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.
For nearly a month, hundreds of thousands of Iowans have not been allowed to water their lawns—even though there's no drought.
Environment
Jul 11, 2025
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Groundwater is declining across Eastern Washington's complex, interconnected aquifer system, as people draw on it for irrigation, drinking and other uses at a pace that threatens its sustainability, according to a new study ...
Earth Sciences
Jul 9, 2025
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Tulare Lake was drained by farmers more than a century ago, and it has reappeared only rarely when floods have reclaimed farmlands in its ancient lake bed in the San Joaquin Valley.
Ecology
Jul 8, 2025
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Water is essential at all stages of food production, from irrigation to food processing to washing fruit and vegetables before we eat them. Crops and livestock need it to grow, but water can also be contaminated by pathogens ...
Ecology
Jul 1, 2025
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Water is at the heart of agriculture. Every stage of the food-growing process depends on having reliable access to water. However, water levels are declining in many rivers and aquifers that function as key resources for ...
Ecology
Jun 27, 2025
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The economic costs of drought could rise by more than one-third in the next 10 years without urgent reforms to water policies and irrigation systems, especially in resource-limited countries, according to new analysis.
Environment
Jun 24, 2025
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Irrigation is widely promoted as a powerful tool to combat hunger and malnutrition, boosting agricultural output, food security, and rural livelihoods. But a new Policy Brief by the United Nations University Institute for ...
Environment
Jun 24, 2025
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In an advance for agriculture, a new study reveals how wheat plants actively influence the microbial communities living on and inside their roots—and how these root microbiomes change over time depending on conditions such ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 23, 2025
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A market-based approach to managing water in the Colorado River basin could provide more reliable supplies for farmers, communities, and industry amid ongoing drought and excess demand. The right market design and a little ...
Environment
Jun 20, 2025
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From satellite images taken over a period of 26 years, a team at the UCO shows how a system of irrigation channels dating back to the Roman Empire increases the water content of the soil adjacent to them. The findings are ...
Ecology
Jun 11, 2025
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