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ARS Home » Plains Area » Bushland, Texas » Conservation and Production Research Laboratory » Livestock Nutrient Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #50110
Title: IMPACTS OF TILLAGE PRACTICES ON WATER-USE EFFICIENCY

Author
item Unger, Paul

Submitted to: Soil and Water Conservation Society
Publication Type: Other
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/1/1995
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Competition for water is increasing among all segments of the society. Agriculture must do its share and can use available water supplies more effectively by adopting practices that improve crop water-use efficiency. Many factors influence crop water-use efficiency. Included are tillage systems and related practices, mulches, and cropping systems that affect water-use efficiency mainly through their effect on soil-water storage and evaporation. Storage is increased when the systems and practices increase infiltration and result in water storage at a soil depth that reduces evaporation. Surface mulches help reduce evaporation. Water storage and planting-to-harvest water-use efficiency generally are greater for cropping systems with long rather than short intervals between crops. However, systems with the longer intervals have lower harvest-to-harvest water-use efficiency, showing that they result in less efficient overall use of water rresources. Adoption of improved tillage and related practices can lead to improved crop water-use efficiency. Adopting such practices will help agriculture make effective use of available water supplies, thus helping to assure that all sectors of society will have adequate water.

Technical Abstract: Many factors influence crop water use efficiency (WUE). Included are tillage systems and related practices, mulches, and cropping systems that affect WUE mainly through their effect on soil water storage and evaporation. Storage is increased when they increase infiltration and result in water storage at a soil depth that reduces evaporation. Surface mulches help reduce evaporation. Water storage and WUEp-h (WUE - planting to harvest) generally are greater for cropping systems with long rather than short intervals between crops. However, systems with long intervals between crops have lower WUEh-h (WUE - harvest to harvest), showing that they result in less efficient overall use of water resources. Examples given show that adoption of improved tillage and related practices can lead to improved crop WUE. Such improvements are essential because agriculture must act responsibly and use available water supplies efficiently, thus helping to assure that all sectors of society will have adequate water.