Coupling Water Resources and Agricultural Practices for Sorghum in a Semiarid Environment

Abstract

Water scarcity and changing rainfall distribution have caused uncertainties in relation to agricultural production in semiarid areas. In this context, water reuse for irrigation is a promising alternative, although requiring irrigation and agricultural management. Production of forage plants is strategic for semiarid areas due to their high tolerance to stresses and use as animal fodder. The objective of this work was to evaluate the combined performance of treated wastewater irrigation and mulching on forage sorghum and on soil attributes in Northeast Brazil. Sorghum was cropped in November 2018, three months before the beginning of the hydrologic year, and cultivated over three cycles until April 2019. The experiment was designed with five irrigation depths (60%, 80%, 100%, 120%, and 140% of crop evapotranspiration), and with four soil cover conditions (0% (witness), soil covered with native vegetation, with coconut coir, and with macerated moringa seeds), adopting four replications. Irrigation with treated wastewater promoted linear increases in forage sorghum yield at irrigation depths of up to 140% of crop evapotranspiration. Mulch promoted a 24% increase in productivity in relation to the area where conservation was not practiced, being able to control salinity while also contributing to the higher incorporation of organic matter. Irrigation with treated wastewater had no negative agronomic impacts on soil, once natural rainfall events typical of the Brazilian semiarid region allowed effective salt leaching from shallow sandy soils.

Morphometric characterization of the Alto do Ipojuca hydrographic basin

“…Quanto à sinuosidade do curso d'água principal, esta foi de 1,53, indicando que o canal existente é classificado como meândrico, o que significa que os canais descrevem curvas sinuosas, largas, harmoniosas e semelhantes entre si (Christofoletti, 1981), que tendem a reduzir a declividade média e produzir velocidades médias de escoamento mais baixas. Na Figura 2 estão representados locais onde iniciativas de reuso hidroagrícola estão sendo desenvolvidas (Carvalho et al, 2021), e que contribuirão no futuro próximo para reduzir a carga orgânica doméstica lançada ao Rio Ipojuca.…”

UAV-Based Classification of Intercropped Forage Cactus: A Comparison of RGB and Multispectral Sample Spaces Using Machine Learning in an Irrigated Area

“…Water scarcity and food security are recurring challenges in the Brazilian semiarid region, and agricultural wastewater reuse alternatives show high potential [1][2][3]. In addition, conservation soil management and intercrops allow better utilization of water resources from rainfall and irrigation systems [2,4]. The intercrop can improve the water use efficiency, enhance agricultural production sustainability, and increase the protein bank [5].…”

Características Físicas Do Coco-Anão Verde Cultivado Em Função Do Uso De Cobertura Morta E Diferentes Turnos De Rega

“…Dentre as técnicas disponíveis hoje em dia, encontram-se a irrigação por turnos e o uso de cobertura morta (DA SILVA ALMEIDA; CHAVES; DA SILVA ALMEIDA FILHO, 2015;CARVALHO et al, 2021). Essas técnicas, em conjunto, potencializam o aumento da produção, visto que a técnica de irrigação pode economizar a água em até 33% (MAHESWARAPPA; KRISHNAKUMAR, 2019).…”