Opportunities to Improve the Water Use Efficiency of Irrigated Alfalfa
Water managementis perhaps the key limiting factor for irrigated alfalfa production worldwide.Although there are several important advantages of alfalfa with regards to water, we must further improve water-use efficiency (WUE) of alfalfa to meet the food needs of a growing world population,to mitigate drought events, and to lessen demands on water resources.There are several basic strategies for improving the water-use efficiencyand resiliency of alfalfa: 1) Yield improvement, including genetic modification, 2) Improvement in water system delivery technologies, 3) Improved irrigation management systems, and 4) Deficit water strategies for periodic droughts.The most important of these are strategies to enhance yield and stand persistence with genetic improvement and better agronomic and irrigation practices.Plant adaptation to deficit water situations and to saline conditions must be considered.Secondly,technological solutions to improved water application methods, e.g.switching from flood to advanced sprinkler or to drip irrigation hold promise as technological advances.Thirdly, management strategies such as ET monitoring, soil moisture monitoringand sensor technology which improve the ability of growers to more closely match true water demand are important regardless of which irrigation technology is utilized.Lastly, alfalfa is well-suited to ”deficit irrigation” strategies when water supplies are insufficient.A range of practices which include plant genetic, crop management, irrigation technology, and water management elements are required to improve WUE in alfalfa.Envisioning more water-use efficient systems is critical to meeting future needs for forage crops in a more water-limited future.
Daniel H.Putnam
Plant Sciences Department, University of California, Davis, USA
国内会议
安徽蚌埠
英文
299-315
2015-10-25（万方平台首次上网日期，不代表论文的发表时间）