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Methods and Tools for Sustainable Agricultural Water Management
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Methods and Tools for Sustainable Agricultural Water Management

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Water Resources Management, Policy and Governance".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 October 2025 | Viewed by 5682

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Hui Yang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Plant and Environmental Sciences Department, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003, USA
Interests: regulated irrigation; salinity; crop water use efficiency; uncultivated agricultural land; precise irrigation decision
Prof. Dr. Manoj K. Shukla

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Plant and Environmental Sciences Department, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM, USA
Interests: brackish groundwater; water use efficiency; modeling water and energy transport; solute transport
Dr. Yusen Yuan

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor Assistant
Plant and Environmental Sciences Department, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM, USA
Interests: ecohydrology; stable isotopes; HYDRUS; electrical resistivity

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Irrigated agriculture is the primary water user, consuming about 90% of all consumptive water use in water-scarred regions. Consequently, there is growing interest in finding ways to save water from irrigated lands, especially in arid and semi-arid areas. Using the tools of soil moisture sensors, weather forecasting, GIS, and remote sensing, as well as wastewater treatment systems, could create a highly efficient and precise agricultural water management system. The approaches of applying water-saving irrigation systems (drip/sprinkler irrigation), selecting drought-resistent crops, and soil amendment practices such as conservation tillage and cover crops could not only significantly reduce water usage but also improve soil health and help retain soil moisture. These methods and tools, when integrated, can significantly enhance the sustainability of agricultural water management, ensuring that water resources are used efficiently and responsibly. Therefore, this Special Issue aims to discuss the latest advances in methods and tools for sustainable agricultural water management.

All manuscripts related to the proposed aspects are welcome. The Special Issue may include, but is not limited to, the following topics:

(1) Monitoring and modeling crop water use in cultivated fields;

(2) Crop water relations, crop yields and quality, and water productivity;

(3) Deficit irrigation and salinity management strategies for improving water use efficiency in agriculture;

(4) Conservation tillage and cover crops;

(5) Farm-level and regional water management in agriculture;

(6) Use of brackish water or RO concentrate in agriculture;

(7) Other tools and methods for sustainable agricultural water management.

We look forward to receiving your submissions.

Dr. Hui Yang
Prof. Dr. Manoj K. Shukla
Guest Editors

Dr. Yusen Yuan
Guest Editor Assistant

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Water is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • crop water relations
  • water productivity
  • deficit/salinity irrigation
  • conservation agriculture
  • regional water management

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 9958 KiB  
Article
Intermittent Rainfed Rice var. INIA 516 LM1: A Sustainable Alternative for the Huallaga River Basin
by Ricardo Flores-Marquez, Rita de Cássia Bahia, Yuri Arévalo-Aranda, Edson Esmith Torres-Chávez, Jonathan Guevara, Abner Antezana, Antoni Carranza, Ceila Lao and Richard Solórzano-Acosta
Water 2025, 17(9), 1262; https://doi.org/10.3390/w17091262 - 23 Apr 2025
Viewed by 121
Abstract
Climate change is projected to increase global temperatures and alter rainfall patterns. In Peru, these changes could adversely affect the central basin of the Huallaga River by increasing pest and disease incidence, evapotranspiration, and water consumption. This basin is one of the country’s [...] Read more.
Climate change is projected to increase global temperatures and alter rainfall patterns. In Peru, these changes could adversely affect the central basin of the Huallaga River by increasing pest and disease incidence, evapotranspiration, and water consumption. This basin is one of the country’s main rice-producing regions, where the crop is traditionally cultivated using inefficient practices, such as continuous flood irrigation. This study evaluated the effects of different irrigation management strategies on the growth and yield of rice (Oryza sativa var. INIA 516 LM1-La Unión 23), the water footprint as an indicator of water use efficiency, and the incidence of pests and diseases associated with irrigation regimes. Three irrigation treatments were implemented: Traditional flooding T1 (maintenance of a 0.15 m water layer with replenishment every 4 days), Optimized flooding T2 (replenishment every 7 days), and Intermittent rainfed irrigation T3 (replenishment every 14 days). Although no significant differences were observed in biometric parameters, yield, or pest and disease incidence, a trend of decreasing yield with longer irrigation intervals was noted: traditional flooding (7.91 t∙ha−1) > reduced flooding (7.82 t∙ha−1) > intermittent rainfed (7.14 t∙ha−1). The incidence of white leaf virus and Burkholderia glumae was highest in the intermittent rainfed treatment, followed by optimized flooding, with the lowest incidence in traditional flooding. Yield reduction and the use of rainwater to cover water requirements resulted in a lower total water footprint for traditional flooding (834.0 m3∙t−1), followed by optimized flooding (843.6 m3∙t−1) and intermittent rainfed (923.9 m3∙t−1). This reflects an improvement in rainwater use efficiency. The findings suggest intermittent rainfed irrigation enhances water use efficiency without significantly compromising rice yield or increasing disease incidence in rice var. INIA 516 LM1-La Unión 23 in the central basin of the Huallaga River. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Methods and Tools for Sustainable Agricultural Water Management)
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17 pages, 2039 KiB  
Article
Simulating Water Application Efficiency in Pressurized Irrigation Systems: A Computational Approach
by Nelson Carriço, Diogo Felícissimo, André Antunes and Paulo Brito da Luz
Water 2025, 17(8), 1217; https://doi.org/10.3390/w17081217 (registering DOI) - 18 Apr 2025
Viewed by 162
Abstract
The agricultural sector faces growing environmental and societal pressures to balance natural resource use with food security, particularly within the Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystems Nexus (WEFE). Increasing water demand, competition, and challenges like droughts and desertification are driving the need for innovative irrigation practices. Pressurized irrigation [...] Read more.
The agricultural sector faces growing environmental and societal pressures to balance natural resource use with food security, particularly within the Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystems Nexus (WEFE). Increasing water demand, competition, and challenges like droughts and desertification are driving the need for innovative irrigation practices. Pressurized irrigation systems, such as sprinkler and micro-irrigation, are gaining prominence due to their automation, labor savings, and increased water application efficiency. To support farmers in designing and managing these systems, the R&D project AGIR developed a computational tool that simulates water application efficiency under site-specific conditions. The tool integrates key parameters, including system design, scheduling, soil properties, topography, meteorological data, and vegetation cover, providing a robust methodological framework with classification criteria for evaluating irrigation options. Validated using data from six case studies, the tool achieved simulated irrigation efficiencies of 73% to 90%, which are consistent with field observations. By simplifying complex irrigation requirement calculations, the model offers a user-friendly alternative while maintaining accuracy at the farm level. This innovative tool enables stakeholders to optimize irrigation systems, reduce water losses, and establish standardized recommendations for design, management, performance, and socio-economic considerations. It represents a significant step forward in supporting sustainable water management and advancing the goals of Agriculture 4.0. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Methods and Tools for Sustainable Agricultural Water Management)
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27 pages, 21616 KiB  
Article
Integrating Convolutional Attention and Encoder–Decoder Long Short-Term Memory for Enhanced Soil Moisture Prediction
by Jingfeng Han, Jian Hong, Xiao Chen, Jing Wang, Jinlong Zhu, Xiaoning Li, Yuguang Yan and Qingliang Li
Water 2024, 16(23), 3481; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16233481 - 3 Dec 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 997
Abstract
Soil moisture is recognized as a crucial variable in land–atmosphere interactions. This study introduces the Convolutional Attention Encoder–Decoder Long Short-Term Memory (CAEDLSTM) model to address the uncertainties and limitations inherent in traditional soil moisture prediction methods, especially in capturing complex temporal dynamics across [...] Read more.
Soil moisture is recognized as a crucial variable in land–atmosphere interactions. This study introduces the Convolutional Attention Encoder–Decoder Long Short-Term Memory (CAEDLSTM) model to address the uncertainties and limitations inherent in traditional soil moisture prediction methods, especially in capturing complex temporal dynamics across diverse environmental conditions. Unlike existing approaches, this model integrates convolutional layers, an encoder–decoder framework, and multi-head attention mechanisms for the first time in soil moisture prediction. The convolutional layers capture local spatial features, while the encoder–decoder architecture effectively manages temporal dependencies. Additionally, the multi-head attention mechanism enhances the model’s ability to simultaneously focus on multiple key influencing factors, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of complex environmental variables. This synergistic combination significantly improves predictive performance, particularly in challenging climatic conditions. The model was validated using the LandBench1.0 dataset, which includes multiple high-resolution datasets, such as ERA5-land, ERA5 atmospheric variables, and SoilGrids, covering various climatic regions, including high latitudes, temperate zones, and tropical areas. The superior performance of the CAEDLSTM model is evidenced by comparisons with advanced models such as AEDLSTM, CNNLSTM, EDLSTM, and AttLSTM. Relative to the traditional LSTM model, CAEDLSTM achieved an average increase of 5.01% in R2, a 12.89% reduction in RMSE, a 16.67% decrease in bias, and a 4.35% increase in KGE. Moreover, it effectively addresses the limitations of traditional deep learning methods in challenging climates, including tropical Africa, the Tibetan Plateau, and Southeast Asia, resulting in significant enhancements in predictive accuracy within these regions, with R2 values improving by as much as 20%. These results underscore the capabilities of CAEDLSTM in capturing complex soil moisture dynamics, demonstrating its considerable potential for applications in agriculture and water resource monitoring across diverse climates. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Methods and Tools for Sustainable Agricultural Water Management)
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16 pages, 1498 KiB  
Article
Research on the Current Situation and Sustainable Development Measures for Urban–Rural Water Supply Integration in Yunnan Province, China
by Zifei Ma, Wengang Li, Yang Li, Jing Li and Jing Wang
Water 2024, 16(22), 3232; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16223232 - 10 Nov 2024
Viewed by 1429
Abstract
Urban–Rural Water supply integration is one of the effective ways to address rural drinking water safety issues. With the rapid economic development and urbanization, the gap between urban and rural water supply has become increasingly evident, and rural areas face severe challenges such [...] Read more.
Urban–Rural Water supply integration is one of the effective ways to address rural drinking water safety issues. With the rapid economic development and urbanization, the gap between urban and rural water supply has become increasingly evident, and rural areas face severe challenges such as insufficient water sources and substandard water quality. Yunnan Province, due to its unique topography and natural environment, encounters numerous difficulties in promoting the construction and development of urban–rural water supply integration, and there is a severe lack of research specifically focused on sustainable development measures for urban–rural water supply integration in Yunnan Province. In light of this, this paper first reviews the current research status on urban–rural water supply integration both domestically and internationally, pointing out that existing studies mainly focus on optimizing urban water supply systems, addressing rural drinking water safety issues, and exploring water supply management models. It then analyzes the challenges faced by Yunnan Province in advancing urban–rural water supply integration, including limitations in engineering construction, inadequate operation and maintenance, complex and variable water source conditions, and insufficient public awareness of water conservation. In response to these issues, a series of sustainable development measures are proposed, including revitalizing existing assets, enhancing construction planning and quality, promoting water pricing reforms, upgrading the technical system for drinking water safety assurance, and advancing the information technology construction of urban–rural water supply integration, with the aim of providing references and insights for the sustainable development of urban–rural water supply integration in Yunnan Province and other regions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Methods and Tools for Sustainable Agricultural Water Management)
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17 pages, 3338 KiB  
Article
Examining the Barriers to Redesigning Smallholder Production Practices for Water-Use Efficiency in Numbi, Mbombela Local Municipality, South Africa
by Mishal Trevor Morepje, Isaac Azikiwe Agholor, Moses Zakhele Sithole, Nomzamo Sharon Msweli, Variety Nkateko Thabane and Lethu Inneth Mgwenya
Water 2024, 16(22), 3221; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16223221 - 9 Nov 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1144
Abstract
Smallholder farmers in South Africa face issues related to water shortages and poor irrigation water management. This study investigated barriers to improving water-use efficiency (WUE) in smallholder production practices in Numbi, South Africa. The objectives were to identify barriers in redesigning production practices [...] Read more.
Smallholder farmers in South Africa face issues related to water shortages and poor irrigation water management. This study investigated barriers to improving water-use efficiency (WUE) in smallholder production practices in Numbi, South Africa. The objectives were to identify barriers in redesigning production practices for higher agricultural productivity and analyze the relationship between irrigation water supply and the adoption of WUE methods. From a population of 7696 people, 141 smallholder farmers were sampled using a simple random sampling technique through Taro Yamane’s sample size formula. The data were analyzed using Pearson’s correlation coefficient and descriptive statistics. Unreliable water supply (M = 3.78, SD = 0.85), poor soil water retention (M = 3.78, SD = 0.85), lack of water-efficient irrigation systems (M = 3.91, SD = 0.71), lack of water storage facilities (M = 3.85, SD = 0.93), limited access to credit (M = 4.09, SD = 0.85), income instability due to market fluctuations (M = 3.96, SD = 0.91), inadequate knowledge of irrigation management (M = 4.00, SD = 0.84), and harsh climatic factors were identified. A positive correlation (r = 0.339, n = 141, p < 0.001) between irrigation water source and WUE techniques was evident, indicating that irrigation water source had an insignificant impact on WUE methods. Resolving these barriers requires a holistic approach focusing on investments in irrigation infrastructure and targeted education initiatives by extension agents and other stakeholders, as this can enhance agricultural productivity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Methods and Tools for Sustainable Agricultural Water Management)
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18 pages, 4757 KiB  
Article
Determination of Crop Coefficients for Flood-Irrigated Winter Wheat in Southern New Mexico Using Three ETo Estimation Methods
by Hui Yang, Manoj K. Shukla, Adam Gonzalez and Yusen Yuan
Water 2024, 16(17), 2463; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16172463 - 30 Aug 2024
Viewed by 1037
Abstract
Crop coefficient (Kc), the ratio of crop evapotranspiration (ETc) to reference evapotranspiration (ETo), is used to schedule an efficient irrigation regime. This research was conducted to investigate variations in ETc and growth-stage-specific Kc in flood-irrigated [...] Read more.
Crop coefficient (Kc), the ratio of crop evapotranspiration (ETc) to reference evapotranspiration (ETo), is used to schedule an efficient irrigation regime. This research was conducted to investigate variations in ETc and growth-stage-specific Kc in flood-irrigated winter wheat as a forage crop from 2021 to 2023 in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of southern New Mexico, USA, and evaluate the performances of two temperature-based ETo estimation methods of Hargreaves–Samani and Blaney–Criddle with the widely used Penman–Monteith method. The results indicated that the total ETc over the whole growth stage for flood-irrigated winter wheat was 556.4 mm on a two-year average, while the average deep percolation (DP) was 2.93 cm and 2.77 cm, accounting for 28.8% and 27.2% of applied irrigation water in the 2021–2022 and 2022–2023 growing seasons, respectively. The ETo over the growing season, computed using Penman–Monteith, Hargreaves–Samani, and Blaney–Criddle equations, were 867.0 mm, 1015.0 mm, and 856.2 mm in 2021–2022, and 785.6 mm, 947.0 mm, and 800.1 mm in 2022–2023, respectively. The result of global sensitivity analysis showed that the mean temperature is the main driving factor for estimated ETo based on Blaney–Criddle and Hargreaves–Samani methods, but the sensitivity percentage for Blaney–Criddle was 76.9%, which was much higher than that of 48.9% for Hargreaves–Samani, given that Blaney–Criddle method is less accurate in ETo estimation for this area, especially during the hottest season from May to August. In contrast, wind speed and maximum temperature were the main driving factors for the Penman–Monteith method, with sensitivity percentages of 70.9% and 21.9%, respectively. The two-year average crop coefficient (Kc) values at the initial, mid, and late growth stage were 0.54, 1.1, and 0.54 based on Penman–Monteith, 0.51, 1.0 and 0.46 based on Blaney–Criddle, and 0.52, 1.2 and 0.56 based on Hargreaves–Samani. The results showed that the Hargreaves–Samani equation serves as an alternative tool to predict ETo when fewer meteorological variables are available. The calculated local growth-stage-specific Kc can help improve irrigation water management in this region. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Methods and Tools for Sustainable Agricultural Water Management)
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