Major Crops and Water Scarcity in Egypt

This book includes multi-disciplinary quantifications of the effect of climate change on water requirements of wheat, maize, rice and sugarcane. Furthermore, it provides on-farm management that faces water scarcity under current situation and under climate change. Changing cultivation method (raised beds instead of furrows or basins) or increasing irrigation application efficiency (sprinkler or drip systems instead of surface irrigation) can reduce the applied water. Irrigated agriculture, although profitable, it endures wasteful use of valuable water resources. Taking into account the risk of climate change, developing countries like Egypt will highly suffer. Furthermore, the effect of intercropping (two crops use the applied water to one of them), and/or using crop rotations (arrange crops to reduce the applied water, increase water productivity and sustain soil fertility) on production and consumed irrigation water by crops were comprehensively analyzed.

Provides a new approach to calculate water requirements under climate change scenarios, which was never done before in Egypt Explains how to quantify the effect of increasing water application efficiency and water management Demonstrates the effect of climate change on water requirements and production of four important crops in Egypt, which could be applicable in other countries Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Inhalt

Evapotranspiration under Changing Climate.- Water Requirements for Major Crops.- Significance of Reduction of Applied Irrigation Water to Wheat Crop.- Combating Adverse Consequences of Climate Change on Maize Crop.-High Water Consuming Crops under Control: Case of Rice Crop.- High Water Consuming Crops under Control: Case of Sugarcane Crop.- Unconventional solution to increase crop production under water scarcity.- Recommendations to Policy Makers to Face Water Scarcity.