Maha Elbana

The agricultural sector is the highest water consumer worldwide. Its production is the essential pillar in world’s food security. Limited water resources are the major constraint in an agricultural production system. Better application of irrigation water will result in increased water and land productivity for the planted crops. Precision irrigation is one of the promising keys to solve this dilemma. It allows applying the exact needed amount of water in its optimal place at the right time. Yet, this requires a huge information database to be accurately able to apply precision irrigation. The traditional trial-and-error technique in agricultural experiments to improve land and water productivity is time-consuming and sometimes is economically unaffordable. Thus, there is a need to develop more cost-effective and accurate tools to correctly survey world’s natural resources and its most sustainable exploitation. Geo-informatics implication in combination with suitable decision support systems plays a relevant role in water management in agricultural sector, especially when applying precision irrigation and farming techniques.

Opuntia ficus-indica is gaining scientists’ and policy makers’ interest worldwide as drought tolerant crop adopted to marginal low fertile soils. Few studies were conducted to estimate its water management parameters under different soil-climate conditions. O.ficus-indica was planted in the experimental farm of City of Scientific Research and Technological Applications (SRTA-City, Alexandria, Egypt) under different irrigation scheduling applications. The study aimed to understand the effect of severe water deficit on crop development and water management related parameters. First irrigation scheduling (T1) applied irrigation with fixed amount of water (7.2 m3 ha-1 week-1). The second (T2), was applied when soil water content (SWC) became below 35% of field capacity (Ɵfc) in effective root zone. The third (T3), was conducted when SWC was below 30% of Ɵfc. The results revealed higher yield under T1 than T2 and T3. Water productivity was the lowest in T1 (0.62 kg m-3) and the highest i...

Abstract An environmental friendly superabsorbent composite (SAC) based on rice, (Oriza sativa L.), husk was created by the scientific group at Faculty of Science, Tanta University, and City of Scientific Research and Technological Applications (SRTA-City), Egypt. SAC was tested for its ability to improve soil water retention, control the release of urea, and its biodegradability in soil. The effect of SAC on sweet pepper, Capsicum annuum, productivity under severe deficit irrigation conditions was studied. Doses of irrigation water representing percentage ∼16.7, 11.9, 7.1, and 2.4 of the actual crop water requirements (CWR) were tested in soil treated with 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, and 1.00 wt% SAC. The tested SAC lost ∼60% of its weight in 150 days. Soil water retention and urea release rates were improved plant growth in response to the addition of SAC. Application of ∼11.9% of CWR with 1.00 wt% SAC resulted in significantly better crop production than other treatments without SAC. This could annually save about 154.44 million cubic meters (MCM) to be directed for horizontal expansion and improve food security.

Limited water resources in Egypt is the main factor driving the exploration of unconventional sources that can fulfill the water demands of the increasing population. Applying treated wastewater (TWW) to agriculture is a reliable, effective method of reducing the gap between current water demand and supply. Besides saving freshwater resources, long-term reuse of TWW can enhance the physiochemical properties of light-textured soil.

Irrigation using treated wastewater (TWW) could provoke land degradation and heavy metals’ accumulation. The current study selected two irrigated areas with treated wastewater along Bahr El-Baqar drain in Egypt. The first area (zone A) has been receiving treated wastewater for a period between 10 15 years. The second area (zone B) has been receiving treated wastewater for more than 20 years. Vegetation behavior was monitored using Enhanced Vegetation Index. TWW was of grade “C” according to the Egyptian Code (ECP 501-2015). Zone B suffered from significant loss in fertility and noticeable decrease in vegetation compared to zone A. Crops in zone B had lower heavy metal contents in shoots and roots compared to those of zone A probably due to soil alkalinity. Nevertheless, heavy metal concentrations in rice grains were higher in zone B than in zone A reflecting potential hazard on human health. In conclusion, irrigation using low-quality water negatively affected vegetation performance...

The effect of three dripline flushing frequency treatments (no flushing, one flushing at the end of each irrigation period, and a monthly flushing during the irrigation period) was studied in surface and subsurface drip irrigation systems that operated using an effluent for three irrigation periods of 540 h each. The irrigation systems had two different emitters, one pressure compensating and the other not, placed in laterals 87 metres long. Dripline flow of the pressure compensating emitter increased 8% over time, while in the nonpressure compensating emitter, dripline flow increased 25% in the surface driplines and decreased 3% in the subsurface driplines by the emitter clogging. Emitter clogging was affected primarily by the interactions between emitter location, emitter type, and flushing frequency treatment. The number of completely clogged emitters was affected by the interaction between irrigation system and emitter type. There was an average of 3.7% less totally clogged emit...

Resume Au moment ou l’agriculture mediterraneenne souffre de la penurie d’eau et de grandes lacunes en termes de productivite et de connaissances, ce que traduit un gaspillage permanent de nourriture et de ressources, les scenarios d’avenir sur la distribution de l’eau semblent confirmer qu’une action sur plusieurs plans doit necessairement etre entreprise pour assurer la securite alimentaire de la region. Dans cette optique, ce chapitre presente les principales composantes de la gestion des ressources en eau afin d’offrir une comprehension globale des problemes et d’elaborer des solutions correspondantes. Ces dernieres reposent sur une combinaison d’interactions technologiques et de gestion au sein du nexus eau-energie-alimentation, qui ne peuvent etre mises en œuvre qu’apres identification des difficultes sectorielles. A cette fin, les problemes et leur solution sont exposes sous la forme de recommandations pour l’elaboration de politiques efficaces, point de depart indispensable ...

DOI: 10.21608/ASEJAIQJSAE.2020.132557 1 Soil and Water Science Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef 62511, Egypt Food Science Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef 62511, Egypt Land and Water Technologies Department, Arid Lands Cultivation Research Institute, City of Scientific Research and Technological Applications (SRTA-City), New Borg Elarab, Alexandria, Egypt * Corresponding author: maha.elbana@agr.bsu.edu.eg Received November 15, 2020, Accepted, December 20, 2020 ABSTRACT

Els sistemes de reg per degoteig es consideren com un metode apropiat per a la reutilitzacio d’aigues regenerades, ja que disminueixen els riscos sanitaris. No obstant aixo, el problema mes important en l’aplicacio dels efluents en els sistemes de reg localitzat es l’obturacio dels filtres i degoters, el que disminueix la uniformitat de distribucio del aigua. L’objectiu principal d’aquesta tesi doctoral va ser comparar el comportament hidraulic d’un sistema de reg per degoteig superficial (DI) i un d’enterrat (SDI) aplicant un efluent terciari amb tres frequencies de rentat dels laterals (sense rentat, un rentat al final de cada temporada de reg i un rentat mensual) amb dos tipus d’emissors (autocompensant i no autocompensant). Altres objectius han estat investigar la influencia de la qualitat de l’efluent en el proces de filtracio i calcular la perdua de carrega i la durada dels cicles de filtracio en el filtre de sorra mitjancant l’analisi dimensional. Els resultats van demostrar ...

An environmental friendly superabsorbent composite (SAC) based on rice, (Oriza sativa L.), husk was created by the scientific group at Faculty of Science, Tanta University, and City of Scientific Research and Technological Applications (SRTA-City), Egypt. SAC was tested for its ability to improve soil water retention, control the release of urea, and its biodegradability in soil. The effect of SAC on sweet pepper, Capsicum annuum, productivity under severe deficit irrigation conditions was studied. Doses of irrigation water representing percentage ∼16.7, 11.9, 7.1, and 2.4 of the actual crop water requirements (CWR) were tested in soil treated with 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, and 1.00 wt% SAC. The tested SAC lost ∼60% of its weight in 150 days. Soil water retention and urea release rates were improved plant growth in response to the addition of SAC. Application of ∼11.9% of CWR with 1.00 wt% SAC resulted in significantly better crop production than other treatments without SAC. This could annually save about 154.44 million cubic meters (MCM) to be directed for horizontal expansion and improve food security.

ABSTRACT Sand media filters are among the most common filters used in micro-irrigation systems, especially for filtering waters with large amounts of organic contaminants like reclaimed effluents. An experiment was conducted for 1620 h between August 2007 and September 2008 using a reclaimed effluent to evaluate the efficiency of sand filters with sand effective diameters of 0.32, 0.47, 0.63 and 0.64 mm in decreasing turbidity and improving dissolved oxygen concentration. In addition, this study strived to determine the filter ripening period (i.e. the time after backwashing when the filtered effluent has the lowest quality) and the effect of filter backwashing on filtration efficiency. Depending on the sand effective size, the sand filter achieved turbidity reductions of between 59.6 and 85.4% and dissolved oxygen recoveries from 4.5 to 15.7%. During the experiment the filter ripening period was 15 min. Overall, the results support the idea that a daily backwashing is a good maintenance practice since it reduces inefficient backwashings and increases dissolved oxygen, which is interesting when hypoxic water is used for irrigation.

The agricultural sector is the highest water consumer worldwide. Its production is the essential pillar in world’s food security. Limited water resources are the major constraint in an agricultural production system. Better application of irrigation water will result in increased water and land productivity for the planted crops. Precision irrigation is one of the promising keys to solve this dilemma. It allows applying the exact needed amount of water in its optimal place at the right time. Yet, this requires a huge information database to be accurately able to apply precision irrigation. The traditional trial-and-error technique in agricultural experiments to improve land and water productivity is time-consuming and sometimes is economically unaffordable. Thus, there is a need to develop more cost-effective and accurate tools to correctly survey world’s natural resources and its most sustainable exploitation. Geo-informatics implication in combination with suitable decision support systems plays a relevant role in water management in agricultural sector, especially when applying precision irrigation and farming techniques.

This chapter aims to provide an overview about the implication of geo-informatics (with a special focus on geographic information systems and remote sensing) in irrigation water management on both local level (Egypt) and international level. Although geo-informatics applications for agricultural management have been used since the early 1980s, still there is a place for further research to maximize the benefits of its use. Public involvement is critically needed to ensure sustainability of applied water management programs using geo-informatics.

Today, water scarcity is an urgent issue expected to impose severe constraints on the Mediterranean region for its development and food security. According to the World Water Assessment Program of the UNESCO (WWAP, 2015), without significant global policy change, the world will only have 60% of the water it needs by 2030. The Mediterranean region is one of the most water-scarce areas in the world. The region holds only 3% of the world's freshwater resources but hosts more than 50% of the world's " water poor " populations, or around 180 million of the region's 460 million inhabitants (Châtel et al., 2014). The entire region has a supply of renewable water resources of about 1,452 km 3 , which is distributed in an extremely inhomogeneous way between the North (74%), the East (21%) and the South (5%) (Ferragina, 2010). However, water scarcity is expected to intensify further in this region that has already been made fragile due to population and economic growths, desertification and the needs for environmental protection. In addition, the rise in temperatures will impose further stress on the Mediterranean's finite water resources as this region is identified as one of the most prominent climate response hot-spots. Water scarcity can involve not only a lack of water but also poor water delivery infrastructure and poor water management. Some consider water scarcity as an absolute shortage of physical supply while others argue that it is generated by poverty, inequality and bad water management policies. Water resource availability in the Mediterranean has already been negatively affected and this is seriously jeopardising food security and the environment. This chapter exposes the different components affecting the variability of water availability and therefore assesses the reasons behind wastages and losses of water and the possible solutions with the aim of ensuring a more sustainable food production