scholarly journals Mulching Reduces Water Use of Containerized Plants

2001 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 277-278 ◽  
Author(s):  
Virginia I. Lohr ◽  
Caroline H. Pearson-Mims
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Plant Height ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Pine Bark ◽  
Sphagnum Moss ◽  
Canopy Closure ◽  
Field Soils ◽  
Impatiens Wallerana

Colorful baskets of flowering annuals are popular with home gardeners, but these containerized plants require frequent waterings. Mulching of field soils is a proven way to conserve soil moisture. This study was conducted to see if mulching would reduce the need to irrigate containerized plants. Adding either pine bark or sphagnum moss mulch to potted `Impulse Rose' impatiens (Impatiens wallerana) plants reduced the frequency of irrigations when the plants were small and had not yet reached canopy closure. Mulching had no effect on plant height or flowering.

scholarly journals EFFECT OF WATER GRADIENT ON SORGHUM GROWTH, WATER RELATIONS AND YIELD

1982 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
pp. 599-607 ◽  
Author(s):  
U. N. CHAUDHURI ◽  
E. T. KANEMASU
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Plant Height ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
Canopy Temperature ◽  
Water Source ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Moisture Gradient ◽  
Growth And Yield ◽  
Area Index

A field study was conducted during the 1980 growing season to determine the effects of soil moisture gradient on sorghum water relationships, growth, and yield of four hybrids: Sorghum bicolor L. ’G-623 GBR,’ ’RS 626,’ ’RS 671’ and ’A 28+’. June to September was warmer than normal (2.3–4.8 °C), with precipitation of only 16.2 cm during the cropping season. Sprinklers provided a continuously decreasing moisture gradient away from the water source. Plant height, dry matter, and leaf area index (LAI) decreased as watering level decreased. Higher leaf diffusive resistance and lower water potentials were associated with decreasing plant height and decreasing LAI. Canopy temperature (Tc) of the water-stressed sorghum was generally 3.2–3.7 °C warmer than canopy temperatures of well-watered plants. Canopy temperature also correlated well with water use by all hybrids. The average canopy minus air temperature [Formula: see text] was positive for all hybrids receiving less than 25 cm of irrigation and precipitation during the growing season, which corresponds to soil moisture values of 0.32 maximum available. Increasing the watering levels increased the water use efficiency (WUE) for total dry matter and grain yield.

Water demand and water use efficiency of winter barley in Hungary

2011 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-22
Author(s):  
Z. Varga-Haszonits ◽  
E. Enzsölné Gerencsér ◽  
Z. Lantos ◽  
Z. Varga
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Water Supply ◽  
Water Use Efficiency ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Potential Evapotranspiration ◽  
Growth Period ◽  
Winter Barley ◽  
Potential Yield ◽  
Yield Data ◽  
Use Efficiency

The temporal and spatial variability of soil moisture, evapotranspiration and water use were investigated for winter barley. Evaluations were carried out on a database containing meteorological and yield data from 15 stations. The spatial distribution of soil moisture, evapotranspiration and water use efficiency (WUE) was evaluated from 1951 to 2000 and the moisture conditions during the growth period of winter barley were investigated. The water supply was found to be favourable, since the average values of soil moisture remained above the lower limit of favourable water content throughout the growth period, except for September–December and May–June. The actual evapotranspiration tended to be close to the potential evapotranspiration, so the water supplies were favourable throughout the vegetation period. The calculated values of WUE showed an increasing trend from 1960 to 1990, but the lower level of agricultural inputs caused a decline after 1990. The average values of WUE varied between 0.87 and 1.09 g/kg in different counties, with higher values in the northern part of the Great Hungarian Plain. The potential yield of winter barley can be calculated from the maximum value of WUE. Except in the cooler northern and western parts of the country, the potential yield of winter barley, based on the water supply, could exceed 10 t/ha.

Development and Evaluation of a Variable-Rate Irrigation Management Method in the Mississippi Delta

2021 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 287-298
Author(s):  
Ruixiu Sui ◽  
Jonnie Baggard
Keyword(s):  
Electrical Conductivity ◽  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Irrigation Water ◽  
Mississippi Delta ◽  
Water Productivity ◽  
Variable Rate ◽  
Irrigation Water Use ◽  
Irrigation Water Productivity ◽  
Variable Rate Irrigation

HighlightsWe developed and evaluated a variable-rate irrigation (VRI) management method for five crop years in the Mississippi Delta.VRI management significantly reduced irrigation water use in comparison with uniform-rate irrigation (URI). There was no significant difference in grain yield and irrigation water productivity between VRI and URI management.Soil apparent electrical conductivity (ECa) was used to delineate irrigation management zones and generate VRI prescriptions.Sensor-measured soil water content was used in irrigation scheduling.Abstract. Variable-rate irrigation (VRI) allows producers to site-specifically apply irrigation water at variable rates within a field to account for the temporal and spatial variability in soil and plant characteristics. Developing practical VRI methods and documenting the benefits of VRI application are critical to accelerate the adoption of VRI technologies. Using apparent soil electrical conductivity (ECa) and soil moisture sensors, a VRI method was developed and evaluated with corn and soybean for five crop years in the Mississippi Delta. Soil ECa of the study fields was mapped and used to delineate VRI management zones and create VRI prescriptions. Irrigation was scheduled using soil volumetric water content measured by soil moisture sensors. A center pivot VRI system was employed to deliver irrigation water according to the VRI prescription. Grain yield, irrigation water use, and irrigation water productivity in the VRI treatment were determined and compared with that in a uniform-rate irrigation (URI) treatment. Results showed that the grain yield and irrigation water productivity between the VRI and URI treatments were not statistically different with both corn and soybean crops. The VRI management significantly reduced the amount of irrigation water by 22% in corn and by 11% in soybean (p = 0.05). Adoption of VRI management could improve irrigation water use efficiency in the Mississippi Delta. Keywords: Soil electrical conductivity, Soil moisture sensor, Variable rate irrigation, Water management.

Determination of the water use of two pairs of soybean isolines differing in stomatal frequency using a heat balance stem flow gauge

1995 ◽  
Vol 75 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. S. Tan ◽  
B. R. Buttery
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Heat Balance ◽  
Sap Flow ◽  
Stomatal Frequency ◽  
Flow Rates ◽  
High Soil Moisture ◽  
Stem Flow ◽  
Glycine Max L

Using heat-balance stem flow gauges, we were able to measure directly and continuously the sap flow rates in two pairs of soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] isolines differing in stomatal frequency. Plants with high stomatal frequency transpired significantly more water than the low stomatal frequency plants at high soil moisture levels. Under low soil moisture levels, the water use rate decreased greatly for the high stomatal frequency plants. Plants with low stomatal frequency were able to maintain greater sap flow rates than those with high stomatal frequency. Higher leaf temperatures associated with the low stomatal frequency plants were likely due to lower transpiration rates which reduced evaporative cooling especially under well-watered conditions. Key words:Glycine max (L.) Merr., transpiration, water deficits

scholarly journals Soil moisture depletion and ground water use by bed planted barley as influenced by cultivars, crop geometry and moisture regimes

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 1465-1468 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naveen Kumar ◽  
Suresh Kumar ◽  
Parveen Kumar ◽  
Meena Sewhag
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Field Experiment ◽  
Ground Water ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Moisture Regime ◽  
Rabi Season ◽  
Shallow Water Table ◽  
Moisture Regimes ◽  
Crop Geometry ◽  
Plot Design

A field experiment was conducted during rabi season 2011-2012 at Research Farm, CCS Haryana Agri-cultural University, Hisar, Haryana (India) to study the periodic soil moisture depletion and ground water use by bed planted barley as influenced by cultivars, crop geometry and moisture regimes under shallow water table conditions. The experiment was laid out in split plot design with three replications keeping combinations of three cultivars viz., BH 393, BH 902 and BH 885 and two crop geometries viz 2 rows per bed and 3 rows per bed (70 cm wide with 40 cm top and 30 cm furrow) in main plots and three moisture regimes (irrigation at IW/CPE 0.3, 0.4 & 0.5) in sub plots. The results revealed that maximum soil moisture depletion (105 mm) and ground water contribution (62 mm) were recorded in BH 902, followed by BH 393 and BH 885. Among crop geometries, soil moisture depletion (96.6 mm) and ground water contribution (61 mm) were recorded higher in 3 rows per bed than 2 rows per bed. Among three moisture regimes, the soil moisture depletion (108 mm) and ground water contribution (65 mm) decreased with increase in moisture regime from irrigation at IW/CPE 0.3 to irrigation at IW/CPE 0.4 or 0.5.

Studies of the Drip Method of Irrigation

1972 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. P. Abrol ◽  
S. P. Dixit
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Water Use Efficiency ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Soil Strength ◽  
Surface Evaporation ◽  
Evaporation Losses ◽  
Use Efficiency ◽  
Reduced Surface

SUMMARYA comparison has been made of drip and conventional check basin methods of irrigation, using onions and ladies finger as test crops. Significant increases in yield and water use efficiency in drip irrigated over conventionally irrigated plots resulted from increased availability of soil moisture at low tensions and reduced surface evaporation losses. Reduced soil strength in drip irrigated plots was also a factor resulting in increased yield of onions.

Site-level soil moisture controls water-use efficiency improvement and climate response in sugar maple: a dual dendroisotopic study

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
R. Dietrich ◽  
F.W. Bell ◽  
M. Anand
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Water Use Efficiency ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Tree Ring ◽  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Photosynthetic Capacity ◽  
Environmental Drivers ◽  
Tree Level ◽  
Intrinsic Water Use Efficiency ◽  
Use Efficiency

Given the large contribution of forests to terrestrial carbon storage, there is a need to resolve the environmental and physiological drivers of tree-level response to rising atmospheric CO2. This study examines how site-level soil moisture influences growth and intrinsic water-use efficiency in sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.). We construct tree-ring, δ18O, and Δ13C chronologies for trees across a soil moisture gradient in Ontario, Canada, and employ a structural equation modelling approach to ascertain their climatic, ontogenetic, and environmental drivers. Our results support previous evidence for the presence of strong developmental effects in tree-ring isotopic chronologies — in the range of −4.7‰ for Δ13C and +0.8‰ for δ18O — across the tree life span. Additionally, we show that the physiological response of sugar maple to increasing atmospheric CO2 depends on site-level soil moisture variability, with trees only in relatively wet plots exhibiting temporal increases in intrinsic water-use efficiency. These results suggest that trees in wet and mesic plots have experienced temporal increases in stomatal conductance and photosynthetic capacity, whereas trees in dry plots have experienced decreases in photosynthetic capacity. This study is the first to examine sugar maple physiology using a dendroisotopic approach and broadens our understanding of carbon–water interactions in temperate forests.

Irrigation management through a coupled energy-water balance and crop growth model driven by remote sensing data

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Mancini ◽  
Chiara Corbari ◽  
Imen Ben Charfi ◽  
Ahmad Al Bitar ◽  
Drazen Skokovic ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Water Balance ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Irrigation Water ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Irrigation Management ◽  
Balance Model ◽  
Soil Parameters ◽  
Area Index ◽  
Landsat 7

<p>The conflicting use of water is becoming more and more evident, also in regions that are traditionally rich in water. With the world’s population projected to increase to 8.5 billion by 2030, the simultaneous growth in income will imply a substantial increase in demand for both water and food. Climate change impacts will further stress the water availability enhancing also its conflictual use. The agricultural sector is the biggest and least efficient water user, accounts for around 24% of total water use in Europe, peaking at 80% in the southern regions.</p><p>This paper shows the implementation of a system for real-time operative irrigation water management at high spatial and temporal able to monitor the crop water needs reducing the irrigation losses and increasing the water use efficiency, according to different agronomic practices supporting different level of water users from irrigation consortia to single farmers. The system couples together satellite (land surface temperature LST and vegetation information) and ground data, with pixel wise hydrological crop soil water energy balance model. In particular, the SAFY (Simple Algorithm for Yield) crop model has been coupled with the pixel wise energy water balance FEST-EWB model, which assimilate satellite LST for its soil parameters calibration. The essence of this coupled modelling is that the SAFY provides the leaf area index (LAI) evolution in time used by the FEST-EWB for evapotranspiration computation while FEST-EWB model provides soil moisture (SM) to SAFY model for computing crop grow for assigned water content.</p><p>The FEST-EWB-SAFY has been firstly calibrated in specific fields of Chiese (maize crop) and Capitanata (tomatoes) where ground measurements of evapotranspiration, soil moisture and crop yields are available, as well as LAI from Sentinel2-Landsat 7 and 8 data. The FEST-EWB-SAFY model has then been validated also on several fields of the RICA farms database in the two Italian consortia, where the economic data are available plus the crop yield. Finally, the modelled maps of LAI have then been validated over the whole Consortium area (Chiese and Capitanata) against satellite data of LAI from Landsat 7 and 8, and Sentinel-2.</p><p>Optimized irrigation volumes are assessed based on a soil moisture thresholds criterion, allowing to reduce the passages over the field capacity threshold reducing the percolation flux with a saving of irrigation volume without affecting evapotranspiration and so that the crop production. The implemented strategy has shown a significative irrigation water saving, also in this area where a traditional careful use of water is assessed.</p><p>The activity is part of the European project RET-SIF (www.retsif.polimi.it).</p>

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