390
R. Ku´ smierek-Tomaszewska and J. ˙
Zarski
In the production of spring barley and maize for grain, the deployment of this treatment was economically groundless, regardless of the plantation area. The advisability
of root crops irrigation, in particular table potato, is proved by the indicators depicted
in Table 19.5, or the results of study led by Lipi´ nski [31] as well as the favourable
changes in the technological quality and chemical composition of tubers under the
influence of this treatment confirmed by Rolbiecki et al. [15] and Wszelaczy´ nska
et al. [32].
Besides the use of irrigation in horticultural and agricultural root crops production, this treatment is also conventional in other areas related to agriculture. Primarly,
it is important to mention the forest nurseries and forest planting material productions, irrigation of remediated land – post-mining dumps, dumps and excavations
after depletion of surface raw materials, and finally irrigation of backyards, lawns,
gardens and recreation areas. Those are relatively recent and perspective areas for
fully automated and technically advanced sprinkler systems, often combined with
automatic weather stations [24].
19.4 Conclusions
Poland is a country in the EU, which ranks among the last in terms of the availability
of water resources per capita (1.6 thousand m
3 ) with the EU average three times
higher. The vast majority of water in Poland comes from atmospheric precipitation
(97%) but a large part of it is lost (no storage in drainage systems, reservoirs or rivers)
and goes via rivers to the Baltic Sea. This condition, coupled with mild winters, the
absence of snow cover in winter, and long periods of high temperatures, which
sometimes begin in the early spring and occur in summer, may in some years result
in very low water levels in rivers and low level of groundwater table.
On a global scale, agriculture is the largest consumer of drinking water. In Poland,
water consumption in plant production is much lower than the average in the world,
but as shown by research results and production statistics, plant production is very
dependent on water and susceptible to its scarcity and the production effects depend
significantly on soil and rainfall conditions over the period of high water needs of
crops. Despite this, crops irrigation in Poland has still only a supplementary character.
Poland is an agricultural country with over 14 million hectares of agricultural
land, most of which are light soils, with a limited share of organic matter, which
consequences into limited water retention capacity. In the last years, the government
of Poland has developed several instruments, like water fees, rain tax, as well as
a new investment plans in water retention. Water fees are the obligation for the
compliance with the EU Water Framework Directive and they also include fees for
water taken for irrigation purposes in agricultural production. At present, there have
been registered approximately 8% of farms covered by the water fees. Recently, the
Polish government has announced the introduction of the Retention Program, which
is to be implemented in the years 2021–2027. This program has a budget of EUR
3.11 billion (14 billion PLN), which is to be allocated to the construction of large
R. Ku´ smierek-Tomaszewska and J. ˙
Zarski
In the production of spring barley and maize for grain, the deployment of this treatment was economically groundless, regardless of the plantation area. The advisability
of root crops irrigation, in particular table potato, is proved by the indicators depicted
in Table 19.5, or the results of study led by Lipi´ nski [31] as well as the favourable
changes in the technological quality and chemical composition of tubers under the
influence of this treatment confirmed by Rolbiecki et al. [15] and Wszelaczy´ nska
et al. [32].
Besides the use of irrigation in horticultural and agricultural root crops production, this treatment is also conventional in other areas related to agriculture. Primarly,
it is important to mention the forest nurseries and forest planting material productions, irrigation of remediated land – post-mining dumps, dumps and excavations
after depletion of surface raw materials, and finally irrigation of backyards, lawns,
gardens and recreation areas. Those are relatively recent and perspective areas for
fully automated and technically advanced sprinkler systems, often combined with
automatic weather stations [24].
19.4 Conclusions
Poland is a country in the EU, which ranks among the last in terms of the availability
of water resources per capita (1.6 thousand m
3 ) with the EU average three times
higher. The vast majority of water in Poland comes from atmospheric precipitation
(97%) but a large part of it is lost (no storage in drainage systems, reservoirs or rivers)
and goes via rivers to the Baltic Sea. This condition, coupled with mild winters, the
absence of snow cover in winter, and long periods of high temperatures, which
sometimes begin in the early spring and occur in summer, may in some years result
in very low water levels in rivers and low level of groundwater table.
On a global scale, agriculture is the largest consumer of drinking water. In Poland,
water consumption in plant production is much lower than the average in the world,
but as shown by research results and production statistics, plant production is very
dependent on water and susceptible to its scarcity and the production effects depend
significantly on soil and rainfall conditions over the period of high water needs of
crops. Despite this, crops irrigation in Poland has still only a supplementary character.
Poland is an agricultural country with over 14 million hectares of agricultural
land, most of which are light soils, with a limited share of organic matter, which
consequences into limited water retention capacity. In the last years, the government
of Poland has developed several instruments, like water fees, rain tax, as well as
a new investment plans in water retention. Water fees are the obligation for the
compliance with the EU Water Framework Directive and they also include fees for
water taken for irrigation purposes in agricultural production. At present, there have
been registered approximately 8% of farms covered by the water fees. Recently, the
Polish government has announced the introduction of the Retention Program, which
is to be implemented in the years 2021–2027. This program has a budget of EUR
3.11 billion (14 billion PLN), which is to be allocated to the construction of large