Crop-water management for intensive production under restricted water supply

Allocation of irrigation water for agricultural use is one of the most important issues in the management of the Egyptian irrigation system. The main problem in the management of the system is mainly due to the difficulties to know the future-cropping pattern. Moreover, there is a need to increase the crop production and yield, as well as to increase horizontal expansion in the new agricultural lands, which will increase definitely the future water demands. This will require a strategy for selecting the most rewarding crops in terms of the use of water and yield. The proposed study investigates the impacts from the current water distribution management policy in terms of water allocation for each crop, and hence the impacts on the yield. A pilot study area was chosen to represent the Delta region, including both old agricultural lands and the new reclaimed lands. As a result of the evaluation for the management policy, the major grain crops (Wheat, Beans, Rice, Maize, and Soybeans) were investigated thoroughly in terms of crop water requirements, water allocation for each crop and the yield. The impacts as reflected in the crop yield were compared for the different crops. Results proved that winter crops in the new lands had an improvement in the yield during the period between 1993 until 1995 over the yield improvement in the Delta during the same period. This was quite impressive, particularly for Beans, since very little deficit in the new lands was achieved during late stage, where as the deficit in the Delta was at the early development stage.