ISHS Acta Horticulturae 537: III International Symposium on Irrigation of Horticultural Crops
IRRIGATION RESEARCH: DEVELOPING A HOLISTIC APPROACH |
| Author: | M.K.V. Carr |
| Keywords: | Tea, production functions, rain-guns, water resources, coffee, Africa, UK |
| Abstract:
A scientific understanding of the role that water plays in the growth and development of crops is essential, but this knowledge needs to be interpreted and presented as practical advice in a language that can assist planners, irrigation engineers and growers to allocate and use water, whether rainfall or irrigation, effectively and profitably. Field experiments must be designed and managed to quantify with precision the (marketable) yield responses of crops to water. Adequate supporting measurements need to be taken to enable the results to be interpreted and applied with confidence to other locations, or at other times, where the climate, weather and/or soils may be different. Response functions to water are likely to vary with the cultivar, planting density and nutrient status, and these need to be quantified. For some crops our understanding of their physiology is such that the development of a computer model should perhaps precede the experiments in order to set the parameters for the field research, to prioritise the measurements to be taken, and to assist in the interpretation of the results. As scientists we cannot stop at this point. The design and operating criteria for irrigation systems, usually the preserve of engineers, need to be specified with precision in order to maximise the crop-yield/water-use efficiencies that advanced methods of irrigation can offer growers, when used to their full potential, with minimum adverse effects on the water environment. By linking the outputs from such research to a geographic information system, methods for assessing the benefits of irrigation, or quantifying yield losses due to drought, in crop, economic and financial terms for specific locations and time scales can be developed. Planners and growers, responsible for allocating scarce water resources between competing sectors of society and between crops, can then utilise this information. It also provides benchmarks against which to judge the performance of individual irrigation projects. For horticultural crops that have international commercial importance, integrated approaches to irrigation research need to be developed. Site specific, single discipline, empirical studies should normally be avoided. To minimise duplication of effort existing information on the water relations and irrigation need of individual crops needs to be collated and interpreted in practically useful ways. Communication between the professions attempting to improve irrigation water management for the benefit of the commercial producer and the wider community must be improved. | |
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