A study of the soil water potential threshold values to trigger irrigation of ‘Shimizu Hakuto’ peach at pivotal fruit developmental stages

Water management is an important practice that affects fruit size and quality.Effective implementation of irrigation scheduling requires knowledge of the appropriate indicators and thresholds,which are established manly based on the effects of water deficits on final fruit quality.Few studies have focused on the real-time effects of water status on fruit and shoot growth.To establish soil water potential (ψ_(soil)) thresholds to trigger irrigation of peach at pivotal fruit developmental stages,photogrammetry,^(13)C labelling,and other techniques were used in this study to investigate real-time changes in stem diameter,fruit projected area,net leaf photosynthetic rate (P_(n)),and allocation of photoassimilates to fruit under soil water potential conditions ranging from saturation to stress in 6-year-old Shimizu hakuto’peach.Stem growth,fruit growth,and P_n exhibited gradually decreasing sensitivity to water deficits during fruit developmental stages I,II,and III.Stem diameter growth was significantly inhibited whenψ_(soil)dropped to-8.5,-7.6,and-5.4 k Pa,respectively.Fruit growth rate was low,reaching zero when theψ_(soil)was-9.0 to-23.1,-14.9 to-21.4,and-16.5 to-23.3 k Pa,respectively,and P_ndecreased significantly when theψ_(soil)reached-24.2,-22.7,and-20.4 kPa,respectively.In addition,more photoassimilates were allocated to fruit under moderateψ_(soil)conditions (-10.1 to-17.0 k Pa) than under otherψ_(soil)values.Our results revealed threeψ_(soil)thresholds,-10.0,-15.0,and-15.0 kPa,suitable for triggering irrigation during stages I,II,and III,respectively.These thresholds can be helpful for controlling excessive tree vigor,maintaining rapid fruit growth and leaf photosynthesis,and promoting the allocation of more photoassimilates to fruit.

The water-saving potential of using micro-sprinkling irrigation for winter wheat production on the North China Plain

The shortage of groundwater resources is a considerable challenge for winter wheat production on the North China Plain.Water-saving technologies and procedures are thus urgently required.To determine the water-saving potential of using micro-sprinkling irrigation(MSI)for winter wheat production,field experiments were conducted from 2012 to 2015.Compared to traditional flooding irrigation(TFI),micro-sprinkling thrice with 90 mm water(MSI1)and micro-sprinkling four times with 120 mm water(MSI2)increased the water use efficiency by 22.5 and 16.2%,respectively,while reducing evapotranspiration by 17.6 and 10.8%.Regardless of the rainfall pattern,MSI(i.e.,MSI1 or MSI2)either stabilized or significantly increased the grain yield,while reducing irrigation water volumes by 20–40%,compared to TFI.Applying the same volumes of irrigation water,MSI(i.e.,MSI3,micro-sprinkling five times with 150 mm water)increased the grain yield and water use efficiency of winter wheat by 4.6 and 11.7%,respectively,compared to TFI.Because MSI could supply irrigation water more frequently in smaller amounts each time,it reduced soil layer compaction,and may have also resulted in a soil water deficit that promoted the spread of roots into the deep soil layer,which is beneficial to photosynthetic production in the critical period.In conclusion,MSI1 or MSI2 either stabilized or significantly increased grain yield while reducing irrigation water volumes by 20–40%compared to TFI,and should provide water-saving technological support in winter wheat production for smallholders on the North China Plain.

Water-saving Potential in aeolian sand soil under straight tube and surface drip irrigation in Taklimakan Desert in Northwest China

Evaporation loss from the saturated soil beneath drip irrigation emitters highly influences the irrigation efficiency of drip krigation （D1]. Subsurface drip irrigation （SDI） is one good approach to curb this inefficiency, but in a new irrigation method, straight tube irrigation （STI）, the irrigation tubes do not need to be buried and thus STI is recommended to increase the irrigation efficiency under normal surface-applied DI. STI consists of only connectors and water-transference tubes that can directly transfer irrigation water from the lateral emitters in the drip line to the root zone of plants. Five-month field experiments were carried out in aeolian sand soil in the forest-belts of the Taklimakan Desert, which have poor water storage capacity, to compare the potential water saving between STI and DI. The preliminary results showed that, compared with DI, STI （1） improved the soil water content in soil depths from 40 to 100 cm under the soil surface; （2） achieved the same irrigation effects in relatively shorter irrigation durations; （3） had very little water loss due to deep seepage; and （4） formed a layer of dry sand about 10 to 30 cm thick immediately below the soil surface, which lessened evaporation loss of soil water beneath the emitters on the soil surface. This demonstrates that STI can maximize the water-saving potential of DI through the reduction of wetted soil perimeters on the soil surface. This is valuable information for water-saving engineering applications and projects with STI in arid and semiarid regions.

The Potential Contribution of Subsurface Drip Irrigation to Water-Saving Agriculture in the Western USA

Water shortages within the western USA are resulting in the adoption of water-saving agricultural practices within this region. Among the many possible methods for saving water in agriculture, the adoption of subsurface drip irrigation （SDI） provides a potential solution to the problem of low water use efficiency. Other advantages of SDI include reduced NO3 leaching compared to surface irrigation, higher yields, a dry soil surface for improved weed control, better crop health, and harvest flexibility for many specialty crops. The use of SDI also allows the virtual elimination of crop water stress, the ability to apply water and nutrients to the most active part of the root zone, protection of drip lines from damage due to cultivation and tillage, and the ability to irrigate with wastewater while preventing human contact. Yet, SDI is used only on a minority of cropland in the arid western USA. Reasons for the limited adoption of SDI include the high initial capital investment required, the need for intensive management, and the urbanization that is rapidly consuming farmland in parts of the western USA. The contributions of SDI to increasing yield, quality, and water use efficiency have been demonstrated. The two major barriers to SDI sustainability in arid regions are economics （i.e., paying for the SDI system）, including the high cost of installation; and salt accumulation, which requires periodic leaching, specialized tillage methods, or transplanting of seedlings rather than direct-seeding. We will review advances in irrigation management with SDI.

Development Potentials and Benefit Analysis of Efficient Water-saving Irrigation in Lixin County

On the basis of analyzing water resources,crop planning structure,and irrigation mode in Lixin County,potentials and benefits of developing efficient water-saving irrigation in the county were explored to provide references for its future water-saving irrigation.

Water-requirement Characteristics and Water-saving Irrigation Indices of Dry-raised Rice Seedlings in Paddy Field

The dry-raised seedlings (D-RS)of rice had obvious superiority in tillering and growth after transplanting. Especially under the condition of water-saving irrigation or low soil moisture, D-RS had more productive tillers, higher dry matter accumulation, larger grain-filling rate, slower senescence of leaves and stronger root activity during ripening, and higher grain yield, compared with the moist-raised seedlings (MRS). D-RS had smaller yield reduction than M-RS when subject to heavy water stress. The results suggested that D-RS had the ability to adapt to lower soil moisture in paddy field. Basedon the response of D-RS to soil moisture at each growth stage, the water-saving and high-yielding irrigation indices through controlling lowlimit soil water potential were proposed, i.e. soil water potential was - 15 - - 20 kPa from the recovery to the criticalleaf-age of productive tillering, - 20 - - 40 kPa from the critical leaf-age of productive tillering to secondary branch-differentiating stage, - 15 - - 25 kPa from secondary branch-differentiating stage to 20 days after heading and - 25 - - 35 kPa from 21 to 45 days after heading.

Cotton's Water Demand and Water-Saving Benefits under Drip Irrigation with Plastic Film Mulch

The primary purpose of this research was to give suitable irrigation program according to the growth period and water requirement.A cotton field experiment with mulched drip irrigation was conducted at the National Field Observation and Research Station for Oasis Farmland Ecosystem in Aksu of Xinjiang in 2008.Water balance method was adopted to study the water requirement and water consumption law of cotton under mulched drip irrigation in Tarim Irrigated Area.Statistical analysis of experimental data of irrigation indicates that the relationship between yield of cotton and irrigation presents a quadratic parabola.We fit the model of cotton water production on the basis of field experimental data of cotton.And the analysis on water saving benefit of cotton under mulched drip irrigation was done.Results indicate that water requirements for the irrigated cotton are 543 mm in Tarim Irrigated Area.The water requirements of seedling stage is 252 mm,budding stage is 186 mm,bolling stage is 316 mm and wadding stage is 139 mm.the irrigation amount determines the spatial distribution of soil moisture and water consumption during cotton life cycle.However,water consumption at different growth stages was inconsistent with irrigation.Quantitatively,the water consumed by cotton decreases upon the increase of irrigation amount.From the perspective of water saving,the maximal water use efficiency can reach 3 091 m3/ha.But the highest cotton yield needs 3464 m3/ha irrigation water.In summary,compared to the conventional drip irrigation,a number of benefits in water saving and yield increase were observed when using plastic mulch.At the same amount of irrigation,the cotton yield with plastic mulch was 30.2% higher than conventional approaches,and the efficiency of water utilization increased by30.2%.While at the same yield level,29.3% water was saved by using plastic mulch,and the efficiency increased by 41.5%.

Study on the Suitable Water-Saving Irrigation Technology for Mining Areas in the Northwestern Arid Desert Regions in China

Water is the key factor to ensure plant survival in the process of ecological restoration in the coal base of China northwest deserts. On the premise of meeting the mine production and living water demands, we should take measures such as dirt wastewater treatment and water-saving irrigation to increase income and reduce expenditure and allocate limited water re-sources rationally, to provide mining area ecological restoration maximum usable water resources. The mining dump has large slope and thin soil layer and it is easy to produce surface runoff. So it is particularly important to study the irrigation technology needed to satisfy vegetation restoration, on the premise of guaranteeing not to produce surface runoff and the slope stability. In this paper, through field plot test, the suitable irrigation method for mine slope, slope surface soil moisture migration characteristics and slope stability analysis were studied. Results show that three slope ir-rigation technologies have their own advantages and disadvantages. On the whole, the effect of drip irrigation is the best, micro spray irrigation is the second, infiltrating irrigation is not ideal. The permeability of mine soil slope is very strong, the infiltration rate of the slope direction is the high-est, inverse slope infiltration rate is lowest. In the process of irrigation, with the increase of soil moisture content, slope safety factor is the decreased obviously, the whole slope surface soil moisture content is 14% for the slope stability safety threshold.

Problems and Development Countermeasures of Agricultural Water-Saving Irrigation

Agriculture is the biggest water user in China,and the development of agricultural water-saving has great significance to the national economy and social development. In this paper,the present situation of water used in agriculture irrigation and water-saving potential were analyzed,and the ＂ bottleneck＂ and main problems existing in water-saving irrigation in China were discussed. From the aspects of engineering investment channels,agricultural water-saving policies and management system,reform of agricultural water price and water right transfer,improvement of farmers＇ water-saving consciousness,and promotion of rural land transfer,suggestions were proposed for the development of China＇s agricultural water-saving in future,which will provide a technical support for the sustainable use of agricultural water resources in China.

Economic Potential of Compost Amendment as an Alternative to Irrigation in Maine Potato Production Systems

Potato productivity in the northeastern US has been relatively constant for over 50 years, raising questions about what factors are limiting productivity. Research was initiated in 2004 to identify key constraints to potato productivity by evaluating Status Quo (SQ), Soil Conserving (SC), and Soil Improving (SI) cropping systems under both rainfed and irrigated management, and it was found that addition of compost or irrigation substantially increased yield. In this study, we employed partial budgeting to determine cost differences and their impact on net revenue for these cropping systems. Differences in systems were primarily associated with rotation length, tillage operations, compost and application expenses, and water management practices. When compost (as composted dairy manure) was annually applied at 19 Mg haf-1 and evaluated over the entire 3-year crop rotation cycle, the compost-amended rainfed SI system was more expensive to maintain than the irrigated SC system if compost cost exceeded $3.63 Mg-1. Average marketable yields were used to calculate gross and net revenue for each system. Because average potato yield for the irrigated SQ system (28.4 Mg·ha-1) equaled that in the rainfed SI system (28.3 Mg·ha-1), we were able to compare cost of irrigation versus compost for achieving comparable yield. The compost-amended SI system under rainfed management generated more net revenue from the potato crop than the irrigated SQ system when compost costs were less than $7.42 Mg-1. When compared to the commonly used rainfed SQ system, rainfed SI achieved higher net revenue as long as compost cost was less than $22.95 Mg-1. The rainfed SI system achieved higher net revenue than the irrigated SC system when compost cost was $9.43 Mg-1or less, but generated greater net revenue than the rainfed SC system regardless of compost costs, due to substantially higher yields associated with compost amendment. This investigation demonstrates that compost is a potentially viable substitute to irrigation for potato in the northeastern US;however, such potential is highly dependent on suitable compost sources and application costs.

Water-saving potential evaluation of water-receiving regions in Shandong province on the East Route of the South-to-North Water Transfer Project of China

Taking 13 water-receiving areas on the East Route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project(ERSNWDP)in Shandong Province as the study area,and comparing it with Jiangsu Province on the ERSNWDP and the Middle Route of the South-to-North(MRSNWDP),the current water-saving potential of the water-receiving areas within the municipalities of Shandong was analyzed.Different water-saving scenarios were constructed and analyzed with key water-saving indexes in various industries.These indexes include the effective utilization coefficient of farmland irrigation water,total water consumption of industrial sectors with an added value of over 10000 RMB,average leakage rate of the urban public water supply pipe network and the penetration rate of water-saving appliances.Based on the scenarios,comprehensive water-saving potential of the 13 water-receiving area cities was calculated.The results show that the water-saving potential of the study area is at a relative high level.However,some cities still have a certain amount of water-saving potential for agriculture and industry to be elevated.Under the recommended water-saving scenario,the water-saving potential is 1.134 billion m3,accounting for 5.33%of the current total water consumption,of which 460 million m3 is in agriculture,600 million m3 in industry,is and 74.20 million m3 in urban domestic sector.Comprehensive water-saving measures for the study area were proposed from the aspects of agricultural,industrial and domestic water uses.Agricultural and industrial water saving are more significant.The major cities for agricultural water saving include Jining City,Heze City,Weifang City and Jinan City;the focus cities of industrial water saving mainly include Weihai City,Jining City and Qingdao City and etc.;the key water-saving areas for urban use mainly include Zaozhuang City,Jining City and Heze City.

Effects of deficit irrigation with saline water on spring wheat growth and yield in arid Northwest China

Field experiments were conducted in 2008 and 2009 to study the effects of deficit irrigation with saline water on spring wheat growth and yield in an arid region of Northwest China. Nine treatments included three salinity levels sl, s2 and s3 （0.65, 3.2, and 6.1 dS/m） in combination with three water levels wl, w2 and w3 （375, 300, and 225 mm）. In 2008, for most treatments, deficit irrigation showed adverse effects on wheat growth; meanwhile, the effect of saline irrigation was not apparent. In 2009, growth parameters of wl treatments were not always optimal under saline irrigation. At 3.2 and 6.1 dS/m in 2008, the highest yield was obtained by wl treatments, however, in 2009, the weight of 1,000 grains and wheat yield both followed the order w2 〉 wl 〉 w3. In this study, spring wheat was sensitive to water deficit, especially at the booting to grain-filling stages, but was not significantly affected by saline irrigation and the combination of the two factors. The results demonstrated that 300-mm irrigation water with a salinity of less than 3.2 dS/m is suitable for wheat fields in the study area.

What determines irrigation efficiency when farmers face extreme weather events? A field survey of the major wheat producing regions in China

Water availability is a major constraint on grain production in China, therefore, improving irrigation efficiency is particularly important when agriculture faces extreme weather events. This paper first calculates irrigation efficiency with a translog stochastic frontier production function and then investigates what happens when extreme weather events occur via a Tobit model. The estimated results reveal several important features of irrigation practices: i) irrigation efficiency is lower when extreme weather events occur; ii) large variations in irrigation efficiency occur across irrigation facilities; iii) the farm plots exhibit an extreme distribution across efficiency levels; and iv) water-saving techniques, technology adoption, and the maintenance of farmers’ economic resilience are major determinants of irrigation efficiency. Based on these results we propose the following recommendations: i) farmers should balance crop yield and water use; undertake relevant training programs and adopt water-saving techniques; ii) local governments and researchers should help farmers to find the optimal level of irrigation water use based on their own circumstances and provide better water-saving techniques and training programs rather than simply encouraging farmers to invest in irrigation facilities in the most extreme weather years; and iii) the income level of farm households should be increased so as to improve their resilience to natural disasters.

Technologies for Efficient Use of Irrigation Water and Energy in China

While the shortage of water and energy is a well-recognized worldwide natural resources issue, little attention has been given to irrigation energy efficiency. In this paper, we examine the potential energy savings that can be achieved by implementing improved irrigation technologies in China. The use of improved irrigation management measures such as a flow meter, irrigation scheduling, and/or regular maintenance and upgrades, typically reduces the amount of water pumped over the course of a growing season. The total energy saved by applying these improved measures could reach 20%, as compared with traditional irrigation methods. Two methods of irrigation water conveyance by traditional earth canal and low pressure pipeline irrigation （LPPI） were also evaluated. Our study indicated that LPPI could save 6.48x 109 kWh yr1 when applied to 11 Chinese provinces. Also, the COz emission was reduced by 6.72 metric tons per year. Among these 11 surveyed provinces, the energy saving potential for two provinces, Hebei and Shandong, could reach 1.45 x 109 kWh yr^-1. Using LPPI, potential energy saved and CO2 emissions reduced in the other 20 Chinese provinces were estimated at about 2.97×109 kWh yr-1 and 2.69 metric tons per year, respectively. The energy saving potential for Heilongjiang, a major agriculture province, could reach 1.77× 109 kWh yr-1, which is the largest in all provinces. If LPPI is applied to the entire country, average annual energy saving of more than 9 billion kWh and average annual CO2 emission reduction of more than 9.0 metric tons could be realized. Rice is one of the largest users of the world＇s fresh water resources. Compared with continuous flooding irrigation, intermittent irrigation （ITI） can improve yield and water-use efficiency in paddy fields. The total increments of net output energy and yield by ITI in paddy fields across China could reach 2.5× 1016 calories and l07 tons, respectively. So far only a small part of agricultural land in China has adopted water and energy saving technologies. Therefore, potential water and energy savings in China by adapting improved irrigation technology could be significant and should be carefully studied and applied.

ANALYSES OF THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN IRRIGATED AND NONIRRIGATED AREA FOR LUMINOUS ENERGY UTILIZATION RATIO AND PRODUCTIVE POTENTIALITIES IN NINGXIA

Situated in arid and semi-arid lands, the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region is locatedat the middle reaches of the Yellow River. An adequate system of gravity irrigation was es-tablished in the north of Ningxia. Adding to abundant sunshine, strong solar radiation andmoderate heat, the agriculture is very developed. The south mountainous area of Ningxia, including both Yanchi and Tongxin counties,is short of rain, The vast lands cannot be irrigated. Nonirrigated agriculture and

Non-negligible factors in low-pressure sprinkler irrigation:droplet impact angle and shear stress

Droplet shear stress is considered as an important indicator that reflects soil erosion in sprinkler irrigation more accurately than kinetic energy,and the effect of droplet impact angle on the shear stress cannot be ignored.In this study,radial distribution of droplet impact angles,velocities,and shear stresses were investigated using a two-dimensional video disdrometer with three types of low-pressure sprinkler(Nelson D3000,R3000,and Komet KPT)under two operating pressures(103 and 138 kPa)and three nozzle diameters(3.97,5.95,and 7.94 mm).Furthermore,the relationships among these characteristical parameters of droplet were analyzed,and their influencing factors were comprehensively evaluated.For various types of sprinkler,operating pressures,and nozzle diameters,the smaller impact angles and larger velocities of droplets were found to occur closer to the sprinkler,resulting in relatively low droplet shear stresses.The increase in distance from the sprinkler caused the droplet impact angle to decrease and velocity to increase,which contributed to a significant increase in the shear stress that reached the peak value at the end of the jet.Therefore,the end of the jet was the most prone to soil erosion in the radial direction,and the soil erosion in sprinkler irrigation could not only be attributed to the droplet kinetic energy,but also needed to be combined with the analysis of its shear stress.Through comparing the radial distributions of average droplet shear stresses among the three types of sprinklers,D3000 exhibited the largest value(26.94-3313.51 N/m^(2)),followed by R3000(33.34-2650.80 N/m^(2)),and KPT(16.15-2485.69 N/m^(2)).From the perspective of minimizing the risk of soil erosion,KPT sprinkler was more suitable for low-pressure sprinkler irrigation than D3000 and R3000 sprinklers.In addition to selecting the appropriate sprinkler type to reduce the droplet shear stress,a suitable sprinkler spacing could also provide acceptable results,because the distance from the sprinkler exhibited a highly significant(P<0.01)effect on the shear stress.This study results provide a new reference for the design of low-pressure sprinkler irrigation system.

Managing irrigation of fruit trees using plant water status

Optimum growth and production of fruit crops is strongly linked to managing irrigation water. Various method of estimating tree water requirements have been utilized such as direct and indirect soil, water, and climatic measurements. Due to differences in fruit tree anatomical and morphological structures and their adaptation to excess and deficit soil water content, such estimates of irrigation water requirements may be more suitable for herbaceous plants but not as accurate for trees. Studies on temperate and tropical fruit trees, using apple (Malus domestica) and star-fruit (Averrhoa carambola), respectively, showed that tree water potential is highly correlated to soil water status. Irrigation based on climate data (ET) and monitoring of soil water resulted in no significant differences in soil or tree water status of orchard-grown fruit trees under temperate and subtropical climatic conditions. The results indicated the need for better understanding and utilization of tree physiological parameters for management of irrigation water of fruit crops. This will ultimately lead to achieving optimum yield and fruit quality while conserving water resources.