First title in a major new seriesAddresses improving water productivity to relieve problems of scarcity and competition to provide for food and environmental securityDraws from scientists having a multitude of disciplines to approach this important problemIn a large number of developing countries, policy makers and researchers are increasingly aware of the conflicting demands on water, and look at agriculture to be more effective in its use of water. Focusing on both irrigated and rain-fed agriculture, this book gives a state of the art review of the limits and opportunities for improving water productivity in crop production. It demonstrates how efficiency of water use can be enhanced to maximize yields. The book represents the first in a new series of volumes resulting from the Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture, a research program conducted by the CGIAR's Future Harvest Centres, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and partners worldwide. It will be of significant interest to those working in areas of soil and crop science, water management, irrigation, and development studies.

For nearly a century, scientific advances have fueled progress in U.S. agriculture to enable American producers to deliver safe and abundant food domestically and provide a trade surplus in bulk and high-value agricultural commodities and foods. Today, the U.S. food and agricultural enterprise faces formidable challenges that will test its long-term sustainability, competitiveness, and resilience. On its current path, future productivity in the U.S. agricultural system is likely to come with trade-offs. The success of agriculture is tied to natural systems, and these systems are showing signs of stress, even more so with the change in climate. More than a third of the food produced is unconsumed, an unacceptable loss of food and nutrients at a time of heightened global food demand. Increased food animal production to meet greater demand will generate more greenhouse gas emissions and excess animal waste. The U.S. food supply is generally secure, but is not immune to the costly and deadly shocks of continuing outbreaks of food-borne illness or to the constant threat of pests and pathogens to crops, livestock, and poultry. U.S. farmers and producers are at the front lines and will need more tools to manage the pressures they face. Science Breakthroughs to Advance Food and Agricultural Research by 2030 identifies innovative, emerging scientific advances for making the U.S. food and agricultural system more efficient, resilient, and sustainable. This report explores the availability of relatively new scientific developments across all disciplines that could accelerate progress toward these goals. It identifies the most promising scientific breakthroughs that could have the greatest positive impact on food and agriculture, and that are possible to achieve in the next decade (by 2030).

Make the best use of available water for your crops! Water Use in Crop Production explores innovative methods that determine how much water certain crops need, in certain climates, in order to ensure adequate plant growth and help eliminate water waste. Through this informative book, agronomists, growers, researchers, and graduate students will find methods and techniques for effective water management that will save money and conserve water. Water Use in Crop Production will enable you enhance crop quality and quantity and save one of the earth's most important resource. Comprehensive and thorough, this essential book combines two vital needs, food and water, and examines what must be done in order to keep up with the ever-growing human population. Explaining conservation techniques used in Argentina, Australia, Israel, Morocco, New Zealand, the Philippines, Spain, and the United States, Water Use in Crop Production will help you achieve this goal as it discusses water management measures including: avoiding excessive deep percolation reducing runoff lessening water evaporation through methods such as reducing the capillary water flow to the surface of the soil determining the rates at which water is demanded and can be supplied in a specific area to create a plan for limiting water loss studying the root structure of plants to calculate how much water they need using deficit irrigation to help plants save water for future use evaluating citrus water use through the Penman-Monteith model Containing charts, tables, and examples of the concepts it discusses, this book is the culmination of the latest studies on water storage. Water Use in Crop Production provides you with reliable strategies and methods that will help you lessen water expenditures and improve the vitality of crops anywhere in the world.

In December 2002, a group of specialists on water resources from the United States and Iran met in Tunis, Tunisia, for an interacademy workshop on water resources management, conservation, and recycling. This was the fourth interacademy workshop on a variety of topics held in 2002, the first year of such workshops. Tunis was selected as the location for the workshop because the Tunisian experience in addressing water conservation issues was of interest to the participants from both the United States and Iran. This report includes the agenda for the workshop, all of the papers that were presented, and the list of site visits.

In the context of improving water productivity, there is a growing interest in deficit irrigation, an irrigation practice whereby water supply is reduced below maximum levels and mild stress is allowed with minimal effects on yield. Under conditions of scarce water supply and drought, deficit irrigation can lead to greater economic gains than maximizing yields per unit of water for a given crop; farmers are more inclined to use water more efficiently, and more water-efficient cash crop selection helps optimize returns. However, this approach requires precise knowledge of crop response to water as drought tolerance varies considerably by species, cultivar and stage of growth. The studies present the latest research concepts and involve various practices for deficit irrigation. Both annual and perennial crops were exposed to different levels of water stress, either during a particular growth phase, throughout the whole growing season or in a combination of growth stages. The overall finding, based on the synthesis of the different contributions, is that deficit or regulated-deficit irrigation can be beneficial where appropriately applied. Substantial savings of water can be achieved with little impact on the quality and quantity of the harvested yield. However, to be successful, an intimate knowledge of crop behavior is required, as crop response to water stress varies considerably.