In the face of the negative impacts of climate change and the accelerated growth of the global population, precision irrigation is important to conserve water resources, improve rice productivity and promote overall efficient rice cultivation, as rice is a rather water-intensive crop than other crops. Water-saving technologies for rice cultivation are varied and can be classified into three groups: water-saving irrigation systems; water-saving irrigation methods and water-saving agronomic practices.
Location | Impact on Irrigation Water Use, and Rice Yield | References |
---|---|---|
Arkansas, USA |
This study showed that two rice cultivars grown under center pivot irrigation produced high yields (8.31 Mg/ha in 2009 and 8.2 Mg/ha in 2010), with an irrigation water use efficiency of 2.0 kg/m3 in 2009 and 1.6 kg m3 in 2010. Rice cultivation with center pivot irrigation required a total irrigation depth of 414 mm, whereas flood irrigation for rice required depths of 1168 mm. | Vories et al. [9] |
Arkansas, USA |
Researchers have shown that the high-to-low order of total continuous flooding had a greater impact on rice grain content than intermittent flooding or spray irrigation, although neither had a significant impact on production. |
Stevens et al. [28] |
Spain | In this study, it appears that sprinkler irrigation, compared to flood irrigation, saved more water, increased soil organic C, and decreased both inorganic and organic arsenic concentration in grain. | Moreno-Jiménez et al. [31] |
Selviria-MS, Brazil | Field studies conducted in 1994/1995 and 1995/1996 came to the conclusion that water levels ranging from 0.5 to 1.5 times the rice crop coefficient, supplied through sprinkler irrigation system provide better conditions for producing rice seeds of upland cultivars with higher physiological quality. | Costa Crusciol et al. [32] |
Capão do Leão, Brazil | According to this study, chemical weed management using herbicide selectivity is more effective with sprinkler irrigation than flood irrigation. | Helgueira et al. [33] |
Leão, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil |
Scientists found that a soil water tension of 10 kPa was sufficient to control spray irrigation in rice, particularly during the reproductive stage. | Pinto et al. [34] |
Griffith, Australia |
The amount of water used for sprinkler irrigation generally appeared to be adequate to meet the crop’s evapotranspiration requirements, but the plants may have experienced moisture stress in the intervals between irrigations since data from the soil matric potential at 100 mm revealed little water stress in sprinkler irrigation during the vegetative stage. | Humphreys et al. [35] |
Monoo, Pakistan |
Study conducted during 2002–2004 projected that sprinkler irrigation increased rice output by 18% while using 35% less water than the conventional irrigation technique and revealed that adopting sprinkler irrigation for rice is a financially viable choice for farmers. | Kahlown et al. [36] |
Tamil Nadu, India | A field experiment carried out in 2013 and 2014 revealed that sprinkler irrigation used the least amount of irrigation water (329.2 mm and 308.7 mm) and surface irrigation used the most (413.6 mm and 428.1 mm) resulting in water savings of 23.1% and 25.4% in 2013 and 2014, respectively. | Kumar et al. [37] |
Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil |
Experiments conducted over two years (2012–2013) revealed that sprinkler irrigation used 48% less water than flood irrigation while also reducing water stress and improving the physical and chemical characteristics of the soil. | Pinto et al. [38] |
Sardinia, Italy |
Field studies conducted between 2002 and 2006 showed that irrigation water used for rice cultivation utilizing sprinkler irrigation was approximately 6500 m3/ha (650 mm). | Spanu et al. [39] |
Arizona, USA |
Authors indicated that flood irrigation used a total of 589 mm of irrigation water, whereas pivot irrigation used 470 mm, resulting in an irrigation water use efficiency of 1.7 kg/m3 for flood irrigation compared to 2.1 kg/m3 for pivot irrigation. | Vories et al. [40] |
India | In this review, the author showed that micro-irrigation (drip and sprinkler) potentially contributes to irrigation water savings, but decreases rice yield. | Mandal et al. [41] |
Edirne, Turkey |
The results of this study over the course of three years (1991–1993) revealed that while sprinkler irrigation produced lower yields than continuous flooding, water savings rates ranged from 12.3 to 43.1%. | Cakir et al. [42] |
Texas, USA |
Though it reduces irrigation water use, sprinkler irrigation does not seem to be a practical substitute for traditional flood irrigation, according to the authors, because it decreased plant performance (height by 0.09 to 0.28 m and average yield by 20% to 28%). | McCauley [43] |
Missouri, USA |
According to this study’s findings, sprinkler irrigation uses 28% less water than conventional flooding. | Stevens et al. [44] |
Location | Impact on Irrigation Water Use, and Rice Yield | References |
---|---|---|
China | This study has shown that, compared to conventional flooding-midseason drainage-flooding irrigation (FDF), AWD increased WUE by 40% and resulted in maximum grain production (7808.38 kg/ha) | Wang et al. [50] |
Tripura, India |
According to the authors, 30% of water can be saved using AWD for rice growing under SRI compared to flooding irrigation. | Singh and Chakraborti [55] |
Carolina, USA |
Study results showed that AWD method lowered irrigation use hours by around 38% while saving irrigation water and boosting energy without noticeably reducing crop yields and revenues. | Rejesus et al. [56] |
Wuhan, China |
In comparison to other water-saving techniques, the results showed that AWD had the highest average water saving rate of 35.12% and the lowest average yield increasing rate (0.79%) | Zhuang et al. [57] |
Fanaye, Senegal |
The researchers found that AWD irrigation control at 30 kPa boosted rice production, water use, and nitrogen use efficiency while lowering irrigation applications by 27.3% compared to continuous flooding. | Djaman et al. [58] |
Tokyo, Japon |
This study, carried out from December 2021 to March 2022, found that AWD utilized 25% less water than continuous flooding | Bwire et al. [59] |
Bangladesh | According to this study carried out in 2017, AWD conserved 12% to 24% more irrigation water than continuous flooding. | Albaji et al. [60] |
Kushtia, Bangladesh |
Authors demonstrated that the AWD technique alone saved 20.2% more field water than flooding irrigation practice, and when paired with plastic pipe, 42% more water was saved. | Hossain et al. [61] |
Pingtung, Taiwan |
The results indicated that AWD could produce a grain yield that was comparable to the farmers’ methods while requiring fewer irrigations. | Tapsoba and Wang [62] |
Telangana, India |
The experiments (2014 and 2015) demonstrated that the alternate wetting and drying strategy of irrigation resulted in lower water usage of about 795 mm to 1180 mm and higher water productivity of 0.52 kg/m3 to 0.66 kg/m3, saving 20.2 to 23.4% more water than the submerged irrigation method. | Rao et al. [63] |
Tuanlin, China |
The three-year (1999–2001) study revealed that irrigation water input was 15–18% lower under alternate water distribution (AWD) than under continuous submergence, and water productivity was higher under alternate AWD. | Belder et al. [64] |
Jiangsu, China | In comparison to continuous flooding, AWD or furrow irrigation could boost grain output and water use efficiency (experiment of 2015 and 2016). | Wang et al. [65] |
Pingtung, Taiwan |
From this experiment in 2016, authors demonstrated that compared to continuous flooding, AWD achieved water savings of 55–74%, with overall water productivity under AWD being 0.35 kg/m–0.46 kg/m3. | Pascual and Wang [66] |
This entry is adapted from the peer-reviewed paper 10.3390/agronomy13061522