4d.Progress report.
This joint project between the Pakistan Council for Research in Water Resource (PCRWR) and ARS, funded through an interagency agreement with the US State Department sought to provide an integrated, holistic approach to soil and water resource management by improving the efficiency of existing water supplies (i.e., improved irrigation management), creating an opportunity to reuse drainage water or use lesser quality water on economically valuable crops and/or forages (i.e., salinity and trace element management), and giving users a tool to make informed decisions and risk assessment of changes in their water practices (i.e., SWAT).

In FY 2006, Pakistani scientists traveled to ARS locations to examine the following objectives and learn more about ARS activities in these areas:

1. To develop databases for application of regional scale water models for assessing the impact of management practices for surface and ground water quality and quantity. Natural Resources Systems Research , Temple TX

2. Evaluate the potential use of plant materials for reducing erosion and sediment transport from watersheds. Hydrology and Remote Sensing lab, Beltsville, MD National Soil Tilth lab, Ames, IA National Sedimentation lab, Oxford, MS

3. To increase on-farm irrigation efficiencies through improved technology and crop and water management strategies. San Joaquin Valley Agricultural Sciences Center: Water Management Research, Parlier, CA Northwest Irrigation and Soils Research Laboratory (NWISRL), Kimberly, ID

4. To increase farm productivity using saline water through appropriate crop selection and saline water management. U.S. Salinity Laboratory: Plant Sciences Research, Riverside, CA

5. To continue water quality monitoring with improved analytical capability to analyze agricultural chemical residues. U.S. Salinity Laboratory: Plant Sciences Research, Riverside, CA Environmental Quality Laboratory, Beltsville MD

PCRWR researchers reported their findings back to the Pakistani Ministry of Science and Technology for discussion on future project areas. The initial technology transfer stage of the project is complete, but PCRWR, ARS, and Texas A&M scientists have developed a proposal to tailor the SWAT and ADAPT models to Pakistani conditions, seeking funds for a new 3 year project.