This report analyses the adaptive capacity in agricultural water management, adaptation in agriculture to water variability and extreme events, (floods and droughts), mitigation, (water and energy) and uncertainty about further climate change.

This book examines the implications of the net zero transition for food and farming in the UK and how these can be managed to avoid catastrophic climate change in the crucial decades ahead. For the UK to meet its international obligations for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, nothing short of a revolution is required in our use of land, our farming practices and our diet. Taking a historical approach, the book examines the evolution of agriculture and the food system in the UK over the last century and discusses the implications of tackling climate change for food, farming and land use, setting the UK situation in an international context. The chapters analyse the key challenges for this transition, including dietary change and food waste, afforestation and energy crops, and low-emission farming practices. This historical perspective helps develop an understanding of how our food, farming and land use system has evolved to be the way that it is, and draws lessons for how the agri-food system could evolve further to support the transition to net zero and avoid catastrophic climate change. Written in a clear and accessible style, this book will be essential reading to students and scholars of food, agriculture and the environment, as well as policymakers and professionals involved climate change policy and the agriculture and food industry.

The book may have the potential to fill a gap for researchers who will work in this field and those who need information by considering agriculture and digital technologies together for the needs of the digital age we are in today. Agriculture is a necessary industry for survival - it has become necessary to use the opportunities offered by technology in agricultural production. The reader will be able to see what the latest technologies used as technology in agriculture are and what kind of work has been done. It addresses agricultural needs and the issues showing how various technologies work and their components. It features information that the user can apply in the field. Topics are presented in a simple manner and comprehensive. The author has through hundreds of books and articles - literature on this topic remains scattered. Although most of his publications on Researchgate are in Turkish, the number of reads has exceeded 55,000 - these publications are on subject matter that will appear in this book - there should be lots of interest from both farmers and technology developers. Multidisciplinary - agriculture, agricultural engineering, computer engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, software engineering

A comprehensive how-to manual of Polyface Farm's signature designs--with tips, tricks, and a half century of lessons learned through trial and error Have you wondered how to build the Polyface broiler shelter, or the dolly to move it, or an Eggmobile, Gobbledygo or Shademobile? For folks getting started, folks adding enterprises, or folks wanting a cheaper bootstrap way to build portable livestock infrastructure, Polyface Designs has all the diagrams and do-it-yourself building specifications. Joel Salatin wrote the text and Polyface former apprentice and engineer extraordinaire Chris Slattery did the drawings. Ultimately practical, the book includes how to build a corral, a home-made head gate and even how to select the right axle for your project. Square footage requirements for the deep bedding hay shed and area advice for pig pastures make this the definitive repository for a lifetime of Polyface experimentation. A massive volume, its 568 pages are in full color and beautiful enough to be a coffee table book even though you'll use it in your shop. Don't let the cover price scare you; one building tip can more than save the price of the book.

Fresh? Juice? Paste? Canned? Stewed? Diced? Pureed? Sun Dried? Salsa? Sauce? Ketchup? Rare is the cuisine that does not make use of the tomato in some way, shape, or form, and the resulting culinary popularity of the tomato has led to its proliferation in fields and farms around the world. While some may still argue whether the tomato is a fruit or a vegetable, few would argue that tomato crops are highly lucrative, attractive to farmers in both developing and developed countries and on large and small farms alike. In fact, for those crops with significant global volume and market share, tomatoes are the highest valued among those crops that lack an affiliation to mind-altering drugs. But, the tomato can be a persnickety critter. The tomato doesn't like it too hot, too chilly, too wet, too dry, or too fertile. Many don't ripen at the same time. Most are easily bruised. And, the selective breeding that has yielded a larger, more attractive, and deep red tomato has also mercilessly drained much of the taste and flavor from a once sweet and delectable fruit. Enter the world of sensors and modern sensing technology. The Internet of Things (IOT), when using well chosen, well networked, and well aggregated sensors, has shown tremendous potential to support precision agriculture, providing a more detailed picture of crops than was previously possible using conventional crop monitoring techniques. But, the stringent resources and tight profit margins that are a fact of life among many tomato growing operations, large and small, mean that sensor technologies must be chosen and used carefully. There is no doubt that each sensor must earn its keep in producing the perfect tomato. With that in mind, this book explores key opportunities to marry the potential of sensors that are networked within the IOT to the needs of tomato production in ways that are economically fruitful, technologically robust, and sustainable overall.

A Tradition in Transition presents an in-depth assessment of the century-old Wadi Laba indigenous spate irrigation system in Eritrea. This system has relied on earthern and brushwood structures and customary water rules to support subsistence livelihoods of the Wadi Laba communities for many years. The book presents original research, which analyzes the effectiveness of contemporary water laws and a new headwork in improving production and standard of living. It also compares the lack of success of these new approaches with traditional methods of water management.

Volume 3 takes the subject of better land husbandry further. The book first points out the sort of things which have been, and are being used, but are failing to deliver what is required. It then explains the causes of erosion, the theory and practice of soil and water conservation, and practical and lasting ways to construct terraces, including such details as how to build different kinds of terrace walls. Nothing grows from the top down, as also with soil improvement. It explains in detail the way of achieving practical and sustainable soil and water conservation, practical ways in which farmers can themselves make and use practical and lasting ways to construct terraces, including such details as how to build different kinds of terrace walls.

Egypt is a country of tremendous land resources but limited water resources The area of cultivated land is only 3.2% of the gross area. The river Nile is the main sources of water. In the recent years the Governement established large-scale agricultural projects in light of food security related to the population growth. Expansion of irrigated agriculture has to be predomantly relalized bt increasing the water use efficiency. In Egypt, the dominant irrigation method is surface irrigation, which covers approximately 83% of the irrigated areas. Surface irrigation or gravity methods are generally characterized by a low efficiency. One opportunity to increase the efficiency is to convert surface irrigation to modern irrigation systems, which are generaly highly expensive for a country like Egypt. Another option to increase the efficiency of surface irrigation systems is to convert the traditional irrigation method based on continuous flow to surge flow irrigation. Surge flow irrigation is the intermittent application of water to furrows in a series of relatively short on and off time periods. This study has been carried out to demonstrate the applicability of surge flow irrigation for water saving under the short field conditions that prevail in Egypt. The results indicate that surge flow irrigation is an effective irrigation method to save water and to increase crop production.

This book examines the changing roles and functions of the soybean throughout world history and discusses how this reflects the complex processes of agrofood globalization. The book uses a historical lens to analyse the processes and features that brought us to the current global configuration of soy. From its origins as a peasant food in ancient China, today the protein-rich soybean is by far the most cultivated biotech crop on Earth, used to make a huge variety of food and industrial products, including animal feed, tofu, cooking oil, soy sauce, biodiesel and soap. While there is a burgeoning amount of literature on how the contemporary global soy web affects large tracts of our planet’s social and ecological systems, little attention has been given to the questions of how we got here and what alternative roles the soybean has played in the past. This book fills this gap and demonstrates that it is impossible to properly comprehend the contemporary global soybean chain, or the wider agrofood system of which it is a part, without looking at both their long and short historical development. However, a history of the soybean and its changing roles within equally changing agrofood systems is inexorably a history about globalization. Not only does this book map out where soybeans are produced, but also who governs, wields power and accumulates capital in the entire commodity chain from production to consumption, as well as identifying the institutional context the global commodity chain operates within. The book concludes by considering the soybean’s future role in a desirable agrofood system which improves human health, culture and livelihoods, and the provision of ecosystem services. This book is essential reading for students and scholars interested in agriculture and food systems, global commodity chains, globalization, environmental history, economic history and social-ecological systems.

Contents:
Preface. Acknowledgement. Managing Water Quality. Application tf the Root Zone Water Quality Model for Environment-Water Management In Agricultural Systems - L. R. Ahuja, L Ma, J. D. Hanson and R. S Kanwar. Assessing Atrazine In Irrigated Soil Profiles - A. S. Azevedo, R. S. Kanwar and L. S. Pereira. Influence of Sub-Surface Drainage On Herbicide Management In Low-Land Areas - D. Cruiciani, G. C. Baptista, P. J. Christoffoleti and K. Minami. Effects Of The Traditional and No-Tillage Systems Upon Runoff and Herbicide Transport - F. J. B. Teixeira and G. Basch. First Results on Controlled Drainage to Reduce Nitrate Losses From Agricultural Sites - M. Borin, G. Bonaiti and L. Giardini. Nitrate Movement in Level Basins: Reduced Versus Conventional Soil Tillage - D. V. Santos, P. L. Sousa and L. S. Pereira. Impact of Agricultural Developments on Water Contamination and Environmental Sustainability - R. S. Kanwar. Effect of Irrigation with Saline Water on Soil and Crop in South-West Spain - M. M. Ridao, F. Moreno, F. Cabrera, J. E. Fernandez, M. J. Palomo and E. Fernandez-Boy. Soil Hydraulic Parameters For Environmental and Leaching Studies - M. C. Gonçalves, R. M. Fernando and L. S. Pereira. Reducing Acid Pollution From Reclaimed Acid Sulphate Soils: Experiences from the Mekong Delta, Vietnam - T. P. Tuong, L. Q. Minh, D. V. Ni and M. E. F. Van Mensvoort. Control Of Furrow Erosion and Infiltration on a Mediterranean Soil Using Polyacrylamide - F. L. Santos, R. P. Serralheiro, F. S. Melhorado and M. R. Oliveira. Assessment of Groundwater Vulnerability to Pollution Using the Drastic Method. Application to the Alqueva Area - J. P. Lobo-Ferreira and M. M. Oliveira. Managing the Effects Of Agricultural Practices on Groundwater Quality - M. C. Caputo, G. Passarella, M. Vurro and G. Giuliano. Managing Demand. Environmental Criteria in a Decision Support System for Surface Irrigation Design - J. M. Gonçalves, L. S. Pereira And P. L. Sousa. Surface Irrigation Efficiency in Cracking Soils as Influenced by Water Restrictions - A. Zairi, A. Slatni, J. C. Mailhol and H. Achour. Furrow Surge Irrigation as a Water Saving Technique - I. Varlev, Z. Popova and I. Gospodinov. Evaluation of Performance of Surface Irrigation Systems: Optimization of Infiltration and Roughness Parameters - M. J. Calejo, P. L. Sousa and L. S. Pereira. Real Time Management of Furrow Irrigation with a Cablegation System - S. Shahidian, R. P. Serralheiro and L. L. Silva. Predicting Runoff Under Sprinkler Irrigation Using Eurosem - B. Ghorbani. Performance Of Centre Pivot Systems In Field Practice - J. Montero, J. M. Tarjuelo, F. T. Honrubia, J. Ortiz, P. Carrión, J. A. De Juan And M. Calvo. Optimization Of Water Application For Sprinkler Irrigation - V. P. S. Paz, J. A. Frizzone, T. A. Botrel and M. V. Folegatti. New Non-Water Stressed Baselines for Irrigation Scheduling with Infrared Thermometers - I. Alves and L. S. Pereira. Crop Water Stress Index for Beans Obtained from Temperature Difference Between Canopy and Air - P. E. P. Albuquerque, R. L. Gomide and A. E. Klar. Real-Time Irrigation Scheduling Model for Cotton - Y. H. Li and B. Dong. Using Sap Flow Measurements to Quantify Water Consumption in the Olive Tree - M. J. Palomo, A. Díaz-Espejo, J. E. Fernández, I. F. Girón and F. Moreno. Water-Yield Function of Rice and Its Temporal and Spatial Variation - Z. Mao and Y. L. Cui. managing Supply in Irrigation Systems. Participatory Research on Technical Interventions to Improve Irrigation Performance: Informing Perceptions - B. A. Lankford and J. W. Gowing. Canal Inspectors Know-How in Water Management - R. Bustos, M. Marre, J. Chambouleyron and S. Salatino. Demand Management by Irrigation Delivery Scheduling - N. Hatcho. Performance Analysis of On-Demand Pressurized Irrigation Systems - N. Lamaddalena and L. S. Pereira. New Approaches To Design and Performance Analysis Of Low Pressure Distribution Systems - A. Douieb, R. Bounoua, L. S. Pereira, P. L. Sousa and N. Lamaddalena. Effective Monitoring Of Canal Irrigation With Minimum Or No Flow Measurement - B. A. Lankford. Canal Water Delivery System Automation. A Case Study - M. Rijov and V. Paulo. Waterproofing Mira, Campilhas, Senhora Do Porto Canals with Drained Geomembranes - J. L. Machado Do Vale, A. M. Scuero and G. L. Vaschetti. Minimum Level Of Water Demand For A Profitable Operation Of An Irrigation Scheme - I. Nicolaescu and E. Manole. Spatial Distribution Of Irrigation Water Requirements Using Geostatistical Analysis - V. Sousa and L. S. Pereira. Rice Production In Floodplains: Issues For Water Management In Bangladesh - J. J. F. Barr and J. W. Gowing. Users Governance Of Irrigation Water: On-Going Reforms and Potentials - Masahiro Nakashima. water Conservation and Hydrologic Behaviour. Reuse Of Return Flows And Local Runoff In Irrigation Systems - J. W. Gowing and P. S. Maheepala. Remote Sensing For Rainwater Harvesting In Mediterranean Agriculture - D. Prinz, T. Oweis and A. Oberle. A Model To Obtain The Hydrograph Of Surface Runoff In Terraced Areas - F. F. Pruski, J. M. A. Silva, L. N. Rodrigues And D. D. Silva. Dynamic Flood Control Along Arterial Drainage Networks, A Case Study - Y. Nedelec, D. Zimmer, C. Chaumont and M. D. Porcheron. River Meadow Programs -Planning In Partnership - H. Patt. Effects Of River Diking On The Water And Slat Regimes Of Flood Plain Soils - F. Statescu, A. Nicolau and V. Tobolcea. Influence Of Tillage System On Water Regime In Irrigated And Rainfed Sunflower Production - G. Basch, J. P. Mendes, M. J. G. P. R. Carvalho, F. Marques and M. J. Santos. Measurements Of Soil Hydraulic Properties In An Olive Orchard Under Drip Irrigation - F. Moreno, J. E. Fernandez, M. J. Palomo, I. F. Girón, J. M. Villau and A. Díaz-Espejo. Effect Of Mulching With Black Polyethylene Sheets On Sweet Pepper Evaporation Losses - G. Ghinassi And L. Neri. coping With Water Scarcity and Drought. Reduced Demand Irrigation Scheduling Under Constraint Of The Irrigation Method - R. M. Fernando, L. S. Pereira, Y. Liu, Y. N. Li And L. G. Cai. Water and Salt Management Strategies In The Aral Sea Basin - V. A. Dukhovny, And V. I. Sokolov. Drought Forecasting As An Aid To Irrigation Water Management - I. Pálfai, G. Y. Szilárd and L. M. Tóth. Characterizing Agricultural Droughts In Eastern Romania - C. Cismaru, I. Bartha, I. Cojocaru, N. Marcoie and V. Gabor. Modeling The Occurrence Of Dry Spells and Their Impact On Crop Yield - S. A. V. Sousa and J. A. Frizzone. Reconnaissance Optimal Sustainable Groundwater Pumping Strategies For The Lower Ghaggar Basin - A. Kumar, R. Shyam, N. K. Tyagi and R. C. Peralta. Irrigation, Sustainable Development and Law - M. Mathus Escorihuela. Comprehensive Criteria For Water Ecosystems Sustainability Assessment - V. I. Sokolov and V. A. Nikolayenko. Subject Index.

Written for a one-semester course in hydraulics, this concise textbook is rooted in the fundamental principles of fluid mechanics and aims to promote sound hydraulic engineering practice. Basic methods are presented to underline the theory and engineering applications, and examples and problems build in complexity as students work their way through the textbook. Abundant worked examples and calculations, real-world case studies, and revision exercises, as well as precisely crafted end-of-chapter exercises ensure students learn exactly what they need in order to consolidate their knowledge and progress in their career. Students learn to solve pipe networks, optimize pumping systems, design pumps and turbines, solve differential equations for gradually-varied flow and unsteady flow, and gain knowledge of hydraulic structures like spillways, gates, valves, and culverts. An essential textbook for intermediate to advanced undergraduate and graduate students in civil and environmental engineering.

Water for the People features twenty-five essays by world-renowned acequia scholars and community members that highlight acequia culture, use, and history in New Mexico, northern Mexico, Chile, Peru, Argentina, Spain, the Middle East, Nepal, and the Philippines, situating New Mexico's acequia heritage and its inherent sustainable design within a global framework. The lush landscapes of the upper Rio Grande watershed created by acequias dating from as far back as the late sixteenth century continue to irrigate their communities today despite threats of prolonged drought, urbanization, private water markets, extreme water scarcity, and climate change. Water for the People celebrates acequia practices and traditions worldwide and shows how these ancient irrigation systems continue to provide arid regions with a model for water governance, sustainable food systems, and community traditions that reaffirm a deep cultural and spiritual relationship with the land year after year.

This textbook provides a comprehensive treatment of irrigation engineering for advanced undergraduates and graduate students. It does not require a background in calculus, hydrology, or hydraulics, offering a one-stop overview of the entire field of study. It includes everything a student of irrigation engineering needs to know: concepts of climate, soils, crops, water quality, hydrology, and hydraulics, as well as their application to design and environmental management. To demonstrate the practical applications of the theories discussed, there are over 300 worked examples and end-of chapter exercises. The exercises allow readers to solve real-world problems and apply the information they've learned to a diverse range of scenarios. To further prepare students for their future careers, each chapter includes many illustrative diagrams and tables containing data to help design irrigation systems. For instructors' use when planning and teaching, a solutions manual can be found online alongside a suite of PowerPoint lecture slides.

presents evidence-based research on climate-neutral and resilient farming systems brings together international collaborative research on climate-neutral and resilient farming systems compiled by leading scientists and experts from Europe, Asia and Africa. present evidence-based research and innovative solutions that can be applied or upscaled in different farming systems and regions across the world. The book will be of great interest to students and academics of sustainable agriculture, food security, climate mitigation and sustainable development, in addition to policymakers and practitioners working in these areas.

- the first collection to reflect and compile the currently dispersed histories, concepts and practices involved in the increasingly popular field of urban food governance - contains chapters written by emerging and established scholars, as well as practitioners, the handbook provides a global, diverse and state of the art, examination the role of cities in delivering sustainability and food security outcomes - provides theoretical and practical tools to understand and transform urban food governance to enact more sustainable and just futures - will be essential reading for students, scholars, practitioners and policymakers interested in food governance, urban studies and sustainable development more broadly

This book examines the implications of the net zero transition for food and farming in the UK and how these can be managed to avoid catastrophic climate change in the crucial decades ahead. For the UK to meet its international obligations for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, nothing short of a revolution is required in our use of land, our farming practices and our diet. Taking a historical approach, the book examines the evolution of agriculture and the food system in the UK over the last century and discusses the implications of tackling climate change for food, farming and land use, setting the UK situation in an international context. The chapters analyse the key challenges for this transition, including dietary change and food waste, afforestation and energy crops, and low-emission farming practices. This historical perspective helps develop an understanding of how our food, farming and land use system has evolved to be the way that it is, and draws lessons for how the agri-food system could evolve further to support the transition to net zero and avoid catastrophic climate change. Written in a clear and accessible style, this book will be essential reading to students and scholars of food, agriculture and the environment, as well as policymakers and professionals involved climate change policy and the agriculture and food industry.

discusses the complexity of a number of topical debates about current land and wildlife management at a range of spatial scales. explores the underlying historical context. demonstrates how the findings from this project relate to agricultural and conservation policy more broadly as well as how they are applicable to similar projects throughout Europe.

Sustainable Water Resource Development and Management is a comprehensive volume on this important topic. It broadly covers the sources, availability, demand, and supply of water and its uses in irrigation and crop production in agriculture. It then delves into many specific aspects of water resource development and management, including Irrigation creation and utilization Water storage efficiency, conveyance efficiency, distribution efficiency, and application efficiency The role of water in plant systems and soil-water-plant relationships Estimating the water need for irrigation along with management strategies Water quality in agriculture as well as the impact of water quality on human health Water pricing Wetland management and water productivity Water pollution in agriculture and water contamination in urban and rural areas Examples and case studies are included to illustrate and reinforce the text, such as reviews of river linking projects, adopted water management technologies for agricultural farms, important irrigation projects (both minor and major), and more.Written by two eminent researchers and scientists in agricultural water management, this informative volume is designed for students of agriculture, researchers, policymakers, and teachers engaged in the field of water management.

The book may have the potential to fill a gap for researchers who will work in this field and those who need information by considering agriculture and digital technologies together for the needs of the digital age we are in today. Agriculture is a necessary industry for survival - it has become necessary to use the opportunities offered by technology in agricultural production. The reader will be able to see what the latest technologies used as technology in agriculture are and what kind of work has been done. It addresses agricultural needs and the issues showing how various technologies work and their components. It features information that the user can apply in the field. Topics are presented in a simple manner and comprehensive. The author has through hundreds of books and articles - literature on this topic remains scattered. Although most of his publications on Researchgate are in Turkish, the number of reads has exceeded 55,000 - these publications are on subject matter that will appear in this book - there should be lots of interest from both farmers and technology developers. Multidisciplinary - agriculture, agricultural engineering, computer engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, software engineering

In many ways this book tells a familiar story in British industry: of innovation and enterprise in the early decades ...of worldwide dominance at a time when Britain was the workshop of the world ...of wars and economic downturns ...of foreign competition ...and of relative and absolute decline on the path of - de-industrialisation in the latter part of the twentieth century. For most of this period the farm machine industry grew and matured. It is an inspiring story of technological achievement and of industrial success, as farmers and engineers brought iron and steel to fields which had - previously been the domain of locally made timber implements and power provided by horses.Agricultural technology moved on, inexorably, from broad-cast seed and the sound of the threshing flail, via the portable steam engine and the threshing machine, right through to the modern world of giant tractors - each with the power of 200 horses - combine harvesters and - impressively efficient farming methods.This book traces the broad sweep of the whole industry over 200 years, looking at many individual companies and products to explain how and why the farm machinery industry developed in the way it did. Important individual machines are described and illustrated in detail. The British farm machine industry is unlikely ever again to be large by world standards, nor to dominate the world stage as once it did. Yet the author traces a rich vein of innovation, enterprise and technological inspiration, often taking place within the large number of relatively small-scale, craft-based workshops which were so prevalent in the early decades. Rather than mere manufacturing, therefore, perhaps it is this tradition of technical innovation and invention which marked out the British farm machinery industry for historical greatness, and perhaps it is this tradition which will continue to mark it out in the future.

The global expansion of irrigated lands during the 20th century and beyond continues to contribute to food production, but also degrades the environment significantly. The consequent search for policy remedies has stimulated a vital body of economic research. The issues addressed in this comprehensive collection of previously published articles include the effects of existing government intervention on the environmental impacts of agriculture, the economic costs and benefits of environmental regulations for agriculture, and the economic and environmental merits of alternative mechanisms for water allocation and water quality protection. In this volume the editors present a sampling of economic research on the interface of irrigated agriculture with the environment. The articles included are by leading researchers in this field and span the topics of nonpoint pollution control, salinity management, and the allocation of water.

Humans generate millions of tons of waste every day. This waste is rich in water, nutrients, energy and organic compounds. Yet waste is not being managed in a way that permits us to derive value from its reuse, whilst millions of farmers struggle with depleted soils and lack of water. This book shows how Resource Recovery and Reuse (RRR) could create livelihoods, enhance food security, support green economies, reduce waste and contribute to cost recovery in the sanitation chain. While many RRR projects fully depend on subsidies and hardly survive their pilot phase, hopeful signs of viable approaches to RRR are emerging around the globe including low- and middle-income countries. These enterprises or projects are tapping into entrepreneurial initiatives and public private partnerships, leveraging private capital to help realize commercial or social value, shifting the focus from treatment for waste disposal to treatment of waste as a valuable resource for safe reuse. The book provides a compendium of business options for energy, nutrients and water recovery via 24 innovative business models based on an in-depth analysis of over 60 empirical cases, of which 47 from around the world are described and evaluated in a systematic way. The focus is on organic municipal, agro-industrial and food waste, including fecal sludge, supporting a diverse range of business models with potential for large-scale out-and up-scaling.

This book focuses on best management practices for drip irrigated crops. It cover irrigation methods, scheduling of micro irrigation, and mulching and crop performance. Micro irrigation techniques with diverse crops are discussed, including sweet pepper, chili, tomatoes, cauliflower, wheat, sweet peas, sugarcane, and potatoes. The performance of the various techniques has been tested and evaluated in the field. Written by experts on micro irrigation, this valuable book is a must-have for micro irrigation professionals as well as advanced students.

The reuse of wastewater in irrigation is being practiced only recently to solve water scarcity problems in agriculture. Management of water, soil, crop, and operational procedures, including precautions to protect farm workers, play an important role in the successful use of sewage effluent for irrigation. Appropriate water management practices must be followed to prevent salinization. If salt is not flushed out of the root zone by leaching and removed from the soil by effective drainage, salinity problems can build up rapidly. Leaching and drainage are, thus, two important water management practices to avoid salinization of soils. One of the options that may be available to farmers is the blending of treated sewage with conventional sources of water to obtain a blended water of acceptable salinity level. This important book focuses on the use of wastewater as a valuable resource for agricultural micro irrigation purposes. It covers effective wastewater management practices in a variety of climates, including semi-arid regions and others; how to perform effective evaluations to gauge the quality of the water on plants, including potatoes, maize, and eggplant; and the cost-benefit of using wastewater. It addresses the sources of wastewater for irrigation and the problems along with challenges, including water quality, clogging, soil quality, and more. The mission of this compendium is to serve as a reference manual for professionals in biological and civil engineering, horticulture, soil and crop science, and agronomy, as well as for graduate and undergraduate students in related fields. It will be a valuable reference for professionals who work with micro irrigation/wastewater and water management, for technical agricultural centers, irrigation centers, agricultural extension services, and other agencies that work with micro irrigation programs.

Biochar is the carbon-rich product which occurs when biomass (such as wood, manure or crop residues) is heated in a closed container with little or no available air. It can be used to improve agriculture and the environment in several ways, and its persistence in soil and nutrient-retention properties make it an ideal soil amendment to increase crop yields. In addition to this, biochar sequestration, in combination with sustainable biomass production, can be carbon-negative and therefore used to actively remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, with potentially major implications for mitigation of climate change. Biochar production can also be combined with bioenergy production through the use of the gases that are given off in the pyrolysis process. The first edition of this book, published in 2009, was the definitive work reviewing the expanding research literature on this topic. Since then, the rate of research activity has increased at least ten-fold, and biochar products are now commercially available as soil amendments. This second edition includes not only substantially updated chapters, but also additional chapters: on environmental risk assessment; on new uses of biochar in composting and potting mixes; a new and controversial field of studying the effects of biochar on soil carbon cycles; on traditional use with very recent discoveries that biochar was used not only in the Amazon but also in Africa and Asia; on changes in water availability and soil water dynamics; and on sustainability and certification. The book therefore continues to represent the most comprehensive compilation of current knowledge on all aspects of biochar.