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Meta-analysis of crop water use efficiency by irrigation system in the Texas High Plains

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Abstract

A meta-analysis was performed on 351 studies from 17 articles published between 1990 and 2016 to determine how a water use efficiency (WUE) treatment is affected by irrigation systems and management practices on clay and clay loam soils in a semi-arid environment relative to a rainfed control. Several explanatory variables (moderators) were examined to determine their impact on WUE such as crop type, irrigation capacity, rainfall, soil type, planting time, and nitrogen application. Results were sub-grouped by irrigation system. Overall, the impact of irrigation system on WUE directly correlated with the efficiency of the irrigation system. Subsurface drip and center pivot irrigation systems had the largest impacts on WUE with increases of 147 and 99%, respectively, compared to a 14% increase under furrow irrigation. Corn (Zea mays L.) had a higher response to WUE in subsurface drip irrigation (260%) compared to center pivot irrigation (46%), whereas WUE in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) had a 71% change in center pivot systems compared to 63% under subsurface drip. The biggest increases in WUE relative to a rainfed control were for sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench), which had a 13% change under furrow irrigation, 160% change under center pivot and 341% under subsurface drip.

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Acknowledgements

Funding for this research was jointly provided by the USDA ARS Ogallala Aquifer Program and USDA Project No. 2016–68007-25066, through the National Institute for Food and Agriculture’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative, Water for Agriculture Challenge Area. Project website: http://www.ogallalawater.org/. The project, “Sustaining agriculture through adaptive management to preserve the Ogallala aquifer under a changing climate” (Ogallala Water CAP), is a regional, integrated project comprising the work of individuals from nine institutions: Colorado State University, Kansas State University, New Mexico State University, Oklahoma State University, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Texas A&M University, Texas Tech University, West Texas A&M University, and USDA-ARS. The authors would also like to thank Jim Bordovsky for his input.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Texas Tech University, Box 42132, Lubbock, TX, 79409, USA

    Donna Mitchell-McCallister

  2. Department of Plant and Soil Science, Texas Tech University, Box 42122, Lubbock, TX, 79409, USA

    Amanda Cano & Charles West

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  1. Donna Mitchell-McCallister
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  2. Amanda Cano
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Correspondence to Donna Mitchell-McCallister.

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Mitchell-McCallister, D., Cano, A. & West, C. Meta-analysis of crop water use efficiency by irrigation system in the Texas High Plains. Irrig Sci 38, 535–546 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00271-020-00696-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00271-020-00696-x

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