Irrigation, soil and fertilizers are key factors to feed world population in the next decades. Within this framework, best management irrigation practices will play an important role to maintain and improve soil sustainability and to meet the standards dictated by the European Directive. Despite the increased production and diversification, the sustainability of irrigation is questioned. This is largely due to its sometimes detrimental effect on the environment and associated economic costs. In consequence, soil productivity could be drastically reduced and thus, crop productivity. Likewise, erosion will be reinforced and ecosystems affected as well. In addition, fertilizers and contaminants applied with irrigation water move through the soil, and very often reach the water table enhancing the risk for human and animal health.

On the other hand, quality of irrigation water is reduced each day and, in some locations wastewaters are used for that porpoise. This could result in soil salinity, especially in heavy soils, and would constrain soil sustainability. For irrigation, each soil type must be considered relative to some soil specific characteristics, especially physical, since irrigation sustainability is associated to particular requirements for soil management.

OBJETIVES
To understand and assess the effect of irrigation and fertirrigation practices in soil sustainability and its productivity.
To promote better irrigation practices in order to maintain soil biodiversity and to improve or restore natural ecosystems.
To design water-energy-saving irrigation system

Invited speaker: Dr. Enrique Playán (Dept. Soil and Water. EEAD-CSIC. Zaragoza. Spain).
Title: Developing Automatic Controllers for sprinkler irrigation systems

Selected presentations of this session at EGU 2011 are being submitted to Agriculture Water Management Journal.

Funding provided by:

Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology (MICINN) through project no. AGL2008-00153/AGR, Research Group "Hydraulic of Irrigation"

CEIGRAM (Research Centre for the Management of Agricultural and Environmental Risks), Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICINN) through project no. AGL2010-21501/AGR,

Ministero dell’Università e della Ricerca and Università di Palermo through project PRIN 2008 (CUP B71J10000080001)

is greatly appreciated.