Under limited availability of irrigation water during the growing season, farmers must avoid a premature depletion of this resource that may lead to a sizeable decrease in yield. Four levels of net irrigation availability were considered for an onion (Allium cepa L.) crop cultivated in...

For a certain overall deficit target, this paper develops a methodology (Optimized Regulated Deficit Irrigation (ORDI)) for determining the stress level (in terms of the rate between actual crop evapotranspiration (ETa) and maximum evapotranspiration (ETm)) that can be applied to each growth...

Through the experimental data of a three year maize field test, this paper shows the calibration (year 2003) and validation (years 2001 and 2002) processes for the simulation of FAO-700 maize crop (Dracma and Brasco hybrids) under deficit irrigation conditions in Castilla-La Mancha (Spain) using...

There are numerous models capable of simulating crop behavior under different water stress conditions. However, none of them takes into account the effect of irrigation water uniformity on yield. The model developed simulates the uniformity effect on yield and the repercussion on gross margin...

In both arid and semi-arid areas the use of saline water for irrigation is a common practice, even though it may cause a drop in crop yield and progressive soil salinization. In order to determine the most suitable irrigation strategy for higher yield, profitability, and soil salinity management...

The objective of this paper is to study evaporation and drift losses (EDLs) with two types of sprinklers: rotating spray plate sprinklers (RSPS) and fixed spray plate sprinklers (FSPS), both installed at two different heights (1 and 2.5m above the ground). A field test was carried out during...

The development of different tools to evaluate the performance of Water Users Associations (WUAs) is an important practice for improving water and energy management, together with other production costs. One of these tools is the Benchmarking technique, which is based on the comparison between...

The objectives of this study were to determine onion water requirements with a sprinkler irrigation system, the most usual irrigation method in Spain. A weighing lysimeter was used to measure single (Kc) and dual (Kcb+Ke) crop coefficient curves and obtain the relationship between Kc-ground...

In cold, semi-arid areas, the options for crop diversification are limited by climate and by the water supply available. Growing irrigated crops outside the main season is not easy, because of climatic and market constraints. We carried out an experiment in Albacete, Central Spain, to measure...