| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
|
|
|
|||||||
|
|||||||||
USDA-ARS, Natl. Soil Tilth Lab., 2150 Pammel Dr., Ames, Iowa 50011
Corresponding author (hatfield{at}nstl.gov)
Water use efficiency (WUE) represents a given level of biomass or grain yield per unit of water used by the crop. With increasing concern about the availability of water resources in both irrigated and rainfed agriculture, there is renewed interest in trying to develop an understanding of how WUE can be improved and how farming systems can be modified to be more efficient in water use. This review and synthesis of the literature is directed toward understanding the role of soil management practices for WUE. Soil management practices affect the processes of evapotranspiration by modifying the available energy, the available water in the soil profile, or the exchange rate between the soil and the atmosphere. Plant management practices, e.g., the addition of N and P, have an indirect effect on water use through the physiological efficiency of the plant. A survey of the literature reveals a large variation in measured WUE across a range of climates, crops, and soil management practices. It is possible to increase WUE by 25 to 40% through soil management practices that involve tillage. Overall, precipitation use efficiency can be enhanced through adoption of more intensive cropping systems in semiarid environments and increased plant populations in more temperate and humid environments. Modifying nutrient management practices can increase WUE by 15 to 25%. Water use efficiency can be increased through proper management, and field-scale experiences show that these changes positively affect crop yield.
Abbreviations: WUE, water use efficiency
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  S. Machado, S. Petrie, K. Rhinhart, and R. E. Ramig Tillage Effects on Water Use and Grain Yield of Winter Wheat and Green Pea in Rotation Agron. J., January 11, 2008; 100(1): 154 - 162. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
R. J. Lopez-Bellido, L. Lopez-Bellido, J. Benitez-Vega, and F. J. Lopez-Bellido Tillage System, Preceding Crop, and Nitrogen Fertilizer in Wheat Crop: I. Soil Water Content Agron. J., January 1, 2007; 99(1): 59 - 65. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
R. J. Lopez-Bellido, L. Lopez-Bellido, J. Benitez-Vega, and F. J. Lopez-Bellido Tillage System, Preceding Crop, and Nitrogen Fertilizer in Wheat Crop: II. Water Utilization Agron. J., January 1, 2007; 99(1): 66 - 72. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M. D. Tomer, C. A. Cambardella, D. E. James, and T. B. Moorman Surface-Soil Properties and Water Contents across Two Watersheds with Contrasting Tillage Histories Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., February 27, 2006; 70(2): 620 - 630. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
D. C. Nielsen, P. W. Unger, and P. R. Miller Efficient Water Use in Dryland Cropping Systems in the Great Plains Agron. J., March 1, 2005; 97(2): 364 - 372. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
S. A. Saseendran, D. C. Nielsen, L. Ma, L. R. Ahuja, and A. D. Halvorson Modeling Nitrogen Management Effects on Winter Wheat Production Using RZWQM and CERES-Wheat Agron. J., May 1, 2004; 96(3): 615 - 630. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
D. E. Clay, S. A. Clay, J. Jackson, K. Dalsted, C. Reese, Z. Liu, D. D. Malo, and C. G. Carlson Carbon-13 Discrimination Can be Used to Evaluate Soybean Yield Variability Agron. J., March 1, 2003; 95(2): 430 - 435. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
| The SCI Journals | Crop Science | Vadose Zone Journal | |||
| Journal of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Education |
Soil Science Society of America Journal | ||||
| Journal of Plant Registrations | Journal of Environmental Quality |
The Plant Genome | |||
