Irrigation, as a research topic, encompasses the controlled application of water to agricultural or landscaped soils to optimize plant growth, yield, and resource efficiency under variable climatic and hydrological conditions. It includes the study and modeling of water delivery methods (e.g., surface, sprinkler, and drip systems), soil–plant–atmosphere water dynamics, evapotranspiration estimation, and scheduling strategies based on soil moisture, plant stress indicators, or climate data. Research additionally addresses irrigation water quality, salinity management, impacts on groundwater and surface water systems, energy use, and integration with precision agriculture and deficit-irrigation strategies to improve water productivity and sustainability.
Water reserves are being depleted rapidly in northern Italy, threatening farming as the region's main river dries up, local officials warned Friday.
Environment
Jul 11, 2026
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209
Mississippi State scientists are building on two decades of irrigation research to identify production practices that help growers save water while improving crop yields.
Agriculture
Jul 10, 2026
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9
As drought strains water supplies across much of the United States, Virginia Tech researchers have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) model designed to help policymakers manage growing competition between agriculture ...
Environment
Jul 10, 2026
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13
To people, salt is a kitchen staple. But to crops, too much of it can be devastating. Across coastal regions and irrigated agricultural land, salt is accumulating in soils, making it harder for plants to absorb water and ...
Ecology
Jul 9, 2026
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6
Summer came too early to Europe's most important rice-growing region, and weeds are taking over Sharon Angoli's parched paddies in Italy's Pavia province.
Agriculture
Jul 4, 2026
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24
With El Niño officially declared for summer 2026, Dr. Laura Fernandez and researchers at Macquarie University are testing the use of recycled water to irrigate trees, helping cool Western Sydney.
Environment
Jul 2, 2026
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8
When it comes to drought stress, timing can be the difference between saving a crop and losing it, whether in a greenhouse or in the high-stakes environment of future space missions. In a recent study published in Plant Phenomics, ...
Space Exploration
Jul 1, 2026
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21
The burgeoning East Coast broccoli industry is helping lower costs slightly and reduce reliance on the drought-prone West. Those were findings from a new supply chain model study that showed expanding production outside California—the ...
Agriculture
Jun 30, 2026
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8
As drought and water uncertainty put increasing pressure on orchard systems, researchers at the USDA Agricultural Research Service's Appalachian Fruit Research Station in Kearneysville, West Virginia, launched a study in ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 26, 2026
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11
Regenerative agriculture can deliver both economic and environmental benefits for European farmers, Wageningen University & Research (WUR) concludes in the research project Regenomics. Whether these benefits are actually ...
Agriculture
Jun 25, 2026
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40
