Dear Colleagues,

The world population has increased rapidly in recent decades, and the need for more agricultural products to feed this growing population is a paramount challenge. Irrigated agriculture plays a very important role in securing food due to its higher productivity. That is why irrigated agriculture has expanded throughout the world. Today, there are more than 275 million hectares of irrigated land. This area is about 18% of the total cultivated area, but it provides approximately 40% of the global food production (FAO). Despite its importance, irrigated agriculture is seriously threatened in many areas of the world. The high environmental impacts of the irrigation are also a major concern.

One of the most important threats that irrigated agriculture has to face is the growing scarcity of water resources devoted to irrigation. The problem is not only limited to water quantity but also to its quality. The increasing salinization of the groundwater in many irrigated areas of the world is another consequence of the poor irrigation water management that generates excessive return flows with a high salinity. The increasing effects of climate change are making things even worse, jeopardizing the sustainability of irrigation systems in the near future.

The development of more accurate irrigation scheduling methods and the expansion of efficient irrigation management practices are required measures intended to reduce the water consumption of irrigation systems and to avoid water losses by runoff or deep percolation that may cause the contamination of aquifers due to nitrates or pesticides. Promising cutting-edge technology, such as new climate, soil, and plant sensors; advanced wireless communications; information and communication techniques (ICTs); artificial intelligence (IA); and the Internet of Things (IoT), are being successfully implemented to improve irrigation scheduling and management.

In addition to the measures focused on reducing water consumption in irrigation, it is also necessary to increase the quantity of water resources. The use of non-conventional water resources, such as desalinated seawater or regenerated wastewater, is a measure that is being implemented today in many threatened irrigation districts.

The contribution of irrigated agriculture to climate change and global warming is another serious concern. Energy consumption in irrigation districts has increased drastically in recent years. This is a consequence of the modernization of traditional surface irrigation systems and their transformation to pressurized systems with the aim of reducing water losses. The rise in energy consumption poses an economic and environmental threat to irrigation systems. The use of techniques aiming to reduce energy consumption is urgently required. Among these techniques, the use of renewable sources of energy seems to be an appropriate solution to reduce the dependence of the irrigation districts on fuel fossils and to diminish the emission of greenhouse gasses. The use of PV irrigation systems is an active field of research today.

The studies of this Special Issue are expected to address the following topics:

• Efficient and accurate irrigation scheduling methods that may contribute to the reduction of water consumption and groundwater contamination. New cutting-edge methods applied to the irrigation management;
• The design and management of irrigation systems for improved efficiency, both at farm and irrigation district scales. Assessment of irrigation efficiency and productivity in irrigation districts;
• Evaluation of nonpoint source pollution caused by the irrigated agriculture. Methods and policies to reduce its environmental impact;
• Water resources planning studies intended to cope with scarcity and poor-quality irrigation;
• Studies focused on encouraging the use of desalinated or regenerated water in agriculture;
• Evaluation of the energy consumption of the irrigated agriculture and design and management of irrigation system that make use of renewable sources of energy;
• Evaluation of the impact of climate change on irrigated agriculture, methods, and policies to cope with the problems caused by the climate change.

Dr. Juan Reca
Guest Editor

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• irrigation scheduling and management
• efficiency of irrigation water use
• irrigation sustainability
• irrigation environmental impacts
• efficiency of energy use in irrigation
• conventional and non-conventional water resources