IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/agiwat/v265y2022ics0378377422000944.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Comparing the effect of different irrigation water scenarios on arid region pecan orchard using a system dynamics approach

Author

Listed:
  • Palmate, Santosh S.
  • Kumar, Saurav
  • Poulose, Thomas
  • Ganjegunte, Girisha K.
  • Chaganti, Vijayasatya N.
  • Sheng, Zhuping

Abstract

Water scarcity and soil salinization in arid regions have made desalination a competitive alternative source for irrigation. Perceptions of a higher cost and other misconceptions about desalinated water have limited its broader usage in agriculture. In this study, we have focused on understanding the suitability of using desalinated water as a substitute for saline water in the pecan (Carya illinoinensis) orchards of southwest Texas. Pecan is a perennial high-value nut crop that cannot be easily replaced. Therefore, it represents a perfect case study for the application of desalinated water. A recently developed system dynamic model, SMITUV (System Dynamic Modeling of Infiltration, Solute Transport, and Root Water Uptake in Vadose Zone), was modified to assess the effects of irrigation with desalinated water when soil-water salt content increased above pecan tolerance levels. This model simulated five irrigation scenarios with different fractions of river water and saline groundwater. As expected, to sustain the same level of pecan production, a higher amount of desalinated water was needed with increasing amounts of groundwater in the irrigation mix. Soil texture had a significant influence on the amount of desalinated water required. For sandy and silty soils, the 100% river water scenario required no additional desalinated water. Clayey soils could not sustain high production even in a 100% river water scenario. An economic analysis showed that pecan operations might be viable in non-clayey regions for some irrigation mixture even after factoring in the cost of using desalinated water. However, current desalination techniques and associated costs were economically unviable for sustaining pecan in regions with saline groundwater and clayey soils. This study also demonstrated the application of SMITUV and system dynamic modeling as a decision-making tool to assist growers in understanding the farm-scale applicability of desalinated water.

Suggested Citation

  • Palmate, Santosh S. & Kumar, Saurav & Poulose, Thomas & Ganjegunte, Girisha K. & Chaganti, Vijayasatya N. & Sheng, Zhuping, 2022. "Comparing the effect of different irrigation water scenarios on arid region pecan orchard using a system dynamics approach," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 265(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:265:y:2022:i:c:s0378377422000944
    DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2022.107547
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378377422000944
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.agwat.2022.107547?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Skaggs, Todd H. & van Genuchten, Martinus Th. & Shouse, Peter J. & Poss, James A., 2006. "Macroscopic approaches to root water uptake as a function of water and salinity stress," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 86(1-2), pages 140-149, November.
    2. Ben-Gal, Alon & Ityel, Eviatar & Dudley, Lynn & Cohen, Shabtai & Yermiyahu, Uri & Presnov, Eugene & Zigmond, Leah & Shani, Uri, 2008. "Effect of irrigation water salinity on transpiration and on leaching requirements: A case study for bell peppers," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 95(5), pages 587-597, May.
    3. Reca, J. & Trillo, C. & Sánchez, J.A. & Martínez, J. & Valera, D., 2018. "Optimization model for on-farm irrigation management of Mediterranean greenhouse crops using desalinated and saline water from different sources," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 166(C), pages 173-183.
    4. Minhas, P.S. & Ramos, Tiago B. & Ben-Gal, Alon & Pereira, Luis S., 2020. "Coping with salinity in irrigated agriculture: Crop evapotranspiration and water management issues," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 227(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Minhas, P.S. & Ramos, Tiago B. & Ben-Gal, Alon & Pereira, Luis S., 2020. "Coping with salinity in irrigated agriculture: Crop evapotranspiration and water management issues," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 227(C).
    2. Rosa, R.D. & Ramos, T.B. & Pereira, L.S., 2016. "The dual Kc approach to assess maize and sweet sorghum transpiration and soil evaporation under saline conditions: Application of the SIMDualKc model," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 77-94.
    3. Liu, Meihan & Shi, Haibin & Paredes, Paula & Ramos, Tiago B. & Dai, Liping & Feng, Zhuangzhuang & Pereira, Luis S., 2022. "Estimating and partitioning maize evapotranspiration as affected by salinity using weighing lysimeters and the SIMDualKc model," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 261(C).
    4. Yasuor, Hagai & Yermiyahu, Uri & Ben-Gal, Alon, 2020. "Consequences of irrigation and fertigation of vegetable crops with variable quality water: Israel as a case study," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 242(C).
    5. Che, Zheng & Wang, Jun & Li, Jiusheng, 2022. "Modeling strategies to balance salt leaching and nitrogen loss for drip irrigation with saline water in arid regions," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 274(C).
    6. Ramos, Tiago B. & Darouich, Hanaa & Oliveira, Ana R. & Farzamian, Mohammad & Monteiro, Tomás & Castanheira, Nádia & Paz, Ana & Alexandre, Carlos & Gonçalves, Maria C. & Pereira, Luís S., 2023. "Water use, soil water balance and soil salinization risks of Mediterranean tree orchards in southern Portugal under current climate variability: Issues for salinity control and irrigation management," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 283(C).
    7. Wu, Zhangsheng & Li, Yue & Wang, Rong & Xu, Xu & Ren, Dongyang & Huang, Quanzhong & Xiong, Yunwu & Huang, Guanhua, 2023. "Evaluation of irrigation water saving and salinity control practices of maize and sunflower in the upper Yellow River basin with an agro-hydrological model based method," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 278(C).
    8. Raveh, Eran & Ben-Gal, Alon, 2016. "Irrigation with water containing salts: Evidence from a macro-data national case study in Israel," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 170(C), pages 176-179.
    9. Shouse, Peter J. & Ayars, James E. & Simunek, Jirí, 2011. "Simulating root water uptake from a shallow saline groundwater resource," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 98(5), pages 784-790, March.
    10. Barnard, J.H. & van Rensburg, L.D. & Bennie, A.T.P. & du Preez, C.C., 2013. "Simulating water uptake of irrigated field crops from non-saline water table soils: Validation and application of the model SWAMP," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 19-32.
    11. Jovanovic, N. & Pereira, L.S. & Paredes, P. & Pôças, I. & Cantore, V. & Todorovic, M., 2020. "A review of strategies, methods and technologies to reduce non-beneficial consumptive water use on farms considering the FAO56 methods," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 239(C).
    12. Wang, Lichun & Shi, Jianchu & Zuo, Qiang & Zheng, Wenjuan & Zhu, Xiangming, 2012. "Optimizing parameters of salinity stress reduction function using the relationship between root-water-uptake and root nitrogen mass of winter wheat," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 142-152.
    13. Pereira, L.S. & Paredes, P. & Melton, F. & Johnson, L. & Mota, M. & Wang, T., 2021. "Prediction of crop coefficients from fraction of ground cover and height: Practical application to vegetable, field and fruit crops with focus on parameterization," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 252(C).
    14. Sonkar, Ickkshaanshu & Kotnoor, Hari Prasad & Sen, Sumit, 2019. "Estimation of root water uptake and soil hydraulic parameters from root zone soil moisture and deep percolation," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 222(C), pages 38-47.
    15. Coletti, Janaine Z. & Hinz, Christoph & Vogwill, Ryan & Hipsey, Matthew R., 2013. "Hydrological controls on carbon metabolism in wetlands," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 249(C), pages 3-18.
    16. Tripler, Effi & Shani, Uri & Mualem, Yechezkel & Ben-Gal, Alon, 2011. "Long-term growth, water consumption and yield of date palm as a function of salinity," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 99(1), pages 128-134.
    17. Huang, Ya & Zhang, Zhe & Li, Zhenhua & Dai, Danqiong & Li, Yanping, 2022. "Evaluation of water use efficiency and optimal irrigation quantity of spring maize in Hetao Irrigation District using the Noah-MP Land Surface Model," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 264(C).
    18. Zhang, Tibin & Zou, Yufeng & Kisekka, Isaya & Biswas, Asim & Cai, Huanjie, 2021. "Comparison of different irrigation methods to synergistically improve maize’s yield, water productivity and economic benefits in an arid irrigation area," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 243(C).
    19. Liu, Lining & Wang, Tianshu & Wang, Lichun & Wu, Xun & Zuo, Qiang & Shi, Jianchu & Sheng, Jiandong & Jiang, Pingan & Chen, Quanjia & Ben-Gal, Alon, 2022. "Plant water deficit index-based irrigation under conditions of salinity," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 269(C).
    20. Lu Yang & Wei Han & Boyuan Tan & Yue Wu & Song Li & Yanli Yi, 2024. "Effects of Nutrient Accumulation and Microbial Community Changes on Tomato Fusarium Wilt Disease in Greenhouse Soil," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(17), pages 1-20, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:265:y:2022:i:c:s0378377422000944. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/agwat .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.