, buried self-lifting hydrants for sprinkler irrigation, buried self-lifting hydrants for irrigation with pipe conveyance, and universal buried self-lifting hydrants. The main bodies of these devices are made of plastic and can be directly buried under the tillage layer. Before irrigation, these devices can automatically rise above the ground under the design pressure. Easily connected to facilities to supply water, these hydrants can be used in irrigation such as sprinkler irrigation, drip irrigation, and irrigation with pipe conveyance. In addition to developing the system of self-lifting hydrants, the modification in sprinkler nozzles was also carried out.

Four kinds of new products have been produced and used- a buried self-lifting micro-sprinkler nozzle, a buried self-lifting nozzle driven by steel ball-beating, a buried self-lifting nozzle driven by water pressure, and a buried self-lifting nozzle with several outlets. These nozzles are suitable for different water quality. By adopting reasonable driving force, transmission and channels, the nozzles can both achieve the function of being lifted above the ground and effectively protect soil particles from entering them. The buried self-lifting nozzles completely changed the recognition that nozzles could not be buried in the soil and solved the problems of the existing sprinkler.

Based on buried self-lifting hydrants and nozzles, a new integrated buried self-lifting sprinkler system was also researched and designed. This system is composed of a hydrant, telescopic coupling tube, and a nozzle. It is buried below the tillage layer when it is not working. The integrated buried system is pushed out of the soil before irrigation by water flow. It depends on the negative pressure of the water/sphere or manpower to push the system back below the tillage layer after irrigation. These new integrated buried self-lifting sprinkler devices have been applied widely in Hebei, Henan, Shanxi, Shandong, Beijing, Zhejiang, and Ningxia.

Since 2012, these technologies and products have been used in more than 1.33 Mha of farmlands and saving water up to 2 BCM. The benefits of water and labour saving have been remarkable. From 2013-2017, more than 50 technology demonstration sites were spread throughout Hebei, Henan, Shandong, Shanxi, Ningxia, Gansu, Inner Mongolia, Heilongjiang, Beijing, Zhejiang, Xinjiang, and Tibet. The whole demonstrating area was over 2000 ha with a radiation area of over 26,000 ha and an application area of over 1.3 billion in the past five years.

Aqualone is a low-tech irrigation controller made of a clay pot, a hydraulic valve, a magnet, a float, and a UV-proof plastic holder. The valve stays off as long as the plants don’t need water. It is made of simple, solid materials and doesn’t require electricity, battery, or programming, but only pressurised water.

The controller responds to climate conditions, and the key trigger is the clay pot acting as a sensor and mimicking the soil’s behaviour. If the weather is dry, hot, and windy, watering will happen several times a day. If it’s overcast and cool, ...Read more

Aqualone is a low-tech irrigation controller made of a clay pot, a hydraulic valve, a magnet, a float, and a UV-proof plastic holder. The valve stays off as long as the plants don’t need water. It is made of simple, solid materials and doesn’t require electricity, battery, or programming, but only pressurised water.

The controller responds to climate conditions, and the key trigger is the clay pot acting as a sensor and mimicking the soil’s behaviour. If the weather is dry, hot, and windy, watering will happen several times a day. If it’s overcast and cool, there will be a watering cycle every 2 or 3 days or less, and during rains, no watering at all. The clay pot commands the hydraulic valve closing/opening via a magnet fixed to a float placed in the plastic holder compartment. When a watering cycle is ongoing, the system gets watered the same way as the plants. The irrigation water dampens the clay pot, passes through it and fills up the float compartment. When there’s enough water to lift the float, the magnet disconnects from the valve and closes it, stopping the watering. The next watering cycle occurs when the water present in the compartment is absorbed by the clay pot and evaporated.

A tremendous quantity of water was saved as only the requisite water amount is distributed with this technology. The scientific assessments carried showed encouraging results: for instance, in a comparative study on two citrus lines at the IAC (Caledonian Institute of Agronomy), not only did Aqualone use 35% less water than the electronic programmer, but it also maintained the plants in a better hydric comfort zone and delivered more homogenous irrigation. Another comparative study, performed in the park and gardens of the city of Noumea supervised by the IAC, led to an average of 72% water-saving on the test plots managed by the innovative technology compared to those controlled by electronic programmers and solenoid valves. Aqualone not only saves water, but it also helps in saving a significant amount of money, as it doesn’t require any tricky maintenance (just rinse off the various parts several times a year depending on water quality). It neither breaks down, unlike solenoid valves.

The low-tech irrigation controller is now in a commercial development phase. There are partnerships with Gardena and Plasson to build and implement efficient water management product lines with extended partnerships to Australia. Aqualone has been selected to be implemented in Asia-Pacific. As part of a sustainable agriculture model, it will be installed in Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands farms. Several other partnerships with agricultural development NGOs will be organised. GK Enchanted Farm sites in the Philippines also installed the controller. Other means of further propagation of technology are as follows: Creation of reference sources with InVivo group, INRA (French national institute of agronomic research), Montpellier Sup Agro (national institute of further education in agricultural science), Dumbea golf course in New Caledonia, City of Noumea, Pernod Ricard group.

In the medium term, opportunities to partner with companies like Toro, Jain Irrigation, Insentek, Bermad are being assessed. In line with its prime purpose to allow family farms to save water with a financially and technically accessible system, it will be opened for sponsorship and patronage programmes.

Expansion of the "Mandacaru Methodology" for Conversion of Irrigation Parcel Systems was conducted in 2010-11 as a pilot project. The results on water saving, power saving, increase in productivity, and environmental benefits allowed further expansion to more than 404 irrigated perimeters. It converted irrigation systems from furrow to trickle at Mandacaru Irrigated perimeter in Juazeiro, Bahia state in Brazil. The objective was to save both water and power for pumping the required water. Combining these activities reduced labour costs and increased productivity, and ...Read more

Expansion of the "Mandacaru Methodology" for Conversion of Irrigation Parcel Systems was conducted in 2010-11 as a pilot project. The results on water saving, power saving, increase in productivity, and environmental benefits allowed further expansion to more than 404 irrigated perimeters. It converted irrigation systems from furrow to trickle at Mandacaru Irrigated perimeter in Juazeiro, Bahia state in Brazil. The objective was to save both water and power for pumping the required water. Combining these activities reduced labour costs and increased productivity, and the protection against environmental damages. Approximately 17% water use efficiency was achieved. This led to a 52% reduction in the annual volume pumped, 36% energy-saving for the perimeter management, reduction of labour cost, and the full utilization of the farmland up to 100% (which was between 50 and 65% earlier). The details on the methodology and results are provided below:

The system was designed for temporary crops, drip irrigation, pasture, sprinklers, permanent crops (fruits), and micro-sprinkler, depending on the crop type. Some farms had three methods of irrigation for the same individual pump. In addition, each farmer had Individual Pump Station (IPS) and the responsibility to use the water optimally. The water from individual reservoirs was pumped to the emitters, controlled by automatic panels and hydraulic valves.

Water Balance (WB) of each parcel based on the cadastral records, analysis of the current (furrow) and future (pressurized) situations established the unit flows (weighted average of all crops in the lot), and total for each farm was prepared. Reducing coefficients (KL – KELLER / BLIESNER) were also calculated to reduce the volume required, emphasizing that the concept of conversion was of high-frequency trickle irrigation.

The emitters for each crop (flow, spacing, pressure) were designed so that the total application time and the final unit flow rate do not exceed that provided for in the water balance. This was essential for the design and was the most challenging stage.

Adoption of high-frequency irrigation, helped by automation devices, allowed the soil moisture monitoring to avoid excessive application, which was difficult in furrow irrigation. IPS (the energy company) added one more element to the production chain: which was, and in case of no payment, energy was cut; energy fee led to the critical use of water and eliminated the application of excessive water. Farmers also realized that productivity and quality could be improved by using less water, which provided better prices on the market and increased adaptation rates.

Once implanted, the data obtained over the years was even better than the ones initially calculated (52% reduction of the annual volume pumped, 36% energy-saving for the perimeter, and environmental benefits), such as the increased yields of the annual crops by up to four times, as well as the re-utilization of salinized and previously considered useless soils.

Subsequent results of these four perimeters indicated that the total volume of water saved in these four perimeters was 79,218,397 m³ which is more than 27% of the average water used (saving of 63%), and the average saving in annual energy was 39.75%. The following graph shows that the adopted innovation of drip irrigation resulted in decreasing irrigated areas using other methods.

South Khorasan province is a dry and desert area of 151,196 km² in eastern Iran with an average annual precipitation and evaporation rate of 100 mm and 92%, respectively. Despite ongoing water resource constraints, more than 30% of the region’s employment and 29% of value-added services are in the agricultural sector. The total acreage of arable lands and gardens in the province is 1,89,739 ha of which 32,036 ha in dry farms and 1,57,702 ha irrigated lands leading to excessive groundwater withdrawals. This, along with unstable rainfall over the past years and success ...Read more

South Khorasan province is a dry and desert area of 151,196 km² in eastern Iran with an average annual precipitation and evaporation rate of 100 mm and 92%, respectively. Despite ongoing water resource constraints, more than 30% of the region’s employment and 29% of value-added services are in the agricultural sector. The total acreage of arable lands and gardens in the province is 1,89,739 ha of which 32,036 ha in dry farms and 1,57,702 ha irrigated lands leading to excessive groundwater withdrawals. This, along with unstable rainfall over the past years and successive droughts, caused a 15% groundwater withdrawal overdraft. The drop in water levels and depleting aquifers created concerns of reduced cultivation area, reduced income, and increased production costs in industries, shortage of drinking water and social unrest, poor groundwater quality leading to additional purification costs, and rampant soil salinity and degradation of agricultural land.

Additionally, earth subsidence (silent earthquake) created cracks in the land threatening sustainability. Plant species also degraded with the reduction in congeries and water availability. Studies showed that indiscriminate exploitation of wells especially the licensed ones was due to the lack of awareness among farmers and the inappropriate measuring tools and facilities available at their disposal.

Considering the critical state, smart meters were installed to control groundwater overdrafts. The smart meters measured both the water extraction rates, the power consumed and calculated the optimum water requirement. After initial hesitation and attending 130 informative meetings, the proposal was accepted by the farmers.

The following action steps were implemented as part of the master plan:

• The plan was implemented in three phases. In 2008, the first phase was devoted to the installation and calibration of reading counters (meters). The amount of water extraction was not restricted in this phase. Just the rate of extraction was measured.
• The second phase in 2015 defined the permissible water extraction rates for wells based on license. During water shortage, extra charges were levied but this was limited to one period and as per cropping and harvesting requirements.
• This played a significant role in convincing farmers to adopt new cultivation patterns in line with the available water. At the end of this phase, the beneficiaries demanded the installation of meters on all wells and monitored the overall plan’s enforcement. The successful implementation led to the project’s advancement in the whole province.
• In the first stage, smart meters were installed on 1,917 agricultural wells and in the second phase, on 1,331 active wells in (household) drinking, industrial, and service sectors. Installation of meters (counters) in the final phase was continued for monitoring and management purposes.
• In the third phase, enforced in 2015-2016, the amount of harvest was controlled and extra charges were eliminated. The main direction was to modify the cultivation pattern without compromising with the farmers' income.

The allocation of groundwater for the cultivation of market-garden products was stopped and crops with low water requirements were promoted such as rapeseed. This increased farmers’ revenue and influenced crop production choices to achieve sustainability. The rate of extracted water from the wells also decreased and the water deficit in 2016-2017 fell to 135 MCM.

The farmer’s responsibility to manage water led to an increased surface area covered with new irrigation. The land under the annual coverage of modern irrigation increased from 1,402 ha in 2015 to 1,486 in 2016 and 10,024 ha in 2017. This showed a 57% increase in lands equipped with new smart meters for water and electricity.

Water Retainer can be applied by either spraying on the surface or solved in the irrigation water, with different levels of dilution possible. It springs into action when vapour streams its way upwards though the capillaries, trapping vapour and transforming it into tiny droplets of water.

Water Retainer can be applied by either spraying on the surface or solved in the irrigation water, with different levels of dilution possible. It springs into action when vapour streams its way upwards though the capillaries, trapping vapour and transforming it into tiny droplets of water.

Rice production is not only equated with food security but political stability in many developing countries, where a significant majority of all rice is produced in Asia. It consumes nearly half of the entire world's irrigation water and around one-third of its freshwater. To meet the ever-increasing global demand, production must increase by 15% by 2050 while irrigation is expected to increase by 70 to 90% and to two to threefold by the end of the century. Asia will also be facing a maximum reduction of 40% of its water supply by 2025. As three-fourths of rice production is f ...Read more

Rice production is not only equated with food security but political stability in many developing countries, where a significant majority of all rice is produced in Asia. It consumes nearly half of the entire world's irrigation water and around one-third of its freshwater. To meet the ever-increasing global demand, production must increase by 15% by 2050 while irrigation is expected to increase by 70 to 90% and to two to threefold by the end of the century. Asia will also be facing a maximum reduction of 40% of its water supply by 2025. As three-fourths of rice production is from water-intensive irrigated lowland conditions, more sustainable water-saving alternatives should be introduced to meet these sheer challenges.

Lowland rice cultivation has several advantages, such as seedlings quickly dealing with weeds and thus weed growth will be minimal [6] while puddled soil plays a vital role in reducing infiltration losses which decrease exponentially by increasing the intensity of puddling. Furthermore, a puddling environment helps cyanobacteria to provide nitrogen for the rice. However, only around 13-33 percent of the irrigation is used by transpiration and seepage and deep percolation account for 80 percent in this method. An alternative to reduce irrigation amount without significant yield loss [11] is Alternative Wetting and Drying (AWD) irrigation which is done by applying 2-5 cm of surface water on puddled soil for the period of 2-7 days after the disappearance of surface water. Another approach could be direct-seeded cultivation, the oldest method of planting rice, accounting for around 23% of rice cultivation globally. However, while water use is reportedly reduced by 55%, yield is reduced from 8 to 3.4 t ha-1. Longer land occupation, more weed control management, and large seed supply and fertilizer are other downsides of this method.

A recent approach is the drip irrigation of rice which provides moisture within the root zone, reduces evaporation and percolation, enables precise automation, fertigation and minimizes labor costs. Moreover, a study demonstrated that methane emissions decreased enormously, around 80% from drip irrigation of aerobic rice and this number was around 50% for the alternate wetting and drying, which shows that drip irrigation and AWD, despite their advantages, are more climate-friendly in terms of aggravating climate change. However, drip irrigation is mostly studied in aerobic rice cultivation and analyzing drip irrigation on transplanted rice in puddled paddy soil is rare to unknown. On the other hand, drip tape irrigation systems are known to be cheaper and easier to install and maintain than conventional drip irrigation with emitters. By having the benefits of rice transplantation, puddling and drip tape irrigation system, this study was conducted to comprehensively determine how this new approach will perform regarding water productivity and yield characteristics compared to AWD irrigation.

Experiments were conducted at the Rice Research Institute of Iran (RRII) for two consecutive years in 2020 and 2021 in Rasht. Twelve isolated concrete blocks (check basins) with dimensions of 3x5 meters were selected for four irrigation treatments, each with three replications as a split-plot experiment based on a complete randomized block design.

Three drip tape irrigation treatments with different lateral spacing of 40 cm (T40), 60 cm (T60), and 80 cm (T80) with 16 mm in diameter, emitter spaces of 20 cm, and a flow of 1.6 L hr1 compared with AWD irrigation by five days period (after surface water disappearance). The daily weather data was obtained from the institute's meteorological station within 450 meters of the plot. Evapotranspiration was calculated based on the evaporation data recorded from Class A Evaporation Pan at the meteorological site with a pan-crop coefficient (Kp.Kc) of 1.3, which is determined from previous local experiments. Tillage and puddling operations were carried out in mid-May inside the blocks, and seedlings of the Hashemi variant were transplanted in late May from the treasury by 20 to 20 cm. All treatments were flooded for two weeks ranging between three to five centimeters of water level. Following that, the laterals of the drip tape irrigation treatments were placed with two rows of seedlings in between T40, three rows for T60, and four rows on T80. In the first year, Irrigations were controlled by SMS remote controller and adjusted with effective rainfall based on FAO's formula. However, in 2021, irrigations were managed manually by technicians due to potential blackouts and better technical servicing. The irrigation rate is documented and checked from water meters on a daily basis.

This innovation is software 'VARIwise' that combines sensing, modelling, optimisation and actuation to determine site-specific irrigation requirements to maximise yield and crop productivity for broad-acre crops. The innovation focuses on identifying irrigation timing and spatially variable depths across fields to best achieve maximum forecasted yield using models. This contrasts with existing commercial automated site-specific irrigation control strategies that are either time-based or are based on variability maps that may not necessarily relate to actual irrigation requirements. ...Read more

This innovation is software 'VARIwise' that combines sensing, modelling, optimisation and actuation to determine site-specific irrigation requirements to maximise yield and crop productivity for broad-acre crops. The innovation focuses on identifying irrigation timing and spatially variable depths across fields to best achieve maximum forecasted yield using models. This contrasts with existing commercial automated site-specific irrigation control strategies that are either time-based or are based on variability maps that may not necessarily relate to actual irrigation requirements. In addition, typical strategies developed in other research apply irrigation when the plant has reached a specific stress point if using canopy temperature sensors or soil-water deficit if using soil moisture sensors. These systems do not consider water availability and target seasonal performance objectives (e.g., maximise yield or water productivity). Therefore, they cannot adapt to different weather conditions or limited water situations. In particular, some crops (e.g., cotton) require stress in early growth stages to produce maximum yield, and simply managing irrigation according to soil moisture deficit does not target optimal yield.

VARIwise has been evaluated on cotton and dairy pasture crops to determine site-specific irrigation requirements with surface and centre pivot irrigation. The system developed involves a novel combination of the following components:

- Industry-standard crop biophysical models that are automatically parameterised from online and infield data sources of weather, soil properties, and irrigation management information

- Machine vision cameras to automatically detect growth rates from infield cameras and parameterise the crop biophysical model

- Optimisation algorithms that iteratively run the parameterised crop model to identify which irrigation day/volume will optimise yield and water productivity

VARIwise produces the best irrigation day in the next three days (if any) and the required irrigation depths. For centre pivot and lateral move irrigation machines with variable-rate irrigation capability, VARIwise automatically generates prescription maps in formats compatible with commercially available panels. The maps can then be approved by the grower, uploaded, and enabled.

Water Saving through the Innovation

This innovation improves water productivity by applying irrigation where it is needed, at the right time, specific to the crop's water requirements. For example, Water is saved by the model on cotton crops by recognising the impact of Water on potential yield at all growth stages. This has led to strategies that reduce irrigation depth and apply stress to the plant earlier in the season to encourage root development and flower production, and later in the season, full irrigation occurs to maximise yield. Implementation of this system has led to yield improvements of 4 to 11% and water savings of 12 to 22% for cotton. Water is saved by the model on dairy pasture when updated with the daily growth status from the machine vision system. For dairy pastures, infield cameras and machine vision algorithms have been developed to sense grazing status from pasture growth rates automatically. By updating the grazing status within the crop biophysical model, the resultant strategies reduce irrigation depths immediately after grazing and increase irrigation depth as pasture growth progresses. In contrast, grazing information is typically manually recorded and is not sensed as part of existing soil moisture or satellite monitoring systems. Trials on dairy pasture are currently being conducted to compare the performance of soil moisture sensor-based irrigation against optimisation strategies from VARIwise.

The performance of VARIwise irrigation strategies relies on the ability to predict yield accurately. Trials have been conducted to evaluate the yield prediction performance across 17 cotton sites with varying levels of fruit removal, hail damage, and heat stress. The overall yield prediction accuracies were: 81.2 to 89.8% at a date three months before the harvest; 91.1to 95.1% two months before the harvest; and 90.5 to 97.5% one month before harvest.

Implementation of the Innovation

VARIwise will be introduced to the industry through commercialisation opportunities with manufacturers of irrigation hardware or precision agriculture software. This will involve selecting commercial partners and sharing the intellectual property for implementation. Planning for commercialisation has commenced with the project's funders. An expression of interest process for commercial partners was released in 2020, and the applicant is currently providing support for commercialisation with the respondent. The software would initially be used for centre pivot and lateral move irrigation in the cotton and/or dairy industries. In the Australian cotton industry, there is 61,030 ha of land irrigated by centre pivot or lateral move irrigation machines, and around 287,2000 ha of land developed for surface irrigation, irrigated by about 1,000 irrigation systems that could each utilise one of these units. Australian cotton has an annual export value in New South Wales and Queensland of $1.3 billion and $670 million. These two industries will be targeted initially, as they have provided funding for this innovative development and field evaluation (Cotton Research and Development Corporation and Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Water and Environment as part of its Rural R&D for Profit program).

It is expected that the commercial partner would make the VARIwise system available as an add-on to existing variable-rate irrigation hardware. The integration of VARIwise prescription map development capability within the commercial partner existing systems may be phased, with implementation through the following steps: (a) generate VRI map compatible with commercial variable-rate irrigation systems; (b) supply data from on-site weather stations in a required format for VARIwise runs; (c) import variability maps from satellite, soil, or elevation maps; (d) read in data from cameras/grazing sensors; and, (€) purchase a commercial license for the crop biophysical model to link available data to the generation of prescription maps.

Scope for Further Expansion of the Innovation

There is potential for the VARIwise technology to be expanded across a range of crops and irrigation systems. The software could be transferred to any crop where the biophysical soil- plant-atmosphere relationships are available in a model that can be parameterised and can predict yield. Potential crops for technology transfer include vegetables and fruit, contributing $2.9 billion and $2.3 billion to the Australian economy, respectively. There is also potential for the control system to be implemented in the grains industry, particularly in the USA, where the irrigable area is 22 million ha. Over half of this area is irrigated with centre pivots and lateral moves that could each utilise one of these systems. In particular, the USA is the world's largest corn producer, with an annual irrigated crop value of $13 billion and irrigated corn area of ~5,500,000 ha.

The software could also be expanded to plan irrigation between multiple fields. For example, this would involve focussing available irrigation to fields with higher yield potential and then separately implementing optimisation within these fields. There is also potential for sub-components of this innovation to be adopted separately. This will enable phased adoption of irrigation automation technologies. These individual sub-components include the yield prediction software, the machine vision system to detect and record grazing events for pasture automatically, and the automated prescription map development process.

Soil erosion in Iran is very high, nearly 2.5 times more than the world average which impacts the agricultural output. This peculiar problem of soil erosion requires innovative irrigation techniques. One such technique is the placement of micro-dams in furrow irrigation which helped in reducing water and phosphorous losses and increased water-savings.

Despite the availability of modern irrigation methods globally, surface irrigation is still widely applied in agricultural lands, with furrow irrigation being one of the most common methods. Farmers in Iran also employed surface irri ...Read more

Soil erosion in Iran is very high, nearly 2.5 times more than the world average which impacts the agricultural output. This peculiar problem of soil erosion requires innovative irrigation techniques. One such technique is the placement of micro-dams in furrow irrigation which helped in reducing water and phosphorous losses and increased water-savings.

Despite the availability of modern irrigation methods globally, surface irrigation is still widely applied in agricultural lands, with furrow irrigation being one of the most common methods. Farmers in Iran also employed surface irrigation which reduced water flow velocity and runoff rate by placing soil or straw (as a barrier) inside irrigated furrows. However, this traditional operation has not been systematically investigated. Despite all the advantages, the open-end (free draining) furrow irrigation method has one disadvantage that when the water reaches the end of the field, it freely moves out of the field, and consequently dissolves matters and the eroded sediments are transferred out of the field. Phosphorus losses occur in surface irrigated fields by soil erosion released by runoff from the field. Eventually, it reduces the quality of downstream water resources. Therefore, an appropriate technique was developed to control soil erosion and water losses.

The presented technique is the creation of micro-dams inside the irrigated furrows. It effectively reduces surface water velocity, soil erosion, and run-off and phosphorus losses from the agricultural fields. The low cost of micro-dams and the simplicity of their construction are the prime advantages of this technique. A field study observed the effects of these micro-dams. Field studies and experiments were conducted at the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran. The soil texture was clay loam and the farm’s slope was 0.96%. Measurements were carried out in four irrigation events at the beginning of the season. In this study, the combination of two erosive inflow discharges (0.6 and 0.9 l/s) and two micro-dam distances along the furrow (20 and 10 m) was investigated. A control treatment (a furrow without micro-dams) was used for each experimental discharge. Therefore, six treatments were established. Consequently, 24 irrigation evaluations were performed. Super Phosphate (Ca(H₂PO₄)₂H₂O) fertilizer was applied for providing phosphorus. The amount of pure phosphorus added to the soil was 40 kg/ha. After fertilization, experimental furrows with a length of 100 m and a spacing of 0.75 m were created by the furrower machine. The experiment required 18 contiguous furrows. Micro-dams were manually built to create a 0.05 m hump above the average local furrow base elevation. Furthermore, the micro-dams were covered with plastic film for preventing their destruction by overflowing water. In control and treatment furrows, inflow and outflow discharges were measured using WSC Type 1 flume, and the amount of erosion and phosphorus losses were determined by runoff sampling at different periods. The concentration of phosphorus in the runoff water sample was measured by a spectrophotometer device.

Micro-dams substantially reduced the runoff, runoff sediments, and phosphorus losses when compared to the control treatments. The increase in discharge increased flow velocity and the furrow wetter perimeter, and consequently increased runoff and sediment losses for all treatments and irrigation events. In addition, micro-dams were more effective in controlling erosion in the high inflow discharge treatments. The effectiveness of micro-dams in controlling erosion at large inflow discharges was an important finding, suggesting that this technique can be adequate for sloping areas where the soil is prone to erosion. Also, phosphorus losses were higher for higher discharge, indicating that phosphorous losses may be very sensitive to inflow discharge. Since phosphorus is attached to soil particles, an increase in soil loss causes increased phosphorus losses in runoff.

Compared to the control treatment, the following reduction in the amount of runoff, runoff sediment, and phosphorus loss was observed for micro-dams with distances of 20 m and 10 m, respectively.

• For micro-dam spacing – 10 m and inflow rate 0.6 l/s – Runoff decreased by 45.4% in the first irrigation event and by 32.3% on the average of the four irrigation events
• For micro-dam spacing – 10 m and inflow rate 0.9 l/s – Runoff decreased by 37.4% in the first irrigation event and by 24.5% on the average of the four irrigation events
• For micro-dam spacing – 20 m and inflow rates of 0.6 and 0.9 l/s – Runoff reduced by 26.7% and 17.9% respectively, compared to the control treatments.
• In the absence of micro-dams, the sediment losses in the discharge of 0.9 l/s were 69% higher than in the discharge of 0.6 l/s.
• For discharge of 0.6 l/s, reduction in runoff sediments – 25.2% (20 m distance) and 33.0% (10 m distance).
• For discharge of 0.9 l/s, reduction in runoff sediments – 25.3% (20 m distance) and 59.5% (10 m distance).
• For inflow discharges of 0.6 l/s and 0.9 l/s, micro-dams spaced 10 m significantly reduced erosion (p-value <0.05).
• For discharge of 0.6 l/s, reduction in phosphorus losses – 12.9% (20 m distance) and 32.2% (10 m distance).
• For discharge of 0.9 l/s, reduction in phosphorus losses – 24.1% (20 m distance) and 37.4% (10 m distance).

Observation: Micro-dam in the furrow stored and saved water in two ways. In the first stage, the micro-dam reduced irrigation runoff losses from the field and subsequently led to saving water. The results of this study indicated that micro-dams in furrows reduced 45.3% of total runoff from the field. Secondly, the micro-dam also provided non-direct storage of available water resources by preventing the transporting of fertilizer to downstream water resources and contaminating them, thus preserving the quality of water resources. Micro-dams in-furrow reduced soil erosion up to 59.5%, and also prevented the loss of phosphorus up to 37.4% in comparison with the control treatment.

Future studies on this topic could focus on modifying a furrowing machine for creating micro-dams to reduce labour costs, optimizing micro-dam design for different inflow discharges, soil textures, and field slopes, and establishing the economic implications of micro-dams in different open-end furrow irrigated agricultural production systems.

Traditionally, the animal waste residue has been used as a fuel in Iranian rural areas in furnaces, baking ovens, heaters to provide heat and energy. The ashes produced from the burning mainly consist of a silica compound, which is called "Koul” (in local language) and has structural differences with charcoal ash. Due to limited research on the use of koul, an experiment was conducted to understand the various uses of this type of ash.

This project was implemented in Ghani Beigloo Village, Zanjanrood Department of Zanjan, in 3 blocks and 12 p ...Read more

Traditionally, the animal waste residue has been used as a fuel in Iranian rural areas in furnaces, baking ovens, heaters to provide heat and energy. The ashes produced from the burning mainly consist of a silica compound, which is called "Koul” (in local language) and has structural differences with charcoal ash. Due to limited research on the use of koul, an experiment was conducted to understand the various uses of this type of ash.

This project was implemented in Ghani Beigloo Village, Zanjanrood Department of Zanjan, in 3 blocks and 12 plots. The area of each plot was 2.25 m². The number of treatments was selected based on the most effective amount proposed in the sources.

In three types of clay-loam, sandy-loam, and clay soil texture, 3 treatments weighing 10, 20, and 30 ton/ha of ash were added to the clay-loam soil texture to test the percentage of moisture content, the average rate of water penetration in soil and basic penetration rate. At first, a soil sample was taken from a depth of 0-30 cm and soil texture was determined according to the standard hydrometric method - ASTM D422-63. Then, the percentage moisture content of each plot was calculated based on the standard moisture content determination test, AASHTO-T73-293, ASTM D2216-71, and the resulting data were analysed. A detailed analysis of the experiment is presented below:

Determining the percentage of moisture content: The percentage of soil moisture content was calculated to determine the exact time to irrigate plants according to the plant’s water requirement. Compared to the control treatment, in clay loam soil, the water penetration rate of soil was increased in treatments of 10 and 20 ton/ha of ash but in the treatment of 30 ton/ha, the penetration decreased due to the reduction of effective porosity of the soil. In loam sandy soil, Koul had little effect in the treatment of 10 ton/ha and showed a decrease of penetration rate in 20 and 30 ton/ha. (Presented in Table 3.1)

Different soil textures require different treatments for maximum moisture content in the depth zone of 0-30 cm. In all three treatments in clay soil (10, 20, and 30 ton/ha of ash) an increase in moisture content in weight percentage compared to the control sample was observed. The overall result of this test showed the positive effect of ash on water retention.

To measure the infiltration, instructions for measuring water penetration rate were used in the double-ring field method from Iran's water industry standard (1981- A-84). Based on these instructions, two cylinders with a diameter of 30 and 60 cm and a height of 30 cm in form of concentric were hammered inside the plot and the permeability was measured with accuracy. To estimate the amount of water penetration into the soil and its changes with time in different soil textures and climatic conditions, the Lewis-Kostiakov equation was used and results were found to be satisfactory.

Determination of the average penetration rate of water in the soil

In the experiments conducted on different treatments, the average penetration rate of water to soil was studied. The results showed that 10 ton/ha of ash had no effect on loam clay soil, but 20 ton/ha increased the permeability, which showed a positive impact on the ash. In the 30 tons treatment, the average penetration rate of water to soil was reduced, the reason could be the loss of effective porosity of the soil. Also, koul decreased the permeability of Loam Sandy soil at 10 and 20 ton/ha, while at 30 ton/ha increased the average permeation velocity. In clay soil, as the ash increased, the average permeability rate increased, but the process was stopped at 30 ton/ha. (Presented in Table 3.2) Table 3.2 Average penetration rate (cm / h)

The water penetration rate in the soil:

Compared to the control treatment, in clay loam soil, the water penetration rate of soil increased in treatments of 10 and 20 ton/ha of ash but in the treatment of 30 ton/ha, the penetration has decreased due to the reduction of effective porosity of the soil. In loam sandy soil, koul had a little effect in the treatment of 10 ton/ha and showed a decrease of penetration rate in 20 and 30 ton/h of ash. (Presented in Tables 3.3) Table 3.3 The rate of penetration of the water in the soil

The treatment of soil with ash was tested on 1-ha of apple orchard. The conventional growth period was 175 days with an average irrigation interval of 6 days requiring 10,460 m³ of irrigation water along with a pre-irrigation requirement of 30 mm water depth. Each irrigation cycle consumes 431 m³ of water. Loamy-clay soil was treated with 20 ton/ha of ash based on the experiments and the overall moisture penetration.

Increasing the irrigation interval from 6 to 8 days, along with treatment of soil by adding 20 ton of Koul (ash), eliminated eight irrigation cycles from the irrigation plan (saving about 3,448 m³ of water). At the end of the period, an increase in yield, due to an increase in irrigation efficiency was observed. Thus, about 27% of the water in the growing period could be saved by treating the soil with Koul.

The total area under cultivation of horticultural and crop products in Zanjan province is about 1,86,000 ha, which consumes 1.5 BCM of water each year. Considering the access and availability of Koul, a bare minimum of 10% water can be saved amounting to 150 MCM annually. The use of this method is very cost-effective and will be beneficial for farmers, especially in drought-affected areas. It can be used in the greenhouse cultivation phase as well as in rain feed cultivation for a variety of crops and treatments.

Water scarcity along with non-accurate measurements of crop water requirements create serious problems for agricultural water management in arid and semi-arid regions. There was a need to develop low-cost equipment that works with precision, simplicity, and results in water-saving.

Based on the requirement a drainage-weighted micro-lysimeter was designed. It was developed for its simplicity and accurate measurement of crop water requirements based on the water and soil balance equation. Due consideration was given to available and relatively inexpensive equipment compared with the ...Read more

Water scarcity along with non-accurate measurements of crop water requirements create serious problems for agricultural water management in arid and semi-arid regions. There was a need to develop low-cost equipment that works with precision, simplicity, and results in water-saving.

Based on the requirement a drainage-weighted micro-lysimeter was designed. It was developed for its simplicity and accurate measurement of crop water requirements based on the water and soil balance equation. Due consideration was given to available and relatively inexpensive equipment compared with the two common measuring methods (theta probes and pan evaporation methods. The results under indoor conditions (greenhouse), outdoor conditions (pot study), and in-field conditions were investigated and the benefits of this method in field conditions over the other two measurement methods were proven.

Micro-lysimeters used three 10-l buckets and one drainage hole. A thick domestic hose from each bucket was passed through the hole and connected to a small bucket with a lid. Then the buckets were filled with one layer of coarse sand soil 3 cm thick and were passed through a 200 mm sieve as shown in Figure 3.10.

After comparing the three measurement methods with each other, a pot level study was conducted in a 1-ha experimental field with irrigation management scenarios including full irrigation treatment (FI) and three deficit irrigation treatments (DI 80%, DI 60%, and DI 40%) at 100%, 80%, 60% and 40% of crop water requirement based on the percentage of mean full crop water requirement of micro-lysimeters respectively in two agronomical years 2015 and 2016. During the entire growing season, every 12 hours (6 am and 6 pm) micro-lysimeters and the drainage water content was collected and weighed, and the drained water quality was measured using a portable EC meter. This method for estimating crop water requirement was done based on water and soil balance; the theta probes method was based on the soil moisture deficit compensation method, and the third method was based on measuring evaporation from class-A pan evaporation method from the local synoptic station (Doshan Tappeh station) (Figures 3.11).

In micro-lysimeter and theta probes methods, the amount of crop-absorbable moisture was calculated and then irrigation was applied when the moisture reached that level. The depth of irrigation water was determined. The rate of maximum available depletion (MAD) was considered to be 30%. The amount of crop water requirement was calculated by using the soil and water balance equation. In class-A pan evaporation method, daily climatic data were used to calculate reference evapotranspiration (ET_O) by FAO-Penman-Monteith equation. Crop coefficient (K_C) was determined using ET_C obtained by micro-lysimeter and ET_O obtained using FAO-P-M reference evapotranspiration.

It was found that micro-lysimeter saved about 10% of the irrigation water compared to Class A pan evaporation and Theta probe. This technique can prove to be beneficial in water-deprived areas that have limited facilities. The measurement of basil evapotranspiration showed that against a maximum of 545.8 mm with Class A pan evaporation micro lysimeter had 490.74 mm. The corresponding average values were 545.447 and 498.317 mm and basil yield in g/pot indicated that under theta probe the maximum yield was 65.7 whereas under micro lysimeter it went up to 71.3 g/pot. The corresponding average values are 65.07 and 68.62 g/pot. Despite the reduction in water consumption in the micro-lysimeter, crop yield was increased by about 10%. The results indicated that drainage-weighed micro-lysimeter reduced crop water requirement than evaporation pan and the theta probes methods based on T-test and other observed data.

This experiment demonstrates four important implications for sustainable farm water use in arid and semi-arid regions. This technology is low-cost and does not require a minimum standard area. Unlike, evaporation pan and theta probes methods, which require data gathering, and data recording as well as complex measurements, micro-lysimeter preparation is easy to learn and implement. Moreover, the accuracy of theta probes set depends on soil type and is recommended for sandy soils but this micro-lysimeter can be used in all types of soil textures. The need for estimating actual crop water requirements for suitable irrigation scheduling to achieve maximum crop yield with the optimum water consumption in arid and semi-arid regions has been demonstrated using lysimeter in terms of water-saving up to 10%, increase in crop yield up to 10%, cost-effectiveness and ease of use.

The Rice crop is considered one of the most important foods and export crops in Egypt. In the last decade, the annual cultivated area increased from 1.08 to 1.56 million feddans, and the grain yield increased from 3.24 to 5.80 MT. The average grain productivity was 3.42 ton/fed. In Egypt, most of the riverine communities, and farmers use a large quantity of irrigation water in paddy cultivation, creating issues like poor drainage, poor ventilation, and eventually reducing productivity and crop quality. Droughts further exacerbate the situation.

In the presented “Save Irrigat ...Read more

The Rice crop is considered one of the most important foods and export crops in Egypt. In the last decade, the annual cultivated area increased from 1.08 to 1.56 million feddans, and the grain yield increased from 3.24 to 5.80 MT. The average grain productivity was 3.42 ton/fed. In Egypt, most of the riverine communities, and farmers use a large quantity of irrigation water in paddy cultivation, creating issues like poor drainage, poor ventilation, and eventually reducing productivity and crop quality. Droughts further exacerbate the situation.

In the presented “Save Irrigation Water Using the Innovative Machine of Soil and Water Management for Rice Crop Cultivation (SWMR)” technique rice is cultivated in tapes and strips which saves a lot of water and reduces the used land area (Top of furrow 45 cm and 35 cm of the bottom). In the conventional technique, the rice intensity is two plants per 80 cm crosswise, while in this innovative method there are four plants in 80 cm crosswise meaning double the yield.

SWMR saves water, nutrients, time, efforts, applied energy, and operating costs, and the ratio of weeds growing also reduces. The new technique needs an innovative machine to manage soil for 20 cm depth. It is designed and manufactured suiting the hard environment conditions like water, heavy and compacted soil. The machine comprises a cylinder rule having many circular protrusions around the cylinder roll and a subsoil chisel of 25 cm depth behind the tractor. A design is formed on the soil of the cross-section of trenches that faces the transplanted rice rows, and the machine moves on the axe by suitable ball bearings connected to a frame having three kink points to the tractor. Section of trench width (20 cm) of the furrow edge space and reformation of the soil surface to furrows having the (V) shape is created beside the modification of trans planter float by installing the modified wheels to be suitable to the furrow shape. The technique proposes transplanting rice in the bottom of the long trench of V shape which requires almost 50% less of the irrigated water as compared to the conventional method.

For assessing the benefits, rice was cultivated under both conventional/traditional (WT) and innovative techniques (Wm) using the machine for preparing the soil bed. The rice intensification was kept the same under two methods. The rice was transplanted at 20x20 cm. The irrigation water requirements were estimated using local climatic data. It was found that the amounts of applied irrigation water were 13,104 and 6,897 m³/ha for the traditional and modified method of rice cultivation respectively and about 47% (6 BCM) of irrigation water was saved. The rice crop yield of one hectare was 8,580 and 8,978.4 kg/ha for WT and Wm. The irrigation water use efficiency was 0.65 and 1.3 kg/m³ for WT and Wm, respectively. Using this innovative technique, in addition to water-saving led to an increase in crop yield, nutrients saving, and reduced evaporation water losses. The traditional method was prone to mosquito and weed growth which was prevented under the new technique.

Traditionally, the evaluation of surface irrigation water requirements for system improvement was based on data from a limited sample of furrows. Substantial spatial variability in soil infiltration characteristics and irrigation performance between furrows were completely ignored creating an erroneous evaluation of water requirements. Therefore, advanced simulation tools were developed for the evaluation and optimization of surface irrigation systems.

A model called SISCO solved the full hydrodynamic equation to simulate the hydraulics of multiple irrigation furrows and determine ...Read more

Traditionally, the evaluation of surface irrigation water requirements for system improvement was based on data from a limited sample of furrows. Substantial spatial variability in soil infiltration characteristics and irrigation performance between furrows were completely ignored creating an erroneous evaluation of water requirements. Therefore, advanced simulation tools were developed for the evaluation and optimization of surface irrigation systems.

A model called SISCO solved the full hydrodynamic equation to simulate the hydraulics of multiple irrigation furrows and determined the optimum flow rate and time to give optimum performance for the whole field or a set of furrows. It had two components:

• IPARM - An inverse solution of the volume balance equation that allowed calculation of the time-dependent soil infiltration characteristic for a furrow or bay from measurements of the irrigation advance and runoff. The data obtained was used in an appropriate simulation model to simulate the irrigation and determine the best irrigation for the particular furrow or bay.
• IRRIPROB - A simulation tool to assist with managing furrow irrigation and the effect of soil spatial variability

An additional feature of this model was the graphical presentation of the interaction of the main performance measures and the user-specified objective function. SISCO, a new generation simulation model employed a solution of the full hydrodynamic equations. It was unique and unlike old simulation models, it could be applied to all surface irrigation methods, furrows, bays, level basins and drain back basins and performed the required calibration functions (inverse solution of the hydraulic resistance and infiltration parameters from the measured advance, recession, and runoff), simulation, and optimization in a single model. This calibration was also possible with limited data and accommodated user preferences in the selection of the optimum or preferred irrigation.

The model worked on an inverse solution from the measured irrigation and other data to give the infiltration and surface resistance parameters prevailing during the measured irrigation. It conducted ‘what if’ simulations to determine the preferred flow rate and irrigation time. It used a simulation of the measured irrigation as a means of calibrating and calculating the performance parameters for the measured irrigation. These improved evaluation tools can promote the uptake of the evaluation process among surface irrigators. The SISCO model could identify the surface resistance parameter as well as the infiltration characteristic and can use a wider range of measured data, for example, advance, recession, flow depths, and/or runoff. This improved the quality of the parameter estimates, the subsequent simulations, and hence the recommendations stemming from those simulations. It also allowed evaluations such as basin irrigation and irrigated bay pasture which were eliminated earlier. Even greater performance can be obtained if these systems can adapt to the different conditions prevailing at each irrigation.

Efficiency: With the new model, performance measurements across the main surface irrigated crops (cotton, grains, sugar, and pasture) showed application efficiencies ranging from 20 to 90% on average. Selection of more appropriate flow rates and irrigation times better suited to the specific soils achieved average efficiencies above 70%.

Expansion: Surface irrigation (furrow, bay, and basin) is a dominant irrigation method in Australia, used in 70% of the total area irrigated (1,000,000 ha and 4,000,000 ML). At the time, it was predicted that performance gains (water-savings) above 20% could easily be achieved in surface irrigation systems through the process of evaluation and practice change.

All around the world, including in Australia, communities are facing water-related issues such as reduced water availability, conflicting water uses, and water-related environmental problems. Water shortage and deteriorating water quality are contributing to a growing water crisis in many countries. Integrated water management in irrigated agricultural areas is the best strategy to optimize the use of available water resources in the face of reduced water availability, conflicting water uses, and other water-related environmental problems.

In the same light, a study was conducted ...Read more

All around the world, including in Australia, communities are facing water-related issues such as reduced water availability, conflicting water uses, and water-related environmental problems. Water shortage and deteriorating water quality are contributing to a growing water crisis in many countries. Integrated water management in irrigated agricultural areas is the best strategy to optimize the use of available water resources in the face of reduced water availability, conflicting water uses, and other water-related environmental problems.

In the same light, a study was conducted on the Murrumbidgee River system to understand the viability of underground water banking as the new water storage and also a means of water-saving. This research investigated ‘water banking’ i.e., storing water in an aquifer (an underground layer of gravel or porous stone that yields water), by creating a 50 m or deeper underground water bank.

Water banking refers to delivering water earlier than it is used and storing it into groundwater so it is available to be pumped when required. In other words, redirecting surface water to subsurface water until it is utilized with zero evaporation losses. It is a unique water management technique with the ability to test and assess the impact of the allocation of limited water resources between agricultural production and the environment. Water banking is defined as the use, storage, and management of all surface and groundwater water resources available as one single resource (by using an aquifer as a storage system). Water banking can better manage biophysical demand, and enhance instream flows that are biologically and ecologically significant.

Benefits of Water bank included: i) adding flexibility in conjunctive water management, ii) enhancing in-stream flows that are biologically and ecologically significant, iii) reducing water use in over appropriate areas, iv) reducing the impact of water pumping on to stream, and v) facilitating the legal transfer and market exchange of various types of surfaces, groundwater and storage entitlements.

By combining system dynamics and multi-objective optimization with spatial and modeling data, an integrated hydrological-economic-environmental model was developed which helped land and water managers make decisions based on an evaluation of trade-offs between environmental, social, and economic factors. Farm, system, and catchment managers were able to collectively optimize water resource management and distribution at both the short-term tactical and long-term strategic levels.

This technique along with an aquifer downstream of Murrumbidgee resulted in reducing system losses estimated at 200 GL, ranging from 12 to 14% river loss and 12 to 20% channel loss in Coleambally and Murrumbidgee Irrigation areas. Deep groundwater pressures declined by 10 and 20 m over most of the area. With each year an improved scientific understanding of the hydrologic system was developed, however, the role and capabilities of the water bank leave scope for future research. Using the aquifer improved the efficiency of the water distribution system, as well as the natural seasonal flow of the river, by releasing water from the head dams during the winter or wet months and storing it for recovery during dry months, the high demand period (Figure 4.4). This in turn improved the health of the river by freeing more water to the environment and mimicking the river’s natural flow.

Water trading has been tested underwater banking to facilitate water movement between irrigation areas or water banks. Two artificial recharge methods were considered in this study with a changing crop mix option. The analysis indicated a clear trade-off between agricultural income and environmental performance to improve the seasonality of flows (Figure 4.5).

Water banking (storage and recovery water system underground scenario) by using infiltration and injection artificial recharge methods with changing crop mix improved agricultural income by 3 to 10% with potential water savings between 76 to 80 GL.

By using this technique, groundwater use could be reduced by 4 and 8%. The infiltration recharge method was more cost-effective than the injection where the river and aquifer system are connected. This integrated modeling framework is a useful policy and planning tool for catchment managers, water supply irrigation authorities, policy, decision-makers, and irrigators. It is a tool that has the potential to help stakeholders simulate and optimize the system, by evaluating and analyzing key decision variables. It can also provide a basis for examining the impact of physical changes to the system and for interactions with agricultural productivity, economics, and livelihoods to be predicted. For future expansion, the potential for artificial recharge sites using infiltration basins should be explored in detail to provide knowledge of evaporation-free, secure underground water dams. Additional economic water analysis needs to determine the water value under each use, such as environment, agriculture, and industry. Adding rainwater and water absorbed in soil moisture can add new dimensions to integrated catchment management with new degrees of freedom for water use to support both direct and indirect water needs. These could be facilitated by using a water banking approach to capture and manage different water resources with zero evaporation losses.

Efficient utilization of available water resources is crucial for a country like, India, which shares 17% of the global population with only 2.4% of land and 4% of the water resources. The annual food grain requirement of India, works-out to be 450 million tones by the year 2050 and the per capita availability, in terms of average utilizable water resources, which was 6008 m3 in 1947 (presently 1250 m3 ) is expected to dwindle down to 760 m3 by 2050. Agriculture, a main stay in the India, accounts for 25 % of the Nations Gross Domestic Product and 15% exports has dependence of 65% of Indian ...Read more

Efficient utilization of available water resources is crucial for a country like, India, which shares 17% of the global population with only 2.4% of land and 4% of the water resources. The annual food grain requirement of India, works-out to be 450 million tones by the year 2050 and the per capita availability, in terms of average utilizable water resources, which was 6008 m3 in 1947 (presently 1250 m3 ) is expected to dwindle down to 760 m3 by 2050. Agriculture, a main stay in the India, accounts for 25 % of the Nations Gross Domestic Product and 15% exports has dependence of 65% of Indian population. Agricultural sector is the largest consumer of water. The overall efficiency of the flood irrigation system range between 25 to 40%. To meet the food security, income and nutritional needs of the projected population in 2020 the food production in India will have to be almost doubled. Adoption of Micro irrigation, may help in saving significant amounts of water and increase the quality and quantity of produce. All these emphasize, the need for water conservation and improvement in water-use efficiency to achieve More Crop per Drop.

National Committee on the Use of Plastics in Agriculture (NCPAH) was constituted by Ministry of Agriculture for the promotion of micro irrigation in India. The committee established 17 Precision Farming Development Centres (PFDC) in different agro climatic zones of India for conducting research on micro irrigation through farmers participation and to submit guidelines to the NCPAH, Ministry of Agriculture to take beneficial technologies to the farmers. We are one of the PFDC situated at Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi in the semi arid region of India and have been conducting systematic research on micro irrigation through farmers’ participation.

The research works presented here were conceptualized as per the need of the time, keeping the central theme of enhancing water use efficiency through micro irrigation technology, during the period 1997 to 2006. Micro irrigation system came to India in seventies but its adoption 2 started only in late eighties. Government started making efforts to promote micro irrigation through part financial support to offset its high initial cost syndrome. During initial stages it was important to investigate its benefits to convince the farmers for its adoption. Initial researches included the comparisons of micro irrigation system with conventional systems in terms of water savings and yield enhancements.

After establishing the superiority of micro irrigation systems, the focus of research shifted to estimate water requirements, modifications of crop geometry and use of mulches in drip irrigated fields for realizing the potential benefits of the system. With passing time that is in nineties the emphasis gradually shifted to different hardware and software aspects for cost reduction, design modifications and fertigation and chemigation. In the recent years the emphasis has emerged on precision farming, including the use and application of software and more efficient instruments in agriculture besides the use of simulation and modeling of moisture and nutrients movement under different soil and dripper characteristics. Improved micro irrigation systems including automated systems and subsurface drip systems.

Plant water deficits are among the greatest limitations in optimizing plant growth potential. Supplemental irrigation, additional fertilization, or manure applications to increase plant production on most sandy soils is simply not sustainable due to extensive leaching losses of water nutrients, and pathogens to groundwater supplies. Technologies and innovative subsurface water-saving must be incorporated into agro-ecological management operations to control such deficits.

One such concept is Soil Water Retention Technology (SWRT) for converting sandy soi ...Read more

Plant water deficits are among the greatest limitations in optimizing plant growth potential. Supplemental irrigation, additional fertilization, or manure applications to increase plant production on most sandy soils is simply not sustainable due to extensive leaching losses of water nutrients, and pathogens to groundwater supplies. Technologies and innovative subsurface water-saving must be incorporated into agro-ecological management operations to control such deficits.

One such concept is Soil Water Retention Technology (SWRT) for converting sandy soils into productive soil. The main goal of this technique is to conserve up to 60% of the irrigation water required to produce vegetables. This was tested by installing spatially positioned impermeable sheets below the root zone to prevent water contents a little lower than field capacity from moving down below the depth of most roots. Sandy soils are generally characterized by having a weak structure and high infiltration rates, high hydraulic conductivity, low water holding capacity, and low plant nutrients. The soil restraints require SWRT membranes installed at depths below the root zone.

The techniques’ objectives are as follows:

• Quantify increased water retention, reduced evaporation, and salinity when subsurface water retention technology water-saving membranes are installed at 55 and 40 cm depths in irrigated sands in central Iraq.
• Identify most strategic scheduling of supplemental irrigation to improve vegetable production by 50 to 100% on sandy soils treated with subsurface water-saving membranes.
• Minimize drainage and evaporative soil water losses at soil surfaces and surface plastic barriers to increase water use efficiencies, reduce fertilizer requirements resulting in 50 to 200% increase in tomato and other vegetable production.

Laboratory, greenhouse lysimeter, and field testing indicated SWRT membranes double the water storage capacity in the root zones of plants grown in deep sands without natural Bt horizons of fine clay. This new technology maximizes the conservation of water and nutrients in a manner that protects the environment and enhances soil quality and productivity. Many agro-ecological, environmental and hydrological attributes of the concept increase the production of both the quantity and quality of vegetables and grain crops while using fewer fertilizers and much less supplemental irrigation water.

The polymer membranes double the water and nutrients within plant root zones with the potential for dramatically reducing drought stress events for at least 25 days during a cropping season. They are an environmentally safe technological replacement of the missing natural water retention layers of fine clay, transforming sand soils into oases of cellulosic biomass and food production of vegetables, grains, and fruit. Additionally, these membranes modify sand soils with new components that enhance multiple ecosystem services- increases soil carbon sequestration, reduces fertilizer applications and leaching, reduces greenhouse gases, and reduces intermittent plant water deficits during extreme weather patterns associated with changing climate.

It was found that continuous monitoring of soil water contents can be achieved by decagon soil water content, temperature, and EC probes, installed at three soil depths equal to two above and one below the barriers of all soil and irrigation treatments. Timing and rates of supplemental irrigation scheduling for each treatment can be controlled by the readings of these soil probes. The goal is to keep volumetric soil water contents in the root zones of all treatments at or nearly the same. Once the soil water and solution instruments are installed, surface soils are prepared, plastic surface covers are laid down before peppers and tomato seedlings are transplanted. Continuous measuring of water use efficiency is based on plant height, biomass, plant production, and quality following each harvest, and soil water removed from the different soil depths minus the deep drainage. Peppers and tomatoes can be harvested every week until they mature.

These approaches achieved 30 to 400% increases in crop yields while using 40 to 80% less supplemental irrigation water. This research has demonstrated that subsurface soil water-retention technologies, installed within plant root zones, is a self-regulating technology that improves the production of food and increases water use efficiencies by retaining more water and nutrients in the root zones. Comparisons of SWRT yields with controls can be coupled with yields in the region for best estimates of crop yield, water-savings, and other ecosystem services to the vegetable markets in Iraq.

Prediction models of the techniques’ enhancements of water and nutrient conservation to soils across Iraq can be assembled into highly convincing presentations to motivate both users and policymakers. A three-growing season project that demonstrates success on 8-10 farms and several experiment stations can adequately demonstrate the transferability of knowledge and the direct application of SWRT packages for sustainable production coupled with expanded ecosystem services for multiple soil types and the sandy knolls of undulating topographies of finer textured soils.

Current research plans are expanding SWRT into Arizona, Florida, Missouri, and Kansas. As with most new technologies, markets for these industries are relatively steady initially. However, once market returns for value-added higher-yielding produce are realized, manufacturing will increase logarithmically for decades to come. As demands for food increase, commodity prices rise and biomass production for biofuels becomes more profitable, larger quantities of newly cultivated landscapes, including sandy soils will be brought into profitable agricultural production.

Subsurface drip irrigation (SSDI) is an efficient means for applying require quantity of irrigation water below the surface soil directly to the active root zone of crop to conserve water through reducing invalid evaporation and minimizing run off thus to improve the water saving, water use efficiency and water productivity.

Subsurface drip irrigation (SSDI) is an efficient means for applying require quantity of irrigation water below the surface soil directly to the active root zone of crop to conserve water through reducing invalid evaporation and minimizing run off thus to improve the water saving, water use efficiency and water productivity.

The farm is located in Neyriz city in the east of Fars province. This city with an average rainfall (30 years) of 209 mm and annual evaporation of about 2280 mm has a temperate arid and semi-arid climate. The average minimum, maximum and annual temperatures are 13, 25 and 19.5 °C, respectively. Due to the climatic conditions of the city and the prevailing drought, water consumption management in the agricultural sector is of particular importance. In this regard, the project of increasing water economic productivity by selecting the optimal cultivation pattern in my farm has been underw ...Read more

The farm is located in Neyriz city in the east of Fars province. This city with an average rainfall (30 years) of 209 mm and annual evaporation of about 2280 mm has a temperate arid and semi-arid climate. The average minimum, maximum and annual temperatures are 13, 25 and 19.5 °C, respectively. Due to the climatic conditions of the city and the prevailing drought, water consumption management in the agricultural sector is of particular importance. In this regard, the project of increasing water economic productivity by selecting the optimal cultivation pattern in my farm has been underway since 2011. This farm with an area of 40 hectares is located in Balashahr village of Neyriz city. This project has six subprojects (Table 1) including:

1) Rain fed fig orchard construction (30 ha) with characteristics of high economic value, the ability to earn foreign currency, long life trees, high ability of job creation, and having fruits with long life and high nutritional and medicinal values.

2) Nursery creation with the purpose of promoting and developing this product in arid and semi-arid regions of the country, especially in sloping lands and to control soil erosion.

3) Creating walnut collection orchard containing 14 promising compatible and cultivars in order to improve yield of low-yield walnut orchards and convert the non-economic walnut orchards in the country to economic orchards.

4) Creation of a transplanted walnut nursery containing the world's top cultivars to increase walnut yield and make these cultivars compatible to the different climate conditions of Iran.

5 and 6) 1 hectare of apricot trees and wheat crops are still left on the farm.

Water Saving

The water source of the farm is a 2.6 km long qanat with an average discharge of 20 liters per second. My share from this qanat is 51 hours out of total of 288 hours of a 12-day irrigation cycle. Thus, the quota for the extracted volume of qanat water during a year is 111690 cubic meters. The volume of irrigation water for various subprojects is estimated at 41213 cubic meters per year; therefore, only 37% of the water quota has been used for these subprojects and the rest (63% of the water quota which is equal to 70365 m3 per year) have been used to feed the groundwater aquifers downstream during autumn and winter seasons. Figure 4 shows the amount of water used per month for different subprojects. As it is clear from this figure, in the winter season the entire qanat water has been used only for supplementary irrigation of the fig garden and other crops have been irrigated in the first eight months of the year. Therefore, in this farm and according to the subprojects income and cost data, the annual profit of the farm is 72932 million Rials and the productivity efficiency of water in the whole farm is 1.77 million Rials per cubic meter by considering the total water consumption. Therefore, in line with the goal of sustainable agriculture, on-farm irrigation management is optimal. During these 10 years, with the change of cultivation pattern from crops, especially wheat, to fig orchards, economic productivity has increased dramatically, so this index in figs is 24 times higher than that of wheat. This means that by cultivating fig trees instead of wheat, 24 times more profit can be obtained from 1 cubic meter of water.

Other measures taken to develop sustainable agriculture and save water that will be used on my farm in the near future are as follows:

• Construction of grape greenhouse at the area of 1.5 hectares of the world's top cultivars
• Establishment of a Capri fig orchard at the level of 2 hectares for supplying pollen to the orchards of the region
• Cultivation of Asafetida as a medicinal plant in 2 hectares

Darab township is located almost in the south of Iran, between 28 46? and 28 76? north latitude and 54 32? and 54 54? east longitude with an arid climate and an average annual rainfall of 270 mm. Darab is one of the major agricultural zones in Fars province, located between the plains and mountains, where groundwater resources mostly irrigate the arable lands. One of the challenges in this area is the low chemical quality of the water, along with the drop in groundwater levels. The chemical quality of groundwater in this flat is influenced by the salt domes, evaporation rate, and the direct ...Read more

Darab township is located almost in the south of Iran, between 28 46? and 28 76? north latitude and 54 32? and 54 54? east longitude with an arid climate and an average annual rainfall of 270 mm. Darab is one of the major agricultural zones in Fars province, located between the plains and mountains, where groundwater resources mostly irrigate the arable lands. One of the challenges in this area is the low chemical quality of the water, along with the drop in groundwater levels. The chemical quality of groundwater in this flat is influenced by the salt domes, evaporation rate, and the direction of groundwater, which are the main factors affecting the water quality of the plains. Due to these conditions of Darab city and the 8-years drought situation, agricultural water management is critical. In this regard, since 2018, the plan of increasing the productivity of wheat-based systems with the approach of conservation agriculture and integrated water and soil management has been implemented. The educational research site of the farm with an area of 5 ha is located in Marian village of Darab city. 

Localisation principles and implementation of conservation agriculture based on crop management are among the most important innovations of this project. Besides, another goal is to generate knowledge and information to utilise conservation agriculture by expanding cooperation between stakeholders and forming teams with different specialities.

Water Saving through the Innovation

Conservation Agriculture (CA) is a sustainable package that alleviates soil erosion and greenhouse gases, enhances soil fertility and productivity, and has many other benefits. Generally, CA is a triple approach for agriculture that includes maintaining a permanent cover on the soil by crop residuals, practising no-tillage to reduce soil disturbance and dispersion, and using crop rotation to cut off the cycle of pests and improve soil fertility. In other words, CA is an approach to manage agricultural ecosystems that achieve sustainable agriculture by minimising soil disturbance and soil erosion, maintaining crop residues, and diversifying the crops. The primary purpose of conservation agriculture is to increase soil organic matter by preserving crop residue and soil moisture. For soil management, planting and cultivation methods are modified on wide, long, and fixed ridges to reduce machine traffic and minimise soil compaction due to increased soil physical properties. Preservation of at least 30% and at most 50% of crop residue at the surface of the ridges increased soil moisture and soil permeability. Increasing soil organic matter from 1.03 to 1.32% in two growing seasons has improved soil biological properties.

Other measures taken in conservation agriculture include proper and timely management of weeds and reducing competition in water consumption with the main plant, correction of crop rotation and adequate plant density per square meter.

Due to the installation of a water flow volume meter at the field entrance, the amount of water consumed was measured during the growing period. The results showed that due to the change of irrigation system from surface to tape, water consumption has decreased by 30%. In this project, the amount of water used for wheat was 3750 m³/ha. The measure of conservation agriculture and integrated water and soil management led to a 25% increase in wheat yield.

Implementation of the Innovation

The cultivation program of this educational research site has been developed on a 5-year plan. At the end of each cropping season, to promote conservation agriculture, training classes are held with experts and farmers in the cities of the Fars province. All technical reports of growing, harvesting, and packing have been published in the mass media. Separate lines and plots have been defined to compare different cultivars, machines, disease, and weed management. In these conditions, practical and technical comparison of conservation and traditional cultivation is feasible. Economic analysis and comparison of production costs under conservation cultivation and tillage under the surface and pressurised irrigation conditions have been performed.

Scope for Further Expansion of the Innovation

Most governments can apply various methods to use CA principles by farmers. Most methods can be classified into three categories: law and regulations, financial incentives, and farmers' voluntary behaviours. Utilising incentives and laws and regulations are methods that will have short-term effects. But, farmers' voluntary behaviours have long-term and positive impacts on sustainable agriculture, requiring a proper understanding of the farmers' willingness and ability to carry out sustainability activities. The learning transfer means applying the skills, knowledge, and attitudes gained from the training to a workplace in the direction of sustainability and environmental protection. In other words, learning transfer occurs when farmers apply sustainability skills, attitudes and knowledge learned from training to their farms. Learning transfer is a novel and relevant issue deployed in various fields. The learning transfer system helps recognise how farmers apply the learned skills and principles in farms. This study on this farm is novel because the level of farmers' learning transfer is denoted based on their characteristics.

The most crucial strategy for the development and dissemination of conservation agriculture in the future are:

• Informing political officials, Executive, research, extension, and local governments to develop better programs
• Cooperation of various research and executive departments, manufacturing companies at national, provincial, city and service centers.

A farming activity has a complex structure because it exploits living organisms in an uncertain environment, both bio-pedo-climatic and socio-economic. This extreme complexity has made the modelling of agricultural training difficult because it is unsure whether it will effectively reoccur in the same area and at the same time.

Farmers in the drought-prone region of Andhra Pradesh, a South-Eastern state in India cultivated varieties of crops using innovative techniques evolved since 1989. By constructing a water storage tank integrated with drip irrigation, they diversified their orchards from groundnuts to grapes and sweet oranges. As a result of this, the farming land expanded from 5 acres to 125 acres, which became a model farm for crop demonstration under micro-irrigation achieving optimum utilization of the available water resources.

Despite adverse weather conditions in the arid region, farm ...Read more

Farmers in the drought-prone region of Andhra Pradesh, a South-Eastern state in India cultivated varieties of crops using innovative techniques evolved since 1989. By constructing a water storage tank integrated with drip irrigation, they diversified their orchards from groundnuts to grapes and sweet oranges. As a result of this, the farming land expanded from 5 acres to 125 acres, which became a model farm for crop demonstration under micro-irrigation achieving optimum utilization of the available water resources.

Despite adverse weather conditions in the arid region, farmers were able to harvest healthy crops through water-conserving irrigation practices, like drip and micro-sprinklers, and with the use of organic inputs by adopting drip irrigation with mulching. Varieties of crops like grape (red and green), fig, hybrid papaya, pomegranate, hybrid muskmelon, pink guava, chia, and quinoa were cultivated. This was a first of its kinds experiment where drip irrigation with poly-mulch was used in the cultivation of muskmelon and chia in the region. There was a 51% increase in water-saving over surface irrigation. The increase in production and productivity of crops also helped in doubling the farmers’ income. The drip installation resulted in reduced power consumption by up to 50% due to the saved number of pumping hours per day roughly around 3.5 hours. In addition, the use of water-soluble fertilizers reduced the consumption of fertilizers by 20% using the drip system.

Considering its success, several campaigns were organized to spread awareness about the technique such as mobile van campaigns, exposure visits to other farms, field-level training, door to door distribution of literature for the farmers, and short films showcasing success stories to mobilize the traditional farmers to adapt to micro-irrigation with fertigation continuously. Micro-Irrigation with fertigation implemented in fields not only increased the yield but also reduced the water consumption and the use of fertilizers. Due to declining groundwater tables and the proven economic success of the technique, other farmers were encouraged to use this technique.

To improve water use efficiency and increase crop productivity in paddy fields, an integrated water management technique was adopted in Haryana, a northern state in India. The state is an important economic centre for growing export quality rice, however, the last decade was marked by depleting water tables and increased water scarcity. To work on these issues, a water conservation model was implemented and sprinkler and drip technologies were used extensively. From a water management’s perspective, the situation was looked at from two angles- Supply augmentation-increasing the ...Read more

To improve water use efficiency and increase crop productivity in paddy fields, an integrated water management technique was adopted in Haryana, a northern state in India. The state is an important economic centre for growing export quality rice, however, the last decade was marked by depleting water tables and increased water scarcity. To work on these issues, a water conservation model was implemented and sprinkler and drip technologies were used extensively. From a water management’s perspective, the situation was looked at from two angles- Supply augmentation-increasing the available supply by the reduction in conveyance losses; and Demand management - increasing the field application efficiency with the use of water-efficient sprinkler and drip irrigation technology.

This technique was implemented as part of a pilot project prepared by the regional Command Area Development Authority for the installation of community-based Minor Irrigation (MI) schemes in 13 different districts of the State of Haryana covering an area of 2,231 ha.

Common Micro Irrigation infrastructure was provided for each canal outlet command for supplying pressurized water supply at the farm gate of each farmer of the outlet instead of constructing lined field channels. Community-based water storage tank, pumping unit (Grid/solar powered), filtration unit, HDPE pipe network, hydrant/outlet assemblies, and valves were constructed by the department. It was aimed to promote Water User Association and to inculcate a sense of ownership amongst farmers for better water management and ensure that every farmer gets its due share of water in turn.

The Water Users Association (WUAs) provided land for the construction of a community pond for storing water from the outlet and supplying it further to individual farmers. Further, the management of the water was completely done by the shareholders. With coordination between the farmers and the department for planning, execution, and monitoring, management was transferred to the WUA.

The project was implemented in 2017 at the identified paddy field growing variety PR 126 to demonstrate the benefits of micro-irrigation. For comparison, on a separate plot of 1-acre conventional flood irrigation method was used. Irrigation was done in the other 2 acres of the plot with each acre following Sprinkler and Drip Irrigation methods. All three fields were under constant monitoring and observation.

After the crop was harvested it was found that in the fields with micro-irrigation the increase in yield was 290 kg/acre and almost 42% of the water was saved. Considering the quantity of water saved and improved productivity of the experimental plots, the project was extended to another 9 acres in which 3 acres were sown by Direct Seeding Rice (DSR), 3 acres by mechanical trans-planter, and 3 acres by traditional manual methods. This extended study resulted in more than 50% water-saving and increased yield from 45% to 59%.

The extended project was taken up in collaboration with Hissar Agricultural University. Irrigation was done by Sprinkler Irrigation, Drip Irrigation, and Flood Irrigation methods. It was concluded that Micro Irrigation techniques increased water-saving as well as the yield in the water-guzzling paddy crop. For further expansion, a public-private partnership scheme was formulated in line with the Government's objective to enhance irrigation efficiency, productivity, and farmer’s incomes. Another important element behind the success of such initiatives is the organized operations by the farmers and other end-users in the farm sector. To ensure sustainable strategies, and equitable water distribution to tail-end farmers associations at the local should be promoted who can also maintain the systems.

Vidarbha region is in the eastern part of Maharashtra state of India. Western districts of Vidarha in the Warud region are drought-prone areas. The average annual rainfall in the region is around 800-900 mm while storage of water is minimal. Over the past several decades, erratic rainfall and shrinking river flows have substantially reduced the water table in the block, thus, posing a major threat to its primary sector - agriculture and thus the socio-economic status of inhabitants. Lack of irrigation facilities has left farmers completely dependent on rain-fed f ...Read more

Vidarbha region is in the eastern part of Maharashtra state of India. Western districts of Vidarha in the Warud region are drought-prone areas. The average annual rainfall in the region is around 800-900 mm while storage of water is minimal. Over the past several decades, erratic rainfall and shrinking river flows have substantially reduced the water table in the block, thus, posing a major threat to its primary sector - agriculture and thus the socio-economic status of inhabitants. Lack of irrigation facilities has left farmers completely dependent on rain-fed farming which is unstable. Once known for its rich agricultural produce, especially mandarin produce, the region is struggling with grave water management issues.

Old irrigation structures like KT weirs suffered from limitations like poor grid connectivity, additional costs of diesel pumps, and erratic delivery mechanisms. As an integrated effort from the community and the government, a distribution chamber called Chudmani was built with a 200 mm pipeline to bring water from an 11 km distance in such a way that it provided a natural head for the drip irrigation system, thus eliminating the use of electricity/diesel pumps. Four water filtration units were installed which used sand to filter the water. To increase transparency in water use accounting, a water meter was provided at the off-take. During the project, 0.5 MCM of water was reserved. One important aspect was that during the high monsoon period the added water was also diverted to wells to recharge the groundwater tables.

The project used the lift irrigation method to deliver water to the beneficiaries. Earlier due to poor grid connectivity, the diesel pumps were an additional cost burden. In addition, water wastage was rampant in the peak monsoon rain season. The new system catered to these issues.

The project saved approximately 159,524 kWh of electricity based on a 6-months usage of drip irrigation. Considering the life of the project the entire savings outweighed the investment costs, making it highly profitable, financially viable as well as environment friendly. Moreover, there was no carbon footprint. The water table recharge during peak monsoon ensured the sustainability of water resources in the long run. Water usage efficiency was between 95%-100%, thus, minimizing the wastage.

Drip irrigation reduced dependence on labour and solved the problem of erosion. It was estimated that the average farmer’s income rose by 35%-42% per annum. Out of 140 ha cultivated, 87 ha was under citrus fruits like oranges and citrus limetta. The project enabled farmers to further add 53 ha to citrus fruits. The assured water availability increased yield per ha. The overall results were beyond the set expectations of 0.6 MCM water and 59 beneficiaries in a parcel of 82 ha in Warud. After the project, the area under irrigation doubled to 145 ha and the number of beneficiaries reached 165. The existing capacity of the project is 212 ha which can be expanded up to 360 ha.

This technique demonstrated a successful intervention by farmers cooperatives with active support from the government in form of water dues paid on time. With committed actions from farmers cooperatives and support from the government, the region became water-sufficient.

Such institutional models and irrigation systems can be replicated in other drought-prone areas of the region with capacity building. The farmers’ cooperative society can share their best practices and provide training to future beneficiaries.

Saguna Rice Technique (SRT) is a new method of rice cultivation and related rotation crops without ploughing, puddling, and transplanting (rice) on permanently raised beds. This zero-till Conservational Agriculture(CA) method was evolved at Saguna Baug, Neral, District Raigad, in the state of Maharashtra, India. About 1,200 farmers reported overwhelming results after using the technique.

SRT requires no-tilling and provides oxygen and organic carbon for the rhizosphere, the natural ecosystem around the roots, to flourish organically. The Rhizosphere benefits grea ...Read more

Saguna Rice Technique (SRT) is a new method of rice cultivation and related rotation crops without ploughing, puddling, and transplanting (rice) on permanently raised beds. This zero-till Conservational Agriculture(CA) method was evolved at Saguna Baug, Neral, District Raigad, in the state of Maharashtra, India. About 1,200 farmers reported overwhelming results after using the technique.

SRT requires no-tilling and provides oxygen and organic carbon for the rhizosphere, the natural ecosystem around the roots, to flourish organically. The Rhizosphere benefits greatly from the permanent raised beds system. These raised bed systems facilitate the adjustment of moisture to optimum levels promoting vigorous, hairy white roots and vibrant, wider leaf lamina resulting in crop growing uniformly and delivering a higher yield.

SRT facilitates the planting of crops at predetermined distances enabling precise plant population per unit area. The absence of puddling and transplanting of rice reduces the dependency on rain or erratic rain patterns that prevent cracks leading to the death of crops.

The technique reduces water requirement by 50% for rice cultivation, reduces labour by 50%, (no puddling, transplanting, or hand hoeing required), and reduces the cost of production by 40%. It also stops the emission of greenhouse gases and effectively sequestrates carbon to improve soil fertility. Fundamentally, SRT promotes the retaining of the previous crop’s roots in the raised bed. The capillaries formed by dead dry roots and earthworm pathways facilitate quick draining of rainwater resulting in effective recharging of aquifers. Other benefits of SRT include loss of silt (about 20%) during puddling thus maintaining the fertility of the land, avoiding puddling drastically reduces diesel consumption, and the emission of CO₂ and methane. Rice plants on SRT beds seem to be broader and head upwards to sunlight more than their counterparts in the conventional method. They are likely to produce more biomass leading to higher or similar yields in all soil types.

Microorganisms and earthworms are important aspects of plant growth. A good number of earthworms were noticed on SRT beds during high rainfall and they also attracted unusual birds to the plots. Suppressed and decayed green growth with Glaypho set becomes instant food for the worms and ‘No-Till’ prevents dead worms. The root network prevents soil from cracking and makes it spongier. The same roots become a valuable source of organic carbon which is uniformly distributed and oxygen pathways to the root zone of the next crop.

The shocks caused to the rice seedlings during transplanting is avoided in SRT, this reduces the possibility of pest and disease problem; crops can be harvested 8–10 days earlier and it also saves time required for soil tilling between two crops which leaves valuable 10–15 days of crop season for the farmer to take more than one crop in the same plot in a year. SRT yields a higher percentage recovery of grains, no use of heavy agricultural machinery for tilling in the field prevents compaction and formation of hardpan of lower strata of soil enabling better percolation of water into deeper soil and permanent establishment of earthworms.

SRT ensures a higher return to the tune of more than INR 500,000/ha (USD 6,894/ha/year) with crop rotation such as Basmati Rice (PS-5) in Kharif (monsoon) season, leafy vegetables in Rabi (winter) season, bold Groundnut (W-66) in summers while improving the soil health at the same time.

This technique could be the best solution in natural calamities such as hail storms, floods, cyclones, and untimely rainstorms, as the crop cycle is shortest and it involves multiple choices of short-term rotation crops such as pulses, vegetables, onion, sunflower, groundnuts, and so on. SRT can recover from damages caused by lashing, scrubbing, and degradation of soil by natural calamities in the quickest possible time. In this method, tilling the soil and making raised beds are required only once. The same beds can be used again and again to grow various rotation crops after rice in the monsoon season.

SRT Planting Method: First, the soil is tilled and the raised beds are developed only once, the best time to make these beds is immediately after the monsoon paddy harvesting. Good ploughing and tilling are done with available residual moisture or through irrigation with organic manure with a rotavator or power tiller. Secondly, parallel lines are drawn with help of rope and lime or wood ash at 136 cm apart; depressions are made with SRT iron forma on the raised beds, fungicides or beneficial microorganisms are applied to the seeds as per the guidelines. Thirdly, the plot is irrigated followed by pesticide application (Oxyfluorfen 23.5% EC @ 1 ml/l of water after 3 to 4 hours). When the crop is ready for harvest, the plants are chopped leaving the roots with 2-3 inch of stem in the beds. Roots from previous crops are kept in the soil while Glyphoset (15 lit water + 70 ml Glyphoset + 200 g of sea salt or 150 g of Urea) is sprayed for 2 to 3 days after harvesting.

SRT is a customized cultivation practice with multifarious benefits. It has improved yield, reduced water consumption, and has other environmental benefits. Above all, it is reversing the trend of farmers giving up rice farming. The innovation should be replicated in other regions and crops.

To bring the farming community together to share costs and investments in the face of economic adversity and limited resources, a farmers’ group was established in 2000 with farmers from five villages in Jalna district in the state of Maharashtra, India. The group started agricultural production with a small mango orchard and implemented modern techniques such as drip, sprinklers, mulching, advanced agronomy, and crop protection management.

It resulted in higher farmer productivity and quality of production. These small farmers who were unable to bear the high ...Read more

To bring the farming community together to share costs and investments in the face of economic adversity and limited resources, a farmers’ group was established in 2000 with farmers from five villages in Jalna district in the state of Maharashtra, India. The group started agricultural production with a small mango orchard and implemented modern techniques such as drip, sprinklers, mulching, advanced agronomy, and crop protection management.

It resulted in higher farmer productivity and quality of production. These small farmers who were unable to bear the high investment individually benefited from the sharing mechanisms of group farming. Some of the objectives of the Concept of Group Farming are:

• Identifying and bringing together farmers with common needs, opportunities, and potential.
• Developing clusters among farmers with shared experience, orientation, and farming aspirations.
• Adopting and implementing a suitable mutually decided cropping pattern on large scale through these groups and federation of these groups in a cluster of villages.
• Implementing modern technology in the field with shared costs and risks for a high-quality produce.
• Adopting advanced irrigation systems like drip and sprinkler and increasing water use efficiency.
• Developing community-based land and water conservation practices.
• Community-level commitment to cover all crops including cereals under micro irrigation, with stern regulations of no water availability to fields without Drip or Micro Irrigation.
• With the increasing group strength and the number of such groups, the average increase in the yield was 2 to 4 times, and 50% irrigation water was saved with the adoption of drip irrigation. Drip irrigation was especially beneficial in the production of cotton, the productivity improved from 3,000 kg/acre to about 7,500 kg/acre which is 4 to 4.5 times more than the normal yield.

The increased yield in individual crops with the use of group farming is briefly presented in Table 4.1:

Drip irrigation was further expanded to almost 90% of the area under cultivation. The annual per capita income of the farmers increased from INR 41,842 (575 USD) in 2007-08 to INR 106,406 (1,461 USD) in 2012-13 in water scare Khamkheda village.

Small and marginal farmers were the biggest beneficiaries of group farming management techniques which led to resource pooling and risk sharing and ultimately increased income. These practices can be further replicated in other villages especially through monthly programs like Dwadashi meetings. These meetings are organized to disseminate the learnings, discuss the technologies adopted, and experience sharing with farmers, government officials, and the community at large.

Willow Creek basin is adjacent to Willow Creek and the Malheur River in Vale Oregon Irrigation District, USA. Earlier, the irrigation water was delivered to users from the main canal through a complex network of open earthen ditches, established in the 1930s. These open canals dealt with increasing concerns associated with breaches as well as human and animal safety. They also substantially increased operation and maintenance costs.

To manage the situation, the Willow Creek Piping Project addressed 35,000 acres (14,164 ha) in the agricultural area and simultaneously worked on wate ...Read more

Willow Creek basin is adjacent to Willow Creek and the Malheur River in Vale Oregon Irrigation District, USA. Earlier, the irrigation water was delivered to users from the main canal through a complex network of open earthen ditches, established in the 1930s. These open canals dealt with increasing concerns associated with breaches as well as human and animal safety. They also substantially increased operation and maintenance costs.

To manage the situation, the Willow Creek Piping Project addressed 35,000 acres (14,164 ha) in the agricultural area and simultaneously worked on water quality and water conservation concerns. Piping irrigation laterals facilitated on-farm conversion to sprinklers, reduced the need for hydro-power, tillage, and fuel usage, conserved water, improved fish habitat, and benefitted the local economy.

Some of the major transformations in the Willow Creek Piping Project are listed below:

• The piped irrigation virtually eliminated conveyance losses from seepage and evaporation from the open-ditch delivery system and improved the efficiency of water use on the farm.
• The pressurized system made switching from flood irrigation to sprinkler irrigation easier, more cost-effective and reduced the need for additional power.
• Sprinklers improved the irrigation application efficiency, reduced tillage needed for crop production, and decreased crop consumptive use.
• Other on-farm conservation methods included pump back systems which captured the irrigation runoff from crop fields and enabled multiple re-uses of irrigation water.
• Piped irrigation system provided gravity pressurized water to irrigators and decreased power costs by reducing or eliminating the need to operate irrigation pumps. It improved reliability, control, and consistency of water delivery and measurement.
• Reduced operations and maintenance requirements and created opportunities for small "low-head" hydro-power facilities.
• Ultimately, it utilized irrigation water more effectively without increasing consumption.

Before the implementation of the Willow Creek Piping Project, a significant amount of water was lost from seepage and evaporation, especially at the beginning of the five to seven-month irrigation season when the canals were dry.

Calculations from the Vale Oregon Irrigation District showed that before the piping project, the first irrigation month’s water loss averaged more than 90% and rarely dropped below 30%. These issues were exacerbated in years when runoff reached below normal levels. In the high-desert region, the average rainfall was 10 inches per year. In low water years, the irrigation district did not receive sufficient water to meet all crop demands.

However, under the Willow Creek Piping Project, simply placing piping and burying open laterals prevented virtually all water loss from seepage and evaporation and enabled efficient delivery quantities and measurement. The piping project added USD 6.5 million to the state and federal grants funds to assist local farmers and ranchers in implementing better management practices that protect natural resources, conserve water and improve the water quality in rivers and streams. This project directly provided employment and opportunities for local businesses. In addition, yield increased due to efficient sprinkler irrigation and increased revenues to producers, which in turn helped the local economies of Vale and Ontario. These benefits lasted more than the lifetime of the project.

Willow Creek Piping Project essentially replaced the open canal conveyance system with piped irrigation system. This technique can be adopted globally as a water-saving measure. It not only leads to water conservation but promotes environmental sustainability and reduces the dependency on electricity and fossil fuel requirements.

Banana farming requires a high amount of water as the surface area for transpiration (leaf size) is quite large. About 99% of the water absorbed by the roots is transpired through stomata on leaves and regular irrigation is applied to compensate for the surface evaporation. Therefore, evapotranspiration leads to a huge loss of water in this crop under flood irrigation. Secondly, normal banana varieties grown from suckers take 15-16 months to mature for harvest, and two crops can take 28-30 months.

To cut down both the irrigation water requirement and the harvest period, a new tiss ...Read more

Banana farming requires a high amount of water as the surface area for transpiration (leaf size) is quite large. About 99% of the water absorbed by the roots is transpired through stomata on leaves and regular irrigation is applied to compensate for the surface evaporation. Therefore, evapotranspiration leads to a huge loss of water in this crop under flood irrigation. Secondly, normal banana varieties grown from suckers take 15-16 months to mature for harvest, and two crops can take 28-30 months.

To cut down both the irrigation water requirement and the harvest period, a new tissue culture technology under drip irrigation was adopted, which takes ten months to harvest and allows for three crop cycle harvests in 27 months with an assured crop yield increase.

On a selected variety of bananas, tissue culture with drip irrigation and regular fertigation was applied along with a drip irrigation system. Fertilizers were applied through the ventury of the drip system. Typically 1400 mm water/acre is required for 15 months crops in flood irrigation, whereas only 900 mm water/acre was used in the drip system.

In traditional flood irrigation systems, the water use efficiency was 35-40%, which increased up to 95% under drip irrigation, saved about 35% of the irrigation water, and reduced fertilizer requirements by about 40%. It helped reduce costs, and the technology is environmentally friendly.

In the first year, the main crop harvest was 32-35 tons/acre, while in subsequent second and third years, it was 25 tons and 20 tons, respectively. The banana yield was highest in the shortest period as 80 ton/acre was the total harvest in 27 months, thus increasing the profitability.

Given the success, the technology was adopted by several other farmers. It was adopted in many Indian states like Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and different districts of Gujarat like Vadodara, Bharuch, Chhotaudepur, and Anand. With this innovative technology, cooperative societies and farmers achieved remunerative prices locally and produced high-quality export bananas. Farmers improved their economic condition and living standards and, at the same time, protected the environment.

In the early 2000’s Australia was enduring drought, water prices were high, and reliable water supply was difficult to achieve. To combat the cost of water and the potential shortfall, the need was felt for an effective irrigation system that would maximise yield for each unit of water used, keep costs down, and maintain sustainability.

Considering the drought situation, a permanent and efficient irrigation system including a subsurface irrigation system powered by an array of pumps, providing for a wide range of crops all year round was put in place. The irrigation system, ...Read more

In the early 2000’s Australia was enduring drought, water prices were high, and reliable water supply was difficult to achieve. To combat the cost of water and the potential shortfall, the need was felt for an effective irrigation system that would maximise yield for each unit of water used, keep costs down, and maintain sustainability.

Considering the drought situation, a permanent and efficient irrigation system including a subsurface irrigation system powered by an array of pumps, providing for a wide range of crops all year round was put in place. The irrigation system, covering approximately 160 ha, comprised of developed drip tape with a longer life expectancy, as well as a filter system to the pressurized pipe network that removed all fragments from the water, preventing blockages. The automated filter system backflushed either on a time perimeter or due to a pressure drop across the filter.

System Description: The subsurface drip irrigation pumped out of a dam that was supplied from the regional irrigation network. The Irrigation system was powered with two 55 kW three-phase electric motors that supplied water to ten pod disk filters. From there the water was conveyed via a 375 mm mainline to a series of in-field valves. Each valve supply to about 4-4.5 ha blocks. These field valves also had an inline disk filter on them, so in case of a filter failure on the main filter, or some passing debris, it was collected in the field valves, and there is no chance of any debris getting into the drip tapes and blocking the emitters.

The drip line spacing varied depending on crop type, some were spaced a metre apart, some others were spaced a metre and a half apart. The field valves were controlled by a computer system in the main pump shed. The control system also controlled fertigation and the flushing of the main filter. It controlled the field valve function (ON/OFF).

The proposed irrigation system was applied in a 160-ha plot and compared the water used for irrigation and measured productivity using three differing irrigation methods including Surface Irrigation and Centre Pivots. The subsurface irrigations using the pressurised pipe system had a water-saving of 1.5 ML/ha with an increase in crop productivity of about 1-2 tons/ha.

With the underground irrigation system, the need for channels, structures, check banks, and surface drains were eliminated thereby freeing about 3.5% of the surface land for cultivation. The most significant benefit was increased flexibility in irrigation practices, including the ability to apply small amounts of water to finalise crops when full irrigations were not required, and the flexibility to apply the right amount of water at the right time, to match water application to crop needs.

The technology demonstrated that having a control system for supplying irrigation water using pumps and filters not only controls the rate of supply of water but also controls the quality of water; ultimately saving irrigation water but also increasing crop productivity. The work created interest within the local irrigation district and the knowledge was shared and extended to Agriculture Victoria. Regionally two of the biggest costs facing local irrigators were the cost of water and labour, so an irrigation system that can increase production whilst decreases both water and labour use had much appeal. There has also been a shift to higher-value niche crops that required more precise water application, as provided by the technology.

The expenses on the machinery outweighed the benefits. The innovation had the potential for industrial development and private production thus can lead to job creation and industrial development including private participation in agriculture.