Photosynthesis,plant growth and dry matter distribution in kiwifruit as influenced by water deficits

The effects of water deficits on photosynthesis, plant growth and dry matter accumulation and distribution in the kiwifruit, cv Hayward, grown under controlled conditions in the glasshouse were studied. Water stress was imposed by irrigating the plants with 100%, 85%, 65% and 40% of water needed to reach pot capacity in the soil. Water deficits reduced the rate of photosynthesis by up to 53–64% in relation to the control. This decline was attributed to stomatal closure, since stomatal conductance was reduced significantly, or/and to inhibition of photosynthesis at chloroplast level. Severe water stress reduced plant height by 78–84%, total dry weight by 58–66% and total leaf area by 72–77%. The root to shoot ratio was 3.5 times higher in water-stressed plants, showing that water stress in kiwifruit alters the pattern of dry matter distribution favouring the roots. The decrease in growth induced by water deficits was a consequence of a reduction in both photosynthesis and photosynthates partitioning, which adversely affects leaf area development.     

Water use estimates for various rice production systems in Mississippi and Arkansas

Rice irrigation-water use was estimated in Mississippi (MS) and Arkansas (AR) in 2003 and 2004. Irrigation inputs were compared on naturally sloping (i.e. contour-levee system) and mechanically graded fields. In MS, rice production consumed, on average, 895 mm water, but irrigation inputs were greatly affected by production system. Contour-levee systems accounted for 35% of the production area and consumed 1,034 mm irrigation. Fields mechanically graded to a consistent slope of approximately 0.1% (i.e. straight-levee systems) consumed 856 mm irrigation and accounted for 60% of the production area. Fields devoid of slope (i.e. zero-grade system) accounted for 5% of the production area and consumed 382 mm irrigation. In AR, contour-levee rice production consumed 789 mm compared to 653 mm with a straight-levee system. Using low pressure, thin wall (9–10 mil) disposable irrigation tubing to deliver water to each paddy independently reduced irrigation inputs by 28% in MS and 11% in AR when compared to a single-point (levee-gate) distribution system.     

Latent heat flux over Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard using the Shuttleworth and Wallace model

The Shuttleworth and Wallace model (SW) was evaluated to estimate latent heat flux above a drip-irrigated Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard, located in the Pencahue Valley, Region del Maule, Chile (35°22′ LS; 71°47′ LW; 150 m above sea level). The performance of the WS model (LE_ws) was evaluated against the eddy-covariance method (LE_ed) on a 30 min time interval. Results indicate that the root mean square error (RMSE) and mean absolute error (MAE) were 29 W m⁻² and 22 W m⁻², respectively. For the vine evapotranspiration (ETv), RMSE was 0.42 mm day⁻¹ and MAE was 0.36 mm day⁻¹. The largest disagreements between LE_ed and LE_ws were observed under dry atmospheric conditions. Also, the sensitivity analysis indicates that predicted ETv by the SW model was sensitive to errors of ±30% in leaf area index and mean stomatal resistance, but it was not affected by errors in the estimation of aerodynamic resistances.     

Impact of crop rotation and minimum tillage on water use efficiency of irrigated cotton in a Vertisol

Crop water use efficiency of irrigated cotton was hypothesized to be improved by a combination of minimum tillage and sowing a wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) rotation crop. This hypothesis was evaluated in a Vertisol near Narrabri, Australia from 1997 to 2003. The experimental treatments were: continuous cotton sown after conventional or minimum tillage and minimum-tilled cotton–wheat. Soil water content was measured with a neutron moisture meter, and runoff with trapezoidal flumes. Application efficiency of irrigation water was estimated as the amount of infiltrated water/total amount applied. Plant available water was estimated using the maximum and minimum soil water storage during the growing season. Evapotranspiration was estimated with the water balance method using measured and simulated soil water data. Seasonal evapotranspiration was partitioned into that coming from rainfall, irrigation and stored soil water. Crop water use efficiency was calculated as cotton lint yield per hectare/seasonal evapotranspiration. Rotation of cotton with wheat and minimum tillage improved water use efficiency in some years and application efficiency in all years. Average seasonal evapotranspiration was higher with minimum tillage than with conventional tillage. In years when cotton was sown in all plots, average cotton crop water use efficiencies were 0.23, 0.23 and 0.22 kg (lint)/m³ for minimum-tilled cotton–wheat and continuous cotton, and conventionally tilled continuous cotton, respectively. In-season rainfall efficiency, transpiration and soil evaporation were unaffected by cropping system.     

The feasibility of using variable rate water application under a central pivot irrigation system

The purpose of this paper was to assess the feasibility and significance of applying spatially variable irrigation under a central pivot system at the Federal German Agricultural Research Center, Braunschweig, Germany. The assessment was based on soil moisture holding capacity, soil depth variation and root development. Soil texture analysis was carried out by sampling on a 60 meter grid. The German Agro-Meteorological Model was applied to simulate the water balance in the crop-soil-atmosphere system for the growing season 2003/4. The research findings are presented in terms of six scenarios: 20, 30, 40 mm water application depths per irrigation under both variable rate application and uniform application. The comparison revealed that the loss of water was higher for the uniform application scenarios than that for the variable rate application (VRA) scenarios for the applications of 20 and 30 mm. The VRA scenario of 20 mm water application was found out to be the best option for water conservation.     

A model of decision-making and information flows for information-intensive agriculture

This paper describes the development of a systems based model to characterise farmers’ decision-making process in information-intensive practices, and its evaluation in the context of Precision Agriculture (PA). A participative methodology was developed in which farm managers decomposed their process of decision-making into brief decision statements along with associated information requirements. The methodology was first developed on a university research farm in Denmark and further revised during testing on a number of research and commercial farms in Indiana, USA. Twenty-one decision-analysis factors were identified to characterise a farm manager’s decision-making process. Then, a general data flow diagram (DFD) was constructed that describes the information flows “from data to decision”. Illustrative examples of the model in the form of DFDs are presented for a strategic, a tactical and an operational decision. The model was validated for a range of decisions related to operations by three university farm managers and by five commercial farmers practicing PA for cereal, corn and soybean production in Denmark and in Indiana, USA.     

Sustainability of bean production systems on steep lands in Costa Rica

Responding to changes in rural-urban linkages and government policies, bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) production systems in Costa Rica are undergoing transitions. Impacts of changes in bean production systems on environmental and economic sustainability were analysed at the field, farm and policy levels. A combination of interviews, agronomic surveys, on-farm experiments, and secondary information was used. Changes in agronomic and economic conditions over time were assessed by conducting agronomic surveys and experiments on farms representing a range of land-use intensities. Trade-offs between productivity and stability were quantified using Modified Stability Analysis. The adoption of land and agrochemical-intensive methods by resource-poor farmers cultivating steep lands resulted in decreased environmented and economic sustainability. Farmers with adequate resources were able to maintain economic viability by transferring land out of beans and into other commodities, particularly cattle. However, this shift in resource use decreased social equity by decreasing farm labour opportunities for smallholders and landless farmers and diminishing land available for tenants. These studies indicate that the impact of technology introduction on farming system sustainability can be assessed effectively by conducting integrated socioeconomic and agronomic analyses across farms representing various land-use practices and intensities.     

Farmers' perception on self created water management rules in a pioneer scheme: The mula irrigation scheme, India

During the past two decades with farmer participation in irrigation management moving to center stage, the traditional view of having a centralized control over the water resources for better management has changed. Nevertheless, success of irrigation management transfer depend on a whole set of institutional arrangements or the rules-in-use and the willingness of the users to comply and enforce and/or change the rules in the light of changing circumstances. There are many institutional analyses of water sector, much of them touch on law, policy and administration, and characteristics of the users. The present paper is based on the study carried out to examine the institutional arrangements in one of the water users association that was first in the Maharashtra state. It focuses on the institutional arrangements governing water use and distribution and attempts to elicit the perceptions of the members regarding the rules-in-use. The findings reveal that the WUA has been successful in devising and enforcing the rules for water distribution, fee collection and conflict resolution for over a decade. However, current socio-economic developments such as political heterogeneity have required explicit conflict resolution mechanisms. These issues have now become issues demanding immediate attention and may be use of existing courts or legal institutions to help the WUA sustain in future.     

Comparisons of two soil water flow models under variable irrigation

Performance of WATCOM (a numerical model) and CRPSM (a simple water balance model) were assessed in simulating root zone water storage and water balance components under cowpea in Nigeria using a line source sprinkler system. Three sets of field data were collected: the first was used for calibration and model parameters’ estimation and the other two for testing and comparisons. The simulated soil water storage and crop evapotranspiration with WATCOM and CRPSM were in good agreement with field-measured data though WATCOM performed significantly better (P < 0.05) under the stressed condition. The maximum average error between predicted and measured soil water storage was −0.95 and +1.47 mm for WATCOM and CRPSM, respectively, while that between measured and predicted actual crop evapotranspiration was +2.7 and +11.38 mm, respectively, for the two models. WATCOM gave generally higher cumulative deep percolation and lower evapotranspiration than that of CRPSM for all irrigation levels (P < 0.05), and values of deep percolation for WATCOM were in better agreement with field data than that of CRPSM. This suggests that drainage below the field capacity needs to be included in CRPSM and that WATCOM will be a more useful management tool when detailed soil parameter is required and under variable water regime.     

Accounting for temporal inflow variation in the inverse solution for infiltration in surface irrigation

A simple modification of the volume balance equation of the IPARM model is presented to facilitate the use of variable inflow. Traditional approaches for estimating infiltration from advance and/or runoff have merely considered the constant or step inflow case. Whenever this assumption is violated, significant uncertainty is introduced into the estimated infiltration parameters. Evaluation of the procedure with a number of data sets has demonstrated significant improvements in the estimates of infiltration parameters. Furthermore, the technique has shown that a portion of the apparent variability in estimated soil intake rates between furrows in the same field is a consequence of the constant inflow assumption. Accounting for the variable inflow to estimate infiltration functions, both standardised the shape of the infiltration curve and reduced the magnitude of the variation between curves. The proposed technique remains restricted by limitations similar to that of other volume balance models but offers greater performance under typical inflow variations often experienced in practice.