Water Management for Sustainable Food Production

• Other Authors: Kannan, Narayanan (Editor), Swamy, Aavudai Anandhi (Editor)
• Format: Electronic Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: Basel, Switzerland MDPI - Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute 2020
• Subjects: Research & information: general; Biology, life sciences; Technology, engineering, agriculture; AquaCrop model; capillary rise; climate change; rainfall variability; supplemental irrigation; crop growth; lettuce; AquaCrop; water saving; water productivity; deficit irrigation; nitrogen productivity; fertigation; drip irrigation; low-discharge; arid regions; Africa; food security; system of rice intensification; water conservation; climate variability; water use efficiency; multi-crop production; pressure irrigation systems; water costs; corn; soybeans; maize; crop-water production function; West Africa; spatiotemporal rainfall variability; tied ridges; scattered plots; pearl millet; yield loss; crop uptake; food quality; geogenic; emerging contaminants; nanomaterials; lysimeter; canola; water table; root distribution; evapotranspiration; sustainable irrigation; bibliometric analysis; innovation and technology; unconventional water resources; delayed transplanting; seedling age; seedling density; wet season; grain sorghum; precipitation; rainfed; multiple linear regression; crop yield; principal component analysis; water allocation; WEAP model; scenario; Awash River Basin; sustainability; agriculture; virtual water trade; blue; green; arid region; brackish water; sub surface drip irrigation (SDI); salinity; sodicity; olives trees; excess precipitation; irrigation water quality; virtual water; brackish groundwater; rainwater harvesting; socio-economic impacts
• Online Access: DOAB: download the publication; DOAB: description of the publication

The agricultural community is face with the challenge of increasing food production by more than 70% to meet demand from the global population increase by the mid-21st century. Sustainable food production involves the sustained availability of resources, such as water and energy, to agriculture. The key challenges to sustainable food production are population increase, increasing demands for food, climate change, climate variability, and decreasing per capita land and water resources. To discuss more details on (a) the challenges for sustainable food production and (b) mitigation options available, a Special Issue on "Water Management for Sustainable Food Production" was assembled. This Special Issue focused on issues such as irrigation using brackish water, virtual water trade, allocation of water resources, consequences of excess precipitation on crop yields, strategies to increase water productivity, rainwater harvesting, irrigation water management, deficit irrigation, fertilization, environmental and socio-economic impacts, and irrigation water quality. The articles in the Special Issue cover several water-related issues across the U.S., Asia, Middle East, Africa, and Pakistan concerning sustainable food production. The articles in this Special Issue highlight the substantial impacts on agricultural production, water availability, and water quality in the face of increasing demands for food and energy.