Irrigated agriculture remains to be the main option to boost the economy in Sudan in general. It can rise the living standard of the majority of the population; particularly those who are attached to farming and livestock. With the expected increase in population in the next decades, water management of large irrigation systems will become a key issue to increase productivity and assure future food security. Sediment transport in irrigation canals makes water management very complicated. This study focuses on water management in Gezira Scheme, Sudan. This scheme is irrigated from the Blue Nile River, which is characterized by a high sediment concentration. The aim of the study was to reduce the impact of fine sediment deposition in irrigation canals by improving the operation and maintenance procedures. A numerical model has been developed to simulate the cohesive sediment transport in irrigation canals. This model is a useful tool for the operators and decision makers to assess different options of operation in terms of sediment transport. This study found that sediment deposition in the canals can be minimized if the operation based on crop water requirement is adjusted at a certain period during the flood season.

This title, originally published in 1982, examines the importance of western irrigation to U.S. agriculture and the impacts of the changing water supply situation on the development of western irrigation. Past trends, water supply conditions, water institutions, economic forces, technological alternatives, and environmental factors are examined for their impacts on the course of western irrigation. Water for Western Agriculture will be of particular interest for students studying environmental issues.

This important volume, the ninth in the Research Advances in Sustainable Micro Irrigation book series, provides an invaluable addition to the literature and knowledge on the ever-growing need for sustainable irrigation for agricultural crops in many water-scarce parts of the world. The book specifically covers advances in fertigation for water management in general as well as for specific crops, such as peaches, maize, and citrus crops. Specific topics include: * The design of various surface and subsurface water emitters * Using information from weather stations for irrigation purposes * Ultra low drip irrigation technology * The management of weeds in crops using micro irrigation * New technology and advances in fertigation With chapters from researchers and practitioners in agricultural engineering, water research and technology, soil conservation, and other fields, this compendium provides a wealth of useful information that can be put into practice to enhance crop production.

This collection features six peer-reviewed reviews on advances and in detecting and forecasting crop pests and diseases. The first chapter introduces the concept of machine learning to identify and diagnose crop diseases, focussing on the deep learning concept. The second chapter discusses recent advances in crop disease forecasting models, focussing on the application of precision agriculture technologies and Earth observation satellites to identify areas at risk of possible disease outbreaks. The third chapter explores the contribution of remote sensing in improving the ways in which plant health is monitored in response to exposure to biotic stresses, such as disease. The fourth chapter reviews how sensor technologies in combination with informatics and modern application technologies can contribute to more effective pest control. The fifth chapter assesses the role of decision support systems for pest monitoring and management through information technology, such as spectral indices and image-based diagnostics. The final chapter addresses key issues and challenges in pest monitoring and forecasting models, such as the limitation of some traps in attracting insects through the use of sex pheromones.

Sub-Saharan Africa has an irrigation potential of about 42 million hectares of which only 17% is developed. Despite several investments in irrigation the growth is slow. This study aims at helping to achieve sustainable irrigation in sub-Saharan Africa, through gaining a better understanding of productive irrigation water use and effective management of irrigation development. The study is conducted in the White Volta sub-basin specifically in Northern Ghana and Southern Burkina Faso which have been experiencing rapid irrigation development since the mid 1990s. The study identified growing markets for irrigated products as an important driving force behind the expansion of irrigation which has given rise to new technologies. The new technologies have spread because they gave farmers direct control over water sources. These new technologies allow relatively small farm sizes which can be adequately managed by the surveyed farmers. As a result high productivities are achieved. The hydrological impact of upscaling irrigation in the sub-basin is sustainable and will maximize the overall benefits derived from water resources in the Volta Basin.

In 1947, British India-the part of South Asia that is today's India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh-emerged from the colonial era with the world's largest centrally managed canal irrigation infrastructure. However, as vividly illustrated by Tushaar Shah, the orderly irrigation economy that saved millions of rural poor from droughts and famines is now a vast atomistic system of widely dispersed tube-wells that are drawing groundwater without permits or hindrances. Taming the Anarchy is about the development of this chaos and the prospects to bring it under control. It is about both the massive benefit that the irrigation economy has created and the ill-fare it threatens through depleted aquifers and pollution. Tushaar Shah brings exceptional insight into a socio-ecological phenomenon that has befuddled scientists and policymakers alike. In systematic fashion, he investigates the forces behind the transformation of South Asian irrigation and considers its social, economic, and ecological impacts. He considers what is unique to South Asia and what is in common with other developing regions. He argues that, without effective governance, the resulting groundwater stress threatens the sustenance of the agrarian system and therefore the well being of the nearly one and a half billion people who live in South Asia. Yet, finding solutions is a formidable challenge. The way forward in the short run, Shah suggests, lies in indirect, adaptive strategies that change the conduct of water users. From antiquity until the 1960's, agricultural water management in South Asia was predominantly the affair of village communities and/or the state. Today, the region depends on irrigation from some 25 million individually owned groundwater wells. Tushaar Shah provides a fascinating economic, political, and cultural history of the development and use of technology that is also a history of a society in transition. His book provides powerful ideas and lessons for researchers, historians, and policymakers interested in South Asia, as well as readers who are interested in the water and agricultural futures of other developing countries and regions, including China and Africa.

This book offers a positive response to the challenge to both conserve and improve the soil and water situation particularly on sloping lands. It explains how even apparently useless land can be brought into production using locally available resources.

This collection features four peer-reviewed literature reviews on soil erosion in agriculture. The first chapter identifies different types of soil degradation, focussing primarily on soil erosion by water. The chapter explores the impact of soil erosion processes on soil properties that relate directly to crop growth, including soil depth, water-holding capacity, carbon content and nutrient reserves. The second chapter reviews advances in techniques used to assess and measure soil erodibility by water, such as computer aided tomography. The chapter considers the role of static and dynamic soil properties in the erosion process, as well as the challenges that have developed as a result of climate change. The third chapter assesses the impact of heavy metal contamination on soil and its consequent role in the degradation of soil health. The chapter describes the sources, impacts, indicators and remediation of heavy metal contamination, as well as the development of improved soil management practices, including effective pollution control strategies. The final chapter discusses the implementation of integrated strategies under Conservation Agriculture (CA) farming systems to restore soil productivity in degraded agricultural lands in tropical and subtropical regions in Brazil. The chapter additionally considers the adoption of CA as a tool to prevent and reverse instances of soil degradation.

This work presents models that characterize the relationships between quantity and quality of irrigation water application, and agricultural production and the environment. A comprehensive modeling approach addressing both the benefits of irrigation and the potential negative effects is introduced. Physical-biological concepts are combined with economic and engineering principles to demonstrate the usefulness of the model for analyzing various water management and policy issues. Decision makers on all levels should find the modeling approach interesting and useful in the management issues from the farm to national levels.

This collection features six peer-reviewed reviews on the economics of key agricultural practices. The first chapter assesses the economic impact of horticultural crops and integrated pest management programmes. The chapter highlights the importance of considering agricultural system design and the utilisation of novel control tactics. The second chapter considers the economic consequences of novel integrated weed management (IWM) strategies, as well as the different approaches used to assess the economics of IWM strategies. The third chapter reviews developments in methods to assess the economic value of agricultural biodiversity. The chapter also outlines the limitations of these methods and proposes a possible, novel way forward. The fourth chapter provides an overview of the economic barriers faced by smallholder farmers, including land, labour, capital and inputs, and their impact on farm profitability. The fifth chapter reviews the economics of soil health, focussing on the adoption of soil health management practices by farmers and the effectiveness of incentives. The final chapter examines the use of economic research as a tool to determine the profitability and adoption potential for a number of precision agriculture technologies.

This new volume addresses the global water crisis by presenting new ways to use irrigation water judiciously through innovative fertigation management. It looks at the research and review work done throughout the world on micro irrigation and the techno-economic feasibility of various fertigation irrigation water management systems. Taking a multidisciplinary perspective, the chapters look at using fertigation to increase the effectiveness of irrigation systems crop performance evaluation of various crops under fertigation and irrigation methods estimating levels of crop requirements scheduling of fertigation and irrigation new fertigation equipment and technology cost components of the various irrigation and fertigation systems

Effective irrigation and drainage systems are essential if growing demands for water resources are to be met. For the use of water for irrigation to be improved we must understand current levels of performance. This book draws together the growing body of knowledge on irrigation and drainage performance assessment that has been gained over the last twenty years. It provides guidelines for practitioners to enable them to design and carry out performance assessment and implement performance-based management. Developed by a working group of the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID) it provides a generic framework for performance assessment with guidance on the theory and practice of how to audit and assess the performance of irrigation and drainage schemes.

This collection features four peer-reviewed literature reviews on biodiversity management practices in agriculture. The first chapter reviews biodiversity management practices and benefits in Conservation Agriculture (CA) systems. After looking at the importance of soil microorganisms, the chapter looks at how CA systems contribute to soil biological activity, particularly the way cover crops and rotations, with a no-till regime, can enrich soil and the multitude or organisms living in it. The second chapter synthesizes and reviews the published information on grass hedges and their soil benefits, to better understand the potential of grass hedges for managing water erosion as well as improving soil health in agricultural lands. The third chapter reviews research on ways of modifying the agricultural landscape to reverse the decline in a range of fauna and flora. The chapter also reviews the characteristics and types of field margins, as well as their role in agroecosystems. The chapter concludes with a discussion on managing field margins to promote insect biodiversity and rare arable plant populations. The final chapter considers the impact of agricultural intensification on agricultural landscapes, farming systems and biodiversity. The chapter highlights how hedgerows can contribute to the multifunctionality of agroecosystems in intensively-managed agricultural landscapes, focussing on improved pest regulation and enhanced pollination services.

This book introduces state-of-the-art approaches, methods and research, focusing on smart management of rainwater. In addition, it provides an overview of projects from across the world, illustrating how rainwater-smart management has been implemented in drylands. Focusing on the scientific perspective it demonstrates how rural dryland agriculture can be improved. It also documents the wealth of rainwater-smart know-how available today, and replicates and transfers results to other countries and regions, to encourage cross-sector interactions among various stakeholders, such as practitioners from governmental and public organisations, policy- and decision-makers, and teaching staff from academic scientific institutions. The contributors showcase vital lessons learned from research, field projects and best-practice examples. They address the integrated use of rainwater harvesting management with landscape restoration practices and water-, and climate-smart agriculture for food security and poverty alleviation in arid and semi-arid areas. Original research, combined with the contributors' synthetic approach, lays a foundation for new concepts and ideas. Through case studies and research reports, the book discusses all the relevant issues necessary for the comprehensive analysis and successful implementation of the technologies in rainwater management. Highlighting the working principles and technical recommendations with regard to cost-efficient rainwater-smart solutions, it is of interest to practitioners. It is also a valuable resource for academic specialists, professionals and students, since many development agencies are funding rainwater harvesting for irrigation purposes.

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.

Initially associated with hi-tech irrigated agriculture, drip irrigation is now being used by a much wider range of farmers in emerging and developing countries. This book documents the enthusiasm, spread and use of drip irrigation systems by smallholders but also some disappointments and disillusion faced in the global South. It explores and explains under which conditions it works, for whom and with what effects. The book deals with drip irrigation 'behind the scenes', showcasing what largely remain 'untold stories'. Most research on drip irrigation use plot-level studies to demonstrate the technology's ability to save water or improve efficiencies and use a narrow and rather prescriptive engineering or economic language. They tend to be grounded in a firm belief in the technology and focus on the identification of ways to improve or better realize its potential. The technology also figures prominently in poverty alleviation or agricultural modernization narratives, figuring as a tool to help smallholders become more innovative, entrepreneurial and business minded. Instead of focusing on its potential, this book looks at drip irrigation-in-use, making sense of what it does from the perspectives of the farmers who use it, and of the development workers and agencies, policymakers, private companies, local craftsmen, engineers, extension agents or researchers who engage with it for a diversity of reasons and to realize a multiplicity of objectives. While anchored in a sound engineering understanding of the design and operating principles of the technology, the book extends the analysis beyond engineering and hydraulics to understand drip irrigation as a sociotechnical phenomenon that not only changes the way water is supplied to crops but also transforms agricultural farming systems and even how society is organized. The book provides field evidence from a diversity of interdisciplinary case studies in sub-Saharan Africa, the Mediterranean, Latin America, and South Asia, thus revealing some of the untold stories of drip irrigation.

This book develops and presents a conceptual model for sustainable-groundwater irrigated agriculture. The model is based on the general principles of the economic theories of cost-benefit relations and behavioral models of resource use. The study has evaluated the advances in tubewell farming and the aquifer potential in arid Balochistan over a period of three decades. It has analyzed the booms and busts of the farming over time taking into consideration the local aquifer limitations and the socio-political considerations and policy framework. Three data sets - farmers, expert officials and satellite images - have been used to aid validation. By observing the most vital parameters, the study has concluded that the local aquifer has been falling at a rate directly proportional to the growth rate of irrigated farming, suggesting the current development process is unsustainable. For instance, the research finds that tubewell bores have reached down to depths where the term "aquifer mining" applies; as a result, irrigation costs have become too high to allow farming to be economically viable. In addition, desertification is steadily encroaching and the cropping pattern being changed from high-value horticulture to subsistence cropping. The study has also set parameters for assessing the willingness of farmers to accept modern, sustainable strategies and interventions.

The comprehensive and compact presentation in this book is the perfect format for a resource/textbook for undergraduate students in the areas of Agricultural Engineering, Biological Systems Engineering, Bio-Science Engineering, Water Resource Engineering, and Civil & Environmental Engineering. This book will also serve as a reference manual for researchers and extension workers in such diverse fields as agricultural engineering, agronomy, ecology, hydrology, and meteorology.