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Irrigation Water Management in a Mediterranean Greenhouse District: Irrigation Adequacy Assessment
Author(s) -
Sánchez José A.,
Reca Juan,
Martínez Juan
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
irrigation and drainage
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.421
H-Index - 38
eISSN - 1531-0361
pISSN - 1531-0353
DOI - 10.1002/ird.1908
Subject(s) - irrigation , environmental science , greenhouse , deficit irrigation , mediterranean climate , water resource management , irrigation management , leaching (pedology) , water resources , irrigation statistics , water conservation , water use , farm water , water quality , water supply , agriculture , hydrology (agriculture) , soil water , environmental engineering , geography , agronomy , engineering , ecology , geotechnical engineering , archaeology , soil science , biology
The sustainability of greenhouse production in semi‐arid regions in the Mediterranean basin depends on the availability of water resources. However, the increasing demand for water has caused environmental and water availability concerns. The main objective of this work is to assess irrigation adequacy in an irrigation district located in southern Spain with major water resource problems in terms of both quantity and quality. Two resolution levels were considered: crop and farm. Relative irrigation supply (RIS) index was calculated for a wide sample of crops and farms in the area over the course of four consecutive agricultural seasons. An overall RIS value of 1.12 was obtained. This value indicates that irrigation water exceeded net irrigation needs and, consequently, moderate leaching fractions were applied. However, a high RIS variability was observed. The effect of several factors was statistically analysed to explain this variability. The average water supply to farms was slightly higher than that applied in similar greenhouse districts, possibly due to higher irrigation water salinity. The high variability in the annual relative water supply (ARIS) to the farms confirmed that the main source of variability was farmer management decisions. Irrigation performance in this area could be improved with a proper extension of good irrigation practices. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.