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.

THE BALANCE BETWEEN SUPPLY AND DEMAND OF WATER RESOURCES AND THE WATER-SAVING POTENTIAL FOR AGRICULTURE IN THE HEXI CORRIDOR

The Hexi Corridor is an important base of agriculture development in Northwest China. According to recent statistics, there are 65.94×108m3 of water resources available in the Hexi Corridor. At present, net consumption in development and utilization is 43.33×108m3. Water supply and demand reach a balance on the recent level of production, but loss of evaporation and evapotranspiration is as much as 25.69×108m3. So net use efficiency of water resources is 59%. Based on analyzing balance between water and land considering ecological environment at present, there exists the serious water shortage in the Shiyang River system where irrigation lands have overloaded. There is a comparative balance between supply and demand of water resource in the Heihe River system; and the Sule River system has some surplus water to extend irrigation land. Use of agriculture water accounts for 83.3% and ecological forest and grass for 6.9%. The Hexi Corridor still has a great potential for water saving in agriculture production. Water saving efficiency of irrigation is about 10% by using such traditional technologies as furrow and border dike irrigation and small check irrigation, and water saving with plastic film cover and techniques of advanced sprinkler and drip/micro irrigation etc. can save more than 60% of irrigated water. Incremental irrigation area for water saving potential in the Hexi Corridor has been estimated as 56%-197% to original irrigation area. So the second water sources can be developed from water saving agriculture in the Hexi Corridor under Development of the Western Part of China in large scale. This potential can be realized step by step through developing the water saving measures, improving the ecological condition of oasis agriculture, and optimizing allocation of water resources in three river systems.

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-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.

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.

Water-Saving and High-Yielding Irrigation for Lowland Rice by Controlling Limiting Values of Soil Water Potential

The present study investigated whether an irrigation system could be established to save water and increase grain yield to enhance water productivity by proper water management at the field level in irrigated lowland rice （Oryza sativa L.）. Using two field-grown rice cultivars, two irrigation systems; conventional irrigation and water-saving irrigation, were conducted. In the water-saving irrigation system, limiting values of soil water potential related to specific growth stages were proposed as irrigation indices. Compared with conventional irrigation where drainage was in mid-season and flooded at other times, the water-saving irrigation increased grain yield by 7.4% to 11.3%, reduced irrigation water by 24.5% to 29.2%, and increased water productivity （grain yield per cubic meter of irrigation water） by 43.1% to 50.3%. The water-saving irrigation significantly increased harvest index, improved milling and appearance qualities, elevated zeatin-I-zeaUn riboside concentrations in root bleedings and enhanced activities of sucrose synthase, adenosine diphosphate glucose pyrophosphorylase, starch synthase and starch branching enzyme in grains. Our results indicate that water-saving irrigation by controlling limiting values of soil water potential related to specific growth stages can enhance physiological activities of roots and grains, reduce water input, and increase grain yield.

An improved ET control method to determine the water-saving potential for farmland in Baiyangdian Watershed, China

Resource-based water-saving potential has been recognized as the reduction of evapotranspiration and water loss of inefficient irrigation systems. In this paper, an improved evapotranspiration control model is applied to calculate resource-based water-saving potential, considering the influences of effective rainfall （uncontrolled evapotranspiration） and irrigated water （controlled evapotranspiration）. Farmland in Baiyangdian Watershed, a highly productive area in northern China, is analyzed to determine the water-saving potential of irrigation processes. The water-saving potential was zero, 163.90 × 10^6m3, and 318.24 × 10^6m3 in wet, normal, and dry years, respectively, and was greater in years with less rainfall. Under the combined effect of rainfall, crop water consumption, and crop water requirements, the water-saving potential showed obvious temporal and spatial variations. July and August comprised almost 98.6% of the annual potential. In the northeast and southwest corner of the study area, potential approached zero. The potential was 1.53 times greater in the north-central than in the south-central area. The model can furnish the appropriate timing and region to water managers for implementing water-saving strategies.

Cropping pattern optimization considering uncertainty of water availability and water saving potential

In arid and semi-arid areas,the profitability of irrigated agriculture mainly depends on the availability of water resources and optimal cropping patterns of irrigation districts.In this study,an integrated agricultural cropping pattern optimization model was developed with considering the uncertainty of water availability and water saving potential in the future,aiming to maximize agricultural net benefit per unit of irrigation water.The available water which was based on the uncertainty of runoff was divided into five scenarios.The irrigation water-saving potential in the future was quantified by assuming an increase in the rate irrigation water-saving of 10% and 20%.The model was applied to the middle reaches of Heihe River basin,in Gansu Province,China.Results showed that if the irrigation water-saving rate was assumed to increase by 10%,then the net water-saving quantity would increase by 21.5-22.5 million m3 and the gross water-saving quantity would increase by 275.7-303.0 million m3.Similarly,if the irrigation water-saving rate increased by 20%,then the net water-saving quantity would increase by 43.0-45.1 million m3 and the gross water-saving quantity would increase by 331.7-383.2 million m3.If the agricultural cropping pattern was optimized,the optimal water and cultivated area allocation for maize would be greater than those for other crops.Under the premise that similar volume of irrigation water quantity was available in different scenarios,results showed differences in system benefit and net benefit per unit of irrigation water,for the distribution of available irrigation water was diverse in different irrigation districts.