• Authors:
    • Nachit, M. M.
    • Mori, M.
    • Inagaki, M. N.
  • Source: Cereal Research Communications
  • Volume: 38
  • Issue: 4
  • Year: 2010
  • Summary: The drought stress in the rain-fed regions of West Asia and North Africa strongly depends on residual soil water available for the reproductive plant growth. The water uptake ability (i.e. water consumption per unit dry matter per day) of three synthetic-derived bread wheat genotypes, SYN-8, SYN-10 and SYN-15, and their parental variety Cham 6 were examined under controlled conditions. In addition, yield performance was compared under one artificial environment with supplemental irrigation and ten rain-fed environments at two locations over five cropping seasons. Large differences were found in water uptake ability among the four wheat genotypes; SYN-8 had the highest and SYN-10 the lowest ability. These differences were reflected in decrease of soil water content and increase of leaf temperature after irrigation. Under field conditions of supplemental irrigation, there were no significant differences in grain yield among genotypes Cham 6, SYN-8 and SYN-10; however, SYN-15 had lower grain yield due to low harvest index. Significant differences of the grain yield were found between SYN-8 and SYN-10 grown in rain-fed conditions. Lower water uptake ability was associated with higher grain yield; this speculates that intensive extraction of water from soil during vegetative growth might increase biomass production, but leave inadequate available soil moisture for reproductive growth and grain production. The balancing of water consumption by plants with stored soil moisture over the whole growing period is a major attribute of drought adaptation in these synthetic-derived wheat genotypes.
  • Authors:
    • Park, S. W.
    • Lee, H. P.
    • Sung, C. H.
    • Lee, S. B.
    • Jang, T. I.
  • Source: Paddy and Water Environment
  • Volume: 8
  • Issue: 3
  • Year: 2010
  • Summary: This article describes the pilot study on the water reuse for agricultural irrigation in Korea. The project is a part of the application of wastewater reuse system for Agriculture project, a 21st Century Frontier R&D Program sponsored by the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology and associated with the Sustainable Water Resources Research Program. The goal of the project was to develop infra-technologies necessary to reclaim wastewater for irrigation in agriculture. The project involved two phases: laboratory and field research. Reclamation techniques for irrigation and feasible reuse were developed as a first step in proposing appropriate water quality standards. Reclaimed wastewater of various qualities was used to irrigate cereal crops and vegetables, and possible adverse effects on crops, humans, and the environment were investigated. The optimal reclamation methods required to satisfy water quality standards were explored and the operational characteristics investigated. Moreover, an inventory of farmlands that could reuse reclaimed wastewater was established. Feasible delivery systems for irrigation were developed, and pilot project sites were identified. Finally, operational field data from pilot units were collected and analyzed. This research and development may help solve water shortage problems in Korea, which left unaddressed will have an adverse effect on future generations.
  • Authors:
    • Rayar, A. J.
    • Senthivel, T.
    • Kannan, N.
    • Frank, M.
  • Source: Agricultural Water Management
  • Volume: 97
  • Issue: 5
  • Year: 2010
  • Summary: The study explores the potential of introducing an additional crop during dry season in Rwanda, comparing the efficiency of in situ soil moisture conservation techniques to sustain rain-fed agriculture. Comparative study of in situ soil moisture conservation techniques in bench terraces and unterraced field with maize crop had been conducted from June 2007 to October 2007. Bench terrace increased the average soil moisture content in 90 cm soil depth by more than 50% than that of unterraced land. Within the bench terraced field compartment bund and ridges and furrows increased soil moisture by 19.5% and 27.9% higher than plain bed. In terms of efficiency of moisture conservation, ridges and furrows performed well with 85.8% followed by compartment bund with 75.9% in terraced field. Unterraced field conserved moisture very poorly with 13.9% efficiency inferring importance of bench terraces for soil moisture conservation. No maize grain yield was recorded in all the techniques because soil water depleted to 60% and above from the beginning of the cropping period inferring the need of supplementary irrigation. Analysis of rainfall, crop water demand and in situ moisture conservation reveals exciting opportunities for water productivity enhancements by integrating components of water management within the context of rain-fed farming through water harvesting and supplemental or microirrigation for dry spell mitigation. Detailed analysis is needed for feasibility of lift irrigation with different crops under different altitudes to derive suitable policy for hill land irrigation.
  • Authors:
    • Kumar, S. N.
    • Byjesh, K.
    • Aggarwal, P. K.
  • Source: Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change
  • Volume: 15
  • Issue: 5
  • Year: 2010
  • Summary: Climate change associated global warming, rise in carbon dioxide concentration and uncertainties in precipitation has profound implications on Indian agriculture. Maize ( Zea mays L.), the third most important cereal crop in India, has a major role to play in country's food security. Thus, it is important to analyze the consequence of climate change on maize productivity in major maize producing regions in India and elucidate potential adaptive strategy to minimize the adverse effects. Calibrated and validated InfoCrop-MAIZE model was used for analyzing the impacts of increase in temperature, carbon dioxide (CO 2) and change in rainfall apart from HadCM3 A2a scenario for 2020, 2050 and 2080. The main insights from the analysis are threefold. First, maize yields in monsoon are projected to be adversely affected due to rise in atmospheric temperature; but increased rainfall can partly offset those loses. During winter, maize grain yield is projected to reduced with increase in temperature in two of the regions (Mid Indo-Gangetic Plains or MIGP, and Southern Plateau or SP), but in the Upper Indo-Gangetic Plain (UIGP), where relatively low temperatures prevail during winter, yield increased up to a 2.7°C rise in temperature. Variation in rainfall may not have a major impact on winter yields, as the crop is already well irrigated. Secondly, the spatio-temporal variations in projected changes in temperature and rainfall are likely to lead to differential impacts in the different regions. In particular, monsoon yield is reduced most in SP (up to 35%), winter yield is reduced most in MIGP (up to 55%), while UIGP yields are relatively unaffected. Third, developing new cultivars with growth pattern in changed climate scenarios similar to that of current varieties in present conditions could be an advantageous adaptation strategy for minimizing the vulnerability of maize production in India.
  • Authors:
    • Pitchai, G. J.
    • Kumar, V. S.
  • Source: Asian Journal of Soil Science
  • Volume: 5
  • Issue: 2
  • Year: 2010
  • Summary: Maize is the third most important cereal crop after wheat and rice grown in virtually every suitable agricultural region of the globe. Maize being an exhaustive crop responds well to higher levels of NPK. The use of organic sources had significant effect on macro and micronutrients and thus it helps in sustenance of the soil fertility. For the study, a field experiment was conducted in Malayalathanpatty village, Madurai to evaluate the response of maize (Super 900M) with different organic sources like vermicompost, sewage sludge, green leaf manures and composted coir pith combined with inorganic fertilizers. There were ten treatment combinations replicated thrice in RBD in Annaiyur soil series (Entic Haplustert). The results showed that the highest grain yield of 4402 kg ha -1 was recorded in treatment that received vermicompost @ 5 t ha -1 with 75 per cent RDF and it was found to be superior to over other treatments.
  • Authors:
    • Haji-Eghrari, B.
    • Didar, T. R.
    • Ebadi, A.
    • Maralian, H.
  • Source: African Journal of Agricultural Research
  • Volume: 5
  • Issue: 4
  • Year: 2010
  • Summary: The study of physiological responses of different wheat varieties to water stress could be a useful tool to understanding of the mechanisms of drought resistance. This field study was conducted to evaluate the effect of water deficit stress on proline accumulation rate and wheat grain yield at Iran in 2008. A bread wheat (line N84-12) was evaluated by contrasting irrigation regimes (well-watered) (control condition), water deficit stress before tillering stage (T1) and after heading stage (T2). The experiment was carried out using a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. To impose water deficit stress, plants wasn't irrigated before T1 and after heading T2. The analysis of variance showed that water deficit stress significantly affected grain yield, straw yield, proline accumulation rate and harvest index (HI) in P≤0.01. The highest proline accumulation rate was observed under T2 condition and grain yield was decreased by water deficit stress compared with control condition.
  • Authors:
    • Slafer, G. A.
    • Mariano Cossani, C.
    • Savin, R.
  • Source: Crop and Pasture Science
  • Volume: 61
  • Issue: 10
  • Year: 2010
  • Summary: In semiarid Mediterranean environments, low nitrogen (N) and water availabilities are key constraints to cereal productivity. Theoretically, for a given level of N or water stress, crops perform better when co-limitation occurs. Empirical evidence of this theoretical concept with field crops is rather scarce. Using data from field experiments we evaluated whether N-use efficiency (NUE) and water-use efficiency (WUE) in small grain cereals increases with the degree of co-limitation. Four field experiments were carried out during three growing seasons including factorial combinations of bread wheat, durum wheat and barley, grown under different N fertiliser rates and water regimes. Yield gap was calculated as the difference between maximum attainable yield and actual yield while stress indices for N (NSI) or water (WSI) were calculated as the ratios between actual N uptake or water use and those required to achieve maximum yields, respectively. Water and N co-limitation was calculated as CWN=1-|NSI-WSI|. The relationships of yield gap, NUE and WUE with the different co-limitation indices were evaluated. Yield gap (range from -3.8 to -8.1 Mg ha -1) enlarged (was more negative) with the highest levels of stress and, as expected from theory, it was reduced with the degree of co-limitation. WUE ranged from 6.3 to 21.8 kg ha -1 mm -1 with the maximum values observed under conditions in which co-limitation increased. Reduction in yield gap with increased degree of co-limitation was mainly due to a positive effect of this variable on WUE.
  • Authors:
    • Kalungu, J. W.
    • Monteiro, R. O. C.
    • Coelho, R. D.
  • Source: Ciência Rural
  • Volume: 40
  • Issue: 10
  • Year: 2010
  • Summary: This paper reviews various irrigation technologies in both South Africa and Kenya that enable improvements in their socio-economic conditions. The two countries are located in semi-arid areas that experience extreme fluctuations in the availability of rain water for plant growth. Population growth exceeds the ability to produce food in numerous countries around the world and the two countries are not an exception. This experiment examined the constraints that farmers face and the role of government and nongovernmental organization in the uptake of modern technologies for irrigation. Detailed mechanisms and options to secure sustainable irrigation which are economically viable are considered. Despite the higher production of cereals and grains, fruits, and flowers also thrive in the two countries. Total irrigated area, crops grown and irrigation systems used in the two countries are discussed.
  • Authors:
    • Muhammad. T.
    • Habib, I.
  • Source: Kasetsart Journal (Nat. Sci.)
  • Volume: 44
  • Issue: 5
  • Year: 2010
  • Summary: The alarming population growth rate in Pakistan has exacerbated the food security problem. The increase in the human population (3%) in the last two decades has nullified increased cereal production. The use of maize in the feed and wet milling industry is growing at a much larger pace than anticipated. Maize is being grown on an area of 1.016 million hectares with annual production of 3.037 million tons and an average grain yield of 2,864 kg/ha. Approximately 66% of the maize in Pakistan has access to irrigation; the remainder is farmed under strictly rain-fed conditions. Maize production in Pakistan has increased from 0.38 million tons during 1947-50 to 3.037 million tons in 2007. The trend is likely to continue at a much faster pace in the years to come. The adoption/cultivation of spring maize has increased, especially since the active involvement of multinationals in Pakistan. Today spring maize accounts for 12-15% of the total area and almost 30-35% of the total annual production. An annual increase of 20-25% in the maize area during spring has been observed, which is mainly because of very good yield levels (6-7 tons/ha). Spring maize is one of the success stories in Pakistani agriculture. Seed has been, and still is, the most important limiting factor in maize production in Pakistan. Only 34% improved seed is available. The markets are not stable and have uncertainty due to the lack of drying and grain storage facilities. The use of maize grain in poultry feed is on the increase in Punjab province up from 23% in 2001 to 55% in 2007.
  • Authors:
    • Li, Y.
    • Kelly, K.
    • Eckard, R.
    • Chen, D.
  • Source: Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment
  • Volume: 136
  • Issue: 3-4
  • Year: 2010