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Sustainable Water Resource Management in Agricultural Irrigation
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Sustainable Water Resource Management in Agricultural Irrigation

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Water, Agriculture and Aquaculture".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 December 2026 | Viewed by 1069

Editors

Dr. Shudong Lin

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Water Conservancy and Civil Engineering, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Ürümqi, China
Interests: water-saving irrigation; agricultural water management; soil science; agro-ecological environment; efficient water and fertilizer use; crop growth modeling; agricultural climate change
Dr. Jiaping Liang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Modern Agricultural Engineering, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650500, China
Interests: water-saving irrigation; water productivity; water–soil–crop relationships in agricultural systems; agricultural soil and water environment; water-saving and quality-improving mechanism
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Global water scarcity and climate change pose major challenges to agricultural irrigation, particularly in arid regions where inefficient practices and salinization threaten productivity and environmental sustainability. Recent advances in precision irrigation, saline water use, and water–fertilizer integration offer promising solutions, yet the complex interactions among water, soil, crops, and the environment remain insufficiently understood.

This Special Issue on “Sustainable Water Resource Management in Agricultural Irrigation” aims to highlight innovative technologies and management strategies that improve water use efficiency and reduce environmental impacts. In this Special Issue, original research articles and review papers are welcome. The scope of this Special Issue includes, but is not limited to, the following topics:

  • Smart and precision irrigation technologies for efficient water management;
  • Water productivity and saline water utilization in agriculture;
  • Soil–water–crop system interactions and modeling approaches;
  • Integrated water–nutrient management and soil health regulation;
  • Environmental impacts of irrigation, including greenhouse gas emissions and climate adaptation strategies.

We look forward to receiving your contributions and to advancing knowledge and innovation in sustainable agricultural water management.

Dr. Shudong Lin
Dr. Jiaping Liang
Guest Editors

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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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-anonymized 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

  • sustainable irrigation
  • water use efficiency
  • saline water irrigation
  • precision agriculture
  • water–fertilizer integration
  • soil health
  • greenhouse gas emissions
  • irrigation modeling
  • arid agriculture

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 6776 KB  
Article
Leaching Requirement for Cotton Under Film-Mulched Drip Irrigation with Brackish Water
by Zaimin Wang, Wenling Chen, Yujiang He, Ty P. A. Ferré, Amjad Danyal and Qixin Chang
Water 2026, 18(15), 1802; https://doi.org/10.3390/w18151802 - 25 Jul 2026
Viewed by 293
Abstract
Film-mulched drip irrigation (FMDI) is used increasingly for cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) production in arid regions. However, salts often accumulate in the soil, eventually leading to soil salinization and crop failure when using FMDI with brackish water inappropriately. Evaluation of the leaching [...] Read more.
Film-mulched drip irrigation (FMDI) is used increasingly for cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) production in arid regions. However, salts often accumulate in the soil, eventually leading to soil salinization and crop failure when using FMDI with brackish water inappropriately. Evaluation of the leaching requirement (LR) for cotton under FMDI with brackish water that comprehensively considers cotton yield, water saving, soil conditions, and economic benefits needs to be investigated more completely. The present study compared the cotton growth for different leaching fractions (LF) under FMDI with brackish water and provides comprehensive analysis of LR for cotton and its relationships with soil conditions. A higher LF was related to a lower cotton yield when the LF was larger than 0.15. Moreover, a larger LF led to a lower ratio of reproductive growth and irrigation water productivity when the LF was larger than 0.2. A high soil water content (SWC) strip was observed in the 40–60 cm soil layers for all scenarios. Moreover, a higher SWC proportion in the deeper soil layers as for LF0.15 or LF0.2 may also be beneficial to cotton growth. Soil salinity decreased with decreases in irrigation water quantity when the LF was lower than 0.2, but increased when the LF was higher than 0.2. Either too much or too little irrigation water was not beneficial from an economic perspective. Our study indicated that the LR values between 0.05 and 0.15 were recommended for FMDI when the total dissolved solids for brackish water is within 1.61–3.21 g L−1. Integrated strategies, including optimized irrigation-fertilizer management, groundwater depth monitoring, and halophyte intercropping, are required to sustain production while mitigating secondary salinization and groundwater pollution under FMDI with brackish water. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Water Resource Management in Agricultural Irrigation)
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18 pages, 1985 KB  
Article
Performance of Two Low-Cost Capacitive Soil Moisture Sensors Under Contrasting Texture and Salinity Conditions
by Rafida Thelaidjia, Mohammed Benkhelifa, Roche Kder Bassouka-Miatoukantama, Jean-Francois Printanier, Mamadou Gueye, Congduc Pham and Christian Hartmann
Water 2026, 18(12), 1431; https://doi.org/10.3390/w18121431 - 11 Jun 2026
Viewed by 481
Abstract
Efficient irrigation management requires reliable information on soil water content, yet low-cost capacitive sensors often lack proper calibration. This study evaluates the metrological performance of two DF Robot probes, SEN0193 (S1) and SEN0308 (S3), under controlled variations in porous media properties. Glass beads [...] Read more.
Efficient irrigation management requires reliable information on soil water content, yet low-cost capacitive sensors often lack proper calibration. This study evaluates the metrological performance of two DF Robot probes, SEN0193 (S1) and SEN0308 (S3), under controlled variations in porous media properties. Glass beads of three size classes (<50 µm, 70–110 µm, and 400–600 µm) were used to simulate fine, medium, and coarse textures. Sensors were tested at four water contents (0, 10, 20, and 30%) and four salinity levels (0, 4, 8, and 16 g NaCl L−1). Results show that the manufacturer-recommended air/water calibration is unsuitable for soils or porous media; calibration should instead be performed under dry and saturated conditions specific to the medium. S1 exhibited stable and homogeneous responses, with intra-unit CV ≤ 2%, but moderate calibration accuracy (R2 = 0.68–0.80; RMSE = 8.9–12.9% VWC across textures). S3 showed a wider signal range (80–90% larger than S1), better fit in coarse texture (R2 = 0.96; RMSE = 3.5% VWC), but higher unit-to-unit variability (CV = 6–14%) and performance degradation in fine and saline media. Although these sensors cannot provide accurate absolute quantification, their ability to track moisture trends makes them useful for irrigation management, provided calibration accounts for medium texture and salinity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Water Resource Management in Agricultural Irrigation)
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