IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/agiwat/v97y2010i10p1527-1533.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Partial rootzone irrigation increases water use efficiency, maintains yield and enhances economic profit of cotton in arid area

Author

Listed:
  • Tang, Li-Song
  • Li, Yan
  • Zhang, Jianhua

Abstract

Partial rootzone irrigation (PRI) can substantially reduce irrigation amount and has been demonstrated as a promising irrigation method for crops in arid or semiarid areas. Many earlier researches have shown that PRI reduces leaf transpiration by narrowing stomatal opening. In this study we verified the hypothesis that PRI can also save irrigation water by substantially reducing soil evaporation. Field experiment was conducted in an arid area where cotton production almost completely relies on irrigation. Water was applied to furrows in the cotton field either alternatively (AFI, alternative furrow irrigation), or evenly to all the furrows (CFI, conventional furrow irrigation), or to one fixed furrow in every two (FFI, fixed furrow irrigation). Our results show that surface evaporation constitutes a large fraction of the irrigation water loss from cropped field (more than 20%), and with the two PRI treatments nearly 40% of the evaporative water loss is saved. Transpiration accounted for 48%, 58% and 57% of the total amount of irrigation respectively for the CFI, AFI and FFI treatments. This result suggests that PRI increases the proportion of applied water that is transpired, and therefore leads to a higher water use efficiency than regular irrigation. Overall, when irrigation was reduced by 30%, the average final yield loss of AFI was only 4.44%, a non-significant reduction statistically. The FFI had a significant reduction in yield of 12.01% in comparison to CFI. Moreover, PRI brings in earlier flowering and a higher economical return due to early harvested cotton. This indicates that the final economical output could compensate for the loss of cotton yield due to water-saving. With very little extra cost to implementation, PRI proves a very promising method in cotton production in arid zone.

Suggested Citation

  • Tang, Li-Song & Li, Yan & Zhang, Jianhua, 2010. "Partial rootzone irrigation increases water use efficiency, maintains yield and enhances economic profit of cotton in arid area," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 97(10), pages 1527-1533, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:97:y:2010:i:10:p:1527-1533
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378-3774(10)00161-7
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Geerts, Sam & Raes, Dirk, 2009. "Deficit irrigation as an on-farm strategy to maximize crop water productivity in dry areas," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 96(9), pages 1275-1284, September.
    2. De la Hera, M.L. & Romero, P. & Gomez-Plaza, E. & Martinez, A., 2007. "Is partial root-zone drying an effective irrigation technique to improve water use efficiency and fruit quality in field-grown wine grapes under semiarid conditions?," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 87(3), pages 261-274, February.
    3. Zhou, Qingyun & Kang, Shaozhong & Li, Fusheng & Zhang, Lu, 2008. "Comparison of dynamic and static APRI-models to simulate soil water dynamics in a vineyard over the growing season under alternate partial root-zone drip irrigation," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 95(7), pages 767-775, July.
    4. Kijne, J. W. & Barker, R. & Molden. D., 2003. "Water productivity in agriculture: limits and opportunities for improvement," IWMI Books, Reports H032631, International Water Management Institute.
    5. Molden, D. & Murray-Rust, H. & Sakthivadivel, R. & Makin, I., 2003. "A water-productivity framework for understanding and action," IWMI Books, Reports H032632, International Water Management Institute.
    6. Du, Taisheng & Kang, Shaozhong & Zhang, Jianhua & Li, Fusheng & Yan, Boyuan, 2008. "Water use efficiency and fruit quality of table grape under alternate partial root-zone drip irrigation," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 95(6), pages 659-668, June.
    7. Hu, Tiantian & Kang, Shaozhong & Li, Fusheng & Zhang, Jianhua, 2009. "Effects of partial root-zone irrigation on the nitrogen absorption and utilization of maize," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 96(2), pages 208-214, February.
    8. Kang, Shaozhong & Liang, Zongsuo & Pan, Yinhua & Shi, Peize & Zhang, Jianhua, 2000. "Alternate furrow irrigation for maize production in an arid area," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 45(3), pages 267-274, August.
    9. Kang, Shaozhong & Liang, Zongsuo & Hu, Wei & Zhang, Jianhua, 1998. "Water use efficiency of controlled alternate irrigation on root-divided maize plants," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 69-76, October.
    10. Zegbe, J. A. & Behboudian, M. H. & Clothier, B. E., 2004. "Partial rootzone drying is a feasible option for irrigating processing tomatoes," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 68(3), pages 195-206, August.
    11. Kijne, Jacob W. & Barker, Randolph & Molden, David J. (ed.), 2003. "Water productivity in agriculture: limits and opportunities for improvement," IWMI Books, International Water Management Institute, number 138054.
    12. Pereira, Luis Santos & Oweis, Theib & Zairi, Abdelaziz, 2002. "Irrigation management under water scarcity," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 57(3), pages 175-206, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Qi, Dongliang & Hu, Tiantian & Liu, Tingting, 2020. "Biomass accumulation and distribution, yield formation and water use efficiency responses of maize (Zea mays L.) to nitrogen supply methods under partial root-zone irrigation," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 230(C).
    2. Zhang, Haowen & Liang, Qing & Peng, Zhengping & Zhao, Yi & Tan, Yuechen & Zhang, Xin & Bol, Roland, 2023. "Response of greenhouse gases emissions and yields to irrigation and straw practices in wheat-maize cropping system," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 282(C).
    3. Kang, Shaozhong & Hao, Xinmei & Du, Taisheng & Tong, Ling & Su, Xiaoling & Lu, Hongna & Li, Xiaolin & Huo, Zailin & Li, Sien & Ding, Risheng, 2017. "Improving agricultural water productivity to ensure food security in China under changing environment: From research to practice," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 5-17.
    4. Du, Shaoqing & Kang, Shaozhong & Li, Fusheng & Du, Taisheng, 2017. "Water use efficiency is improved by alternate partial root-zone irrigation of apple in arid northwest China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 184-192.
    5. Fan, Yubing & Wang, Chenggang & Nan, Zhibiao, 2016. "Determining water use efficiency for wheat and cotton: A meta-regression analysis," 2016 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Boston, Massachusetts 236059, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    6. Cheng, Minghui & Wang, Haidong & Fan, Junliang & Zhang, Shaohui & Liao, Zhenqi & Zhang, Fucang & Wang, Yanli, 2021. "A global meta-analysis of yield and water use efficiency of crops, vegetables and fruits under full, deficit and alternate partial root-zone irrigation," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 248(C).
    7. Fan, Yubing & Wang, Chenggang & Nan, Zhibiao, 2018. "Determining water use efficiency of wheat and cotton: A meta-regression analysis," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 199(C), pages 48-60.
    8. Liu, Lining & Wang, Tianshu & Wang, Lichun & Wu, Xun & Zuo, Qiang & Shi, Jianchu & Sheng, Jiandong & Jiang, Pingan & Chen, Quanjia & Ben-Gal, Alon, 2022. "Plant water deficit index-based irrigation under conditions of salinity," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 269(C).
    9. Cao, Yuxin & Cai, Huanjie & Sun, Shikun & Gu, Xiaobo & Mu, Qing & Duan, Weina & Zhao, Zhengxin, 2022. "Effects of drip irrigation methods on yield and water productivity of maize in Northwest China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 259(C).
    10. Shareef, Muhammad & Gui, Dongwei & Zeng, Fanjiang & Waqas, Muhammad & Zhang, Bo & Iqbal, Hassan, 2018. "Water productivity, growth, and physiological assessment of deficit irrigated cotton on hyperarid desert-oases in northwest China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 206(C), pages 1-10.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kang, Jian & Hao, Xinmei & Zhou, Huiping & Ding, Risheng, 2021. "An integrated strategy for improving water use efficiency by understanding physiological mechanisms of crops responding to water deficit: Present and prospect," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 255(C).
    2. Geerts, S. & Raes, D. & Garcia, M., 2010. "Using AquaCrop to derive deficit irrigation schedules," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 98(1), pages 213-216, December.
    3. Eric Njuki & Boris E. Bravo-Ureta, 2019. "Examining irrigation productivity in U.S. agriculture using a single-factor approach," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 51(2), pages 125-136, June.
    4. Li, Fusheng & Wei, Caihui & Zhang, Fucang & Zhang, Jianhua & Nong, Mengling & Kang, Shaozhong, 2010. "Water-use efficiency and physiological responses of maize under partial root-zone irrigation," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 97(8), pages 1156-1164, August.
    5. Ahmadi, Seyed Hamid & Agharezaee, Mohammad & Kamgar-Haghighi, Ali Akbar & Sepaskhah, Ali Reza, 2014. "Effects of dynamic and static deficit and partial root zone drying irrigation strategies on yield, tuber sizes distribution, and water productivity of two field grown potato cultivars," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 126-136.
    6. Li, Xiaolin & Tong, Ling & Niu, Jun & Kang, Shaozhong & Du, Taisheng & Li, Sien & Ding, Risheng, 2017. "Spatio-temporal distribution of irrigation water productivity and its driving factors for cereal crops in Hexi Corridor, Northwest China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 55-63.
    7. Kang, Shaozhong & Hao, Xinmei & Du, Taisheng & Tong, Ling & Su, Xiaoling & Lu, Hongna & Li, Xiaolin & Huo, Zailin & Li, Sien & Ding, Risheng, 2017. "Improving agricultural water productivity to ensure food security in China under changing environment: From research to practice," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 5-17.
    8. Karam, F. & Saliba, R. & Skaf, S. & Breidy, J. & Rouphael, Y. & Balendonck, J., 2011. "Yield and water use of eggplants (Solanum melongena L.) under full and deficit irrigation regimes," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 98(8), pages 1307-1316, May.
    9. Ahmadi, Seyed Hamid & Andersen, Mathias N. & Plauborg, Finn & Poulsen, Rolf T. & Jensen, Christian R. & Sepaskhah, Ali Reza & Hansen, Søren, 2010. "Effects of irrigation strategies and soils on field grown potatoes: Yield and water productivity," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 97(11), pages 1923-1930, November.
    10. Fernández, J.E. & Alcon, F. & Diaz-Espejo, A. & Hernandez-Santana, V. & Cuevas, M.V., 2020. "Water use indicators and economic analysis for on-farm irrigation decision: A case study of a super high density olive tree orchard," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 237(C).
    11. Peake, A.S. & Carberry, P.S. & Raine, S.R. & Gett, V. & Smith, R.J., 2016. "An alternative approach to whole-farm deficit irrigation analysis: Evaluating the risk-efficiency of wheat irrigation strategies in sub-tropical Australia," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 61-76.
    12. Slamini, Maryam & Sbaa, Mohamed & Arabi, Mourad & Darmous, Ahmed, 2022. "Review on Partial Root-zone Drying irrigation: Impact on crop yield, soil and water pollution," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 271(C).
    13. Parvizi, Hossein & Sepaskhah, Ali Reza & Ahmadi, Seyed Hamid, 2014. "Effect of drip irrigation and fertilizer regimes on fruit yields and water productivity of a pomegranate (Punica granatum (L.) cv. Rabab) orchard," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 45-56.
    14. Geerts, Sam & Raes, Dirk, 2009. "Deficit irrigation as an on-farm strategy to maximize crop water productivity in dry areas," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 96(9), pages 1275-1284, September.
    15. Pereira, Luis S. & Cordery, Ian & Iacovides, Iacovos, 2012. "Improved indicators of water use performance and productivity for sustainable water conservation and saving," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 39-51.
    16. Bluemling, Bettina & Yang, Hong & Pahl-Wostl, Claudia, 2007. "Making water productivity operational--A concept of agricultural water productivity exemplified at a wheat-maize cropping pattern in the North China plain," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 91(1-3), pages 11-23, July.
    17. Passioura, John, 2006. "Increasing crop productivity when water is scarce--from breeding to field management," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 80(1-3), pages 176-196, February.
    18. Pascual, Miquel & Villar, Josep M. & Rufat, Josep, 2016. "Water use efficiency in peach trees over a four-years experiment on the effects of irrigation and nitrogen application," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 164(P2), pages 253-266.
    19. Mohammad Alauddin & Upali A. Amarasinghe & Bharat R. Sharma, 2014. "Four decades of rice water productivity in Bangladesh: A spatio-temporal analysis of district level panel data," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(1), pages 51-64.
    20. Kumar, M. Dinesh & Singh, O.P. & Samad, Madar & Purohit, Chaitali & Didyala, Malkit Singh, 2009. "Water productivity of irrigated agriculture in India: potential areas for improvement," Book Chapters,, International Water Management Institute.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:97:y:2010:i:10:p:1527-1533. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/agwat .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.