5
Another option could be done, namely cultivation of short season crops. In
Egypt, this practice was successful in saving large amounts of water, where short
season rice cultivars replaced long season cultivars resulted in water saving by 15%
(Abd El-Megeed et al. 2016). MacDonald et al. (2017) reported that developing new
farming systems could intensify land and water use. Said et al. (2016) indicated that
implementing intercropping systems, where two crops share the area and the applied
water to one of them is another alternative to cope with water security. Furthermore,
reducing non-productive water consumption, through improved crop water management, use of techniques to reduce soil evaporation, capture surface run-off, and
improve soil infiltration capacity and efficiency of irrigation systems could help in
expanding irrigation and increasing food production (Cole et al. 2018). It is necessary for irrigation management in these areas to shift from emphasizing production
per unit area towards maximizing the production per unit of water consumed, which
is called water productivity (Rekaby et al. 2016). All that will improve agricultural
water practices and lead to gains in global crop production. Not only scarcity in
water quantity is becoming obvious, but also in quality, where is become to be obvious in regions where rainfall is abundant too (Capra et al. 2008).
1.4 Deficit Irrigation and Water Scarcity
Deficit irrigation application can be very useful in reducing the demand for water in
the agriculture sector. Deficit irrigation is the practice of deliberately under- irrigating
a crop, where its irrigation water supply is reduced relative to that needed to meet
its maximum evapotranspiration (English and Nuss 1982). Another terminology for
deficit irrigation is the application of irrigation below the full crop evapotranspiration, which potentially improve efficiency and maximize profits through a reduction
in capital and operating costs (Capra et al. 2008). Kögler and Söffker (2017) indicated that deficit irrigation is a crop cultivation practice allows saving up to 20–40%
irrigation water with yield reductions below 10%, leading to more efficient water
use. However, conducting deficit irrigation by increasing the duration between irrigation intervals or by omitting one or more irrigation event could causes several
negative effects on growth and reduces yield (Zhu 2002). The knowledge of crop
water use and its response to water deficits should include identification of critical
crop growth stages and the impacts on yield (Oweis and Hachum 2003).
Adopting deficit irrigation principles implies the acceptance of a certain level of
reduction in yield level (Hamdy et al. 2005). As long as that certain level of yield
reduction is low, there is a high possibility that farmers will adopt it. The saved
irrigation water from application of deficit irrigation could be used to irrigate new
lands to produce more crops and compensate for the loss in productivity. There are
several basic recommended deficit irrigation strategies that minimize yield losses.
Sustain deficit irrigation; in which reduced amount of irrigation is applied during all
1 Water Scarcity Leads to Food Insecurity
Another option could be done, namely cultivation of short season crops. In
Egypt, this practice was successful in saving large amounts of water, where short
season rice cultivars replaced long season cultivars resulted in water saving by 15%
(Abd El-Megeed et al. 2016). MacDonald et al. (2017) reported that developing new
farming systems could intensify land and water use. Said et al. (2016) indicated that
implementing intercropping systems, where two crops share the area and the applied
water to one of them is another alternative to cope with water security. Furthermore,
reducing non-productive water consumption, through improved crop water management, use of techniques to reduce soil evaporation, capture surface run-off, and
improve soil infiltration capacity and efficiency of irrigation systems could help in
expanding irrigation and increasing food production (Cole et al. 2018). It is necessary for irrigation management in these areas to shift from emphasizing production
per unit area towards maximizing the production per unit of water consumed, which
is called water productivity (Rekaby et al. 2016). All that will improve agricultural
water practices and lead to gains in global crop production. Not only scarcity in
water quantity is becoming obvious, but also in quality, where is become to be obvious in regions where rainfall is abundant too (Capra et al. 2008).
1.4 Deficit Irrigation and Water Scarcity
Deficit irrigation application can be very useful in reducing the demand for water in
the agriculture sector. Deficit irrigation is the practice of deliberately under- irrigating
a crop, where its irrigation water supply is reduced relative to that needed to meet
its maximum evapotranspiration (English and Nuss 1982). Another terminology for
deficit irrigation is the application of irrigation below the full crop evapotranspiration, which potentially improve efficiency and maximize profits through a reduction
in capital and operating costs (Capra et al. 2008). Kögler and Söffker (2017) indicated that deficit irrigation is a crop cultivation practice allows saving up to 20–40%
irrigation water with yield reductions below 10%, leading to more efficient water
use. However, conducting deficit irrigation by increasing the duration between irrigation intervals or by omitting one or more irrigation event could causes several
negative effects on growth and reduces yield (Zhu 2002). The knowledge of crop
water use and its response to water deficits should include identification of critical
crop growth stages and the impacts on yield (Oweis and Hachum 2003).
Adopting deficit irrigation principles implies the acceptance of a certain level of
reduction in yield level (Hamdy et al. 2005). As long as that certain level of yield
reduction is low, there is a high possibility that farmers will adopt it. The saved
irrigation water from application of deficit irrigation could be used to irrigate new
lands to produce more crops and compensate for the loss in productivity. There are
several basic recommended deficit irrigation strategies that minimize yield losses.
Sustain deficit irrigation; in which reduced amount of irrigation is applied during all
1 Water Scarcity Leads to Food Insecurity