Agriculture
Globally, the agricultural sector consumes about 70% of the planet’s accessible freshwater. Because water is vital for the success of agriculture, proper water management techniques are necessary to meet food and fiber material demands around the world. Resources available here pay special attention to efficient irrigation and sustainable agriculture techniques.
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Agriculture Resources
Optimum Utilization of Water for Agriculture, With Emphasis on On-Farm Water Management; Annual Technical Report, 1974/1975
Published:
January 1, 1975U.S. Agency for International Development
The report details findings on optimum utilization of water for agriculture, finding evidence that in developing countries there is an urgent need for more food and better nutrition. Food production is closely linked to the water available for transpiration by the growing crop and the water...Read more
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United States, North AmericaEnergy Inputs to Irrigation
Published:
December 1, 1974U.S. Agency for International Development
Energy inputs to irrigation are dramatically increasing as irrigated agriculture expands to meet world food demands and more sophisticated technologies are developed to increase water use efficiency. In this study nine irrigation systems, designed for a specific land area, are analyzed and the...Read more
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United States, North AmericaForecasting Water Use in U.S. Irrigated Agriculture With Different Alternative Futures
Published:
February 1, 1974U.S. Agency for International Development
The results of the forecasting effort of the National Water Commission show both how (a) the economic demands for water in irrigated agriculture can be estimated and (b) how water use will be affected by policy decisions and the life styles of U.S. citizens. The importance of varying certain...Read more
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United States, North AmericaTrickle Irrigation Design Parameters
Published:
January 1, 1974U.S. Agency for International Development
Trickle irrigation is a system for supplying filtered water and fertilizer directly on or into the soil. Spraying is eliminated and water is allowed to dissipate under low pressure in an exact predetermined pattern. The outlet device which emits the water into the soil is known as an "emitter...Read more
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United States, North AmericaEffect of Agricultural Use on Water Quality for Downstream Use for Irrigation
Published:
July 1, 1973U.S. Agency for International Development
Studies the effect of irrigation return flow on downstream irrigation water quality in the Sevier, Colorado, and Rio Grande river systems, and in the Imperial Valley of Southern California. The report begins by reviewing significant literature on irrigation return flow. Next, water quality criteria...Read more
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United States, North AmericaAbandoned Farmland Often Is Troubled Land in Need of Restoration
The National Institutes for Water Resources
Land plowed, fertilized, and irrigated obviously is useful land, with purpose and value. No longer farmed and lying fallow, that same land may be barren or grow only sparse, weedy vegetation in dry and infertile soils. Called abandoned or derelict farmland, this land often is an environmental...Read more
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United States, North AmericaO&M Costs in Irrigation: Reappearing Government and Farmer Responsibilities and Rights
U.S. Agency for International Development
The amount of money governments spend on irrigation development continues to be a matter of major policy concern, the more so as "the fiscal crisis" constraints governments not only in the developing world but in the U.S. as well. A discussion of the state of the art in this policy area...Read more
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United States, North AmericaWater Conservation in Irrigated Agriculture: Trends and Challenges in the Face of Emerging Demands
Published:
September 1, 2012U.S. Department of Agriculture
U.S. agriculture accounts for 80-90 percent of the Nation's consumptive water use (water lost to the environment by evaporation, crop transpiration, or incorporation into products). Despite technological innovations, at least half of U.S. irrigated cropland acreage is still irrigated with less...Read more
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United StatesWater Quality Impacts of Agriculture
Published:
July 21, 2006U.S. Department of Agriculture
Agricultural production releases residuals, like sediment and pesticides, that may degrade the quality of water resources and impose costs on water users. Agriculture is the leading source of impairments in the Nation's rivers and lakes and a major source of impairments to estuaries. However,...Read more
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