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Irrigation of agricultural crops
Agricultural WaterManagement, 20 (1992) 341-344 ElsevierSciencePublishersB.V., Amsterdam
341
Book Reviews IRRIGATION OF AGRICULTURALCROPS
Irrigation of agricultural crops. B.A., Stewart and D.R. Nielsen (Editors). American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, Soil Science Society of America Publishers, Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.A., 1990. 1218 pp., price US$ 65.00. ISBN 0-89118-102-4. At any price, there is no more complete, up to date desk reference on the subject than Irrigation of Agricultural Crops edited by Stewart and Nielson. At $65 it is a bargain that no scientist or technician in the field of irrigation or water sciences should bypass. After the obligatory introduction, the volume begins in earnest with a short section on irrigation development that discusses the history of irrigation science, environmental and scientific concerns of modern irrigation, and future needs and concerns of irrigation and water sciences. Although researchers may be tempted to gloss over this section, it gives an excellent overview of irrigation theory for students, and it thoughtfully describes often-debated social, economic, and environmental issues germane to future irrigation needs and options for irrigation development. After these general chapters, the volume includes three technical sections of four chapters each on soil-water relations, plant-water relations, and soilplant-atmosphere relations. The section on soil-water relations concisely reviews the principles of soil physics in relation to water movement in soils and measurements of soil water status. The section on plant-water relations includes chapters on movement and measurement of water in plants, uptake of water, and plant responses to water deficit. The section on soil-plant-atmosphere relations emphasizes the crop level processes of evaporation and transpiration as they relate to irrigation needs for crop production. A common feature and strength of all chapters in these sections is a solid mathematical foundation in basic physics. The mathematics in these sections describe, for the most part, well-established physical principles and can be readily understood by generalists. Overall, these sections can serve as recent literature reviews for specialists in these particular areas, but they will probably have greater value as a series of concise synopses for scientists whose specialities lie outside of these topic areas. The next section has two chapters on the nuts and bolts of irrigation: types of irrigation systems, methods of scheduling. This "how to" section will prob-
342
ably be inadequate to the irrigation scientist, but will be a welcome relief from the preceding theoretical sections for irrigation users - - researchers and farm managers who wish to evaluate options for practical irrigation. The seventh section includes 17 chapters on irrigation of selected crops and orchard species. Each chapter follows a similar outline, including a description of crop growth and development, seasonal evapotranspiration trends, responses to water stress, c o m m o n irrigation management practices, crop nutrition, and cultural practices as they relate to crop productivity and irrigation water use efficiency. Individual chapters will have greatest interest to readers who specialize on the particular crop under discussion. Unfortunately, this means that many readers will be interested in only a small portion of over 500 pages of the volume. For irrigation scientists who work with many crops, however, this section is an encyclopedic gold mine of valuable information on a wide range of crops. The last section of the book discusses irrigation effects on the environment with chapters on drainage, salinity, erosion, and pollution. The information in these chapters is timely and important - - perhaps too important to have been placed at the end of this large volume. Irrigation scientists in the modern world should consider environment first, not last. With 70 contributors and 38 chapters, it is impossible to give a detailed review in the short space available here. The list of contributors includes the majority of American experts on irrigation and related sciences and a few recognized authorities from other developed countries. In general, the detailed information in the book is recent, relevant and complete. Some readers may consider that the volume too long, that its encyclopedic completeness detracts from its universal relevance. This c o m p e n d i u m quality, however, is the book's greatest value; as a text and desk reference there is no similar volume of equal quality. Despite its excellent attempt at comprehensiveness, the volume does not discuss the crop with the greatest irrigated area in the world, the crop with the longest history of irrigation - - rice. With over 1 M ha, rice is also an important irrigated crop in the U.S.A. Its omission is a mystery. Still, I leave you with a simple recommendation regarding this book: buy it. Dr. Keit T. Ingram Plant Physiology and Agroecology Division International Rice Research Institute Los Bahos, Philipines
341
Book Reviews IRRIGATION OF AGRICULTURALCROPS
Irrigation of agricultural crops. B.A., Stewart and D.R. Nielsen (Editors). American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, Soil Science Society of America Publishers, Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.A., 1990. 1218 pp., price US$ 65.00. ISBN 0-89118-102-4. At any price, there is no more complete, up to date desk reference on the subject than Irrigation of Agricultural Crops edited by Stewart and Nielson. At $65 it is a bargain that no scientist or technician in the field of irrigation or water sciences should bypass. After the obligatory introduction, the volume begins in earnest with a short section on irrigation development that discusses the history of irrigation science, environmental and scientific concerns of modern irrigation, and future needs and concerns of irrigation and water sciences. Although researchers may be tempted to gloss over this section, it gives an excellent overview of irrigation theory for students, and it thoughtfully describes often-debated social, economic, and environmental issues germane to future irrigation needs and options for irrigation development. After these general chapters, the volume includes three technical sections of four chapters each on soil-water relations, plant-water relations, and soilplant-atmosphere relations. The section on soil-water relations concisely reviews the principles of soil physics in relation to water movement in soils and measurements of soil water status. The section on plant-water relations includes chapters on movement and measurement of water in plants, uptake of water, and plant responses to water deficit. The section on soil-plant-atmosphere relations emphasizes the crop level processes of evaporation and transpiration as they relate to irrigation needs for crop production. A common feature and strength of all chapters in these sections is a solid mathematical foundation in basic physics. The mathematics in these sections describe, for the most part, well-established physical principles and can be readily understood by generalists. Overall, these sections can serve as recent literature reviews for specialists in these particular areas, but they will probably have greater value as a series of concise synopses for scientists whose specialities lie outside of these topic areas. The next section has two chapters on the nuts and bolts of irrigation: types of irrigation systems, methods of scheduling. This "how to" section will prob-
342
ably be inadequate to the irrigation scientist, but will be a welcome relief from the preceding theoretical sections for irrigation users - - researchers and farm managers who wish to evaluate options for practical irrigation. The seventh section includes 17 chapters on irrigation of selected crops and orchard species. Each chapter follows a similar outline, including a description of crop growth and development, seasonal evapotranspiration trends, responses to water stress, c o m m o n irrigation management practices, crop nutrition, and cultural practices as they relate to crop productivity and irrigation water use efficiency. Individual chapters will have greatest interest to readers who specialize on the particular crop under discussion. Unfortunately, this means that many readers will be interested in only a small portion of over 500 pages of the volume. For irrigation scientists who work with many crops, however, this section is an encyclopedic gold mine of valuable information on a wide range of crops. The last section of the book discusses irrigation effects on the environment with chapters on drainage, salinity, erosion, and pollution. The information in these chapters is timely and important - - perhaps too important to have been placed at the end of this large volume. Irrigation scientists in the modern world should consider environment first, not last. With 70 contributors and 38 chapters, it is impossible to give a detailed review in the short space available here. The list of contributors includes the majority of American experts on irrigation and related sciences and a few recognized authorities from other developed countries. In general, the detailed information in the book is recent, relevant and complete. Some readers may consider that the volume too long, that its encyclopedic completeness detracts from its universal relevance. This c o m p e n d i u m quality, however, is the book's greatest value; as a text and desk reference there is no similar volume of equal quality. Despite its excellent attempt at comprehensiveness, the volume does not discuss the crop with the greatest irrigated area in the world, the crop with the longest history of irrigation - - rice. With over 1 M ha, rice is also an important irrigated crop in the U.S.A. Its omission is a mystery. Still, I leave you with a simple recommendation regarding this book: buy it. Dr. Keit T. Ingram Plant Physiology and Agroecology Division International Rice Research Institute Los Bahos, Philipines