Cropping Pattern Modification to Overcome Abiotic Stresses

The urgency of feeding the growing population in Egypt, while combating soil pollution, salinization, and desertification has given plant and soil productivity research vital importance. Furthermore, high population increase will increase food production–consumption gaps, as well as food insecurity. Egypt suffers from several food gaps, namely wheat and maize. In addition, there is a gap in legumes, sugar, and oil crops. Because water resources in Egypt are becoming limited and scarce, Egypt will face a problem to allocate water to agriculture to maintain food security. Moreover, soil salinity is an enormous problem for agriculture under irrigation. In addition, the abiotic stress that climate change will cause, i.e., water and heat stress can disturb physical and chemical processes in crops. Moreover, water requirements will increase for most of the cultivated crops. Consequently, cropping pattern in Egypt will be highly affected by these anticipated stresses. Therefore, cropping pattern should be adjusted to combat these negative effects on cultivated area and food production in Egypt. This study is set to be implemented on the Nile Delta and Valley for governorates irrigated using surface irrigation from the Nile River, which is called old lands, as well as the areas on the edges of these governorates (new land and its soil is sandy). These areas are irrigated with irrigation systems, namely sprinkler or drip systems, depending on the cultivated crop. The recorded cropping pattern in Egypt in 2014/15 growing season was used as a base for comparison in this study. Furthermore, this study deals with how national cropping pattern can be modify to overcome abiotic stresses, such as food insecurity, water scarcity, induced salinity and climate change, to reduce their negative effects on the cultivated area and consequently food production. Thus, different cropping patterns were suggested and evaluated to achieve that.

The objective of this chapter was to calculate water requirements for the prevailing cropping pattern in the five agroclimatic zones of Egypt. Weather data were collected for 2014/15 growing seasons to calculate water requirements for the studied cropping pattern for the five agroclimatic zones. BISm model was used to calculate ETo. The planting and harvest dates for 19 important crops that existed in the cropping pattern was determined. The date of each growth stage and the values of crop coefficients for each of the studied crops, as well as its water consumptive use were then calculated by the model. These calculations will help in the determination of water requirements for each of the studied crops in the level of each agroclimatic zone and on the national level.

The objective of this chapter was to assess the cultivated area in the cropping pattern recorded in 2014/15 growing seasons in the five agroclimatic zones in Egypt, as well as its water requirements. The distribution of the five main crops (wheat, maize, clover, cotton, and sugarcane) in the five agroclimatic zones was assessed, with respect to its cultivated area, as well as its applied irrigation amounts in 2014/15 cropping pattern. In addition to these five main crops, other crops are also cultivated and its water requirements were calculated. The total cultivated area was found to be around 6.3 million hectares, required around 62.3 billion cubic meters of irrigation water. The cultivated area of wheat represented that highest area in the winter season, followed by clover and sugar beet. Whereas, in the summer season, maize had the highest cultivate area followed by fruit trees and rice. The prevailing cropping pattern resulted in food gaps in wheat, maize, faba bean, oil crops, sugar crops, and summer forage crops. Thus, it needs to be modified to reduce these food gaps and increase food security.

The objective of this chapter is to quantify the effect of using polycropping on increasing food security in the five agro-climatic zones of Egypt. Our results indicated that food gaps in Egypt can be decreased by increasing polycropping, where intercropping techniques and cultivation of three crops per year were implemented. Using intercropping systems for wheat, faba bean, maize, sunflower, and cowpea can increase its cultivated area to high percentage, 20 and 22%, respectively. Whereas, faba bean, sunflower, and cowpea cultivated area can be increased to very high percentage, reaching 611, 5500 and 128,186%, respectively. These high percentages of increase were a result of implementing intercropping and cultivation of three crops per year. Our results also showed that there was no need to apply extra irrigation water to cultivate the middle crop between winter and summer, namely short season clover or sunflower because it can be obtained from cultivation of all the suggested cropping systems on raised beds. Thus, the proposed cropping pattern can increase the national cultivated area by 35%, compared to current cultivated area in 2014/15. Moreover, the increase in the cultivated area will not consume extra irrigation water.

The objective of this chapter is to propose a cropping pattern that uses the amount of irrigation water assigned to agriculture more efficiently and increases food production in the five agro-climatic zones in Egypt. Our results indicated that two cropping patterns can be suggested to face water scarcity. The first cropping pattern will depend on changing crops cultivation method from flat or narrow furrows to raised beds, which will save 20% of the applied irrigation water. This amount will account for 10.0 billion cubic meters on the national level and can be used to cultivate new areas and increase the national cultivated area. The cultivated area under this suggested pattern can increase by 24%, compared to the area cultivated in 2014/15 growing season. The other suggested cropping pattern can be implemented through implementing cultivation on raised bed and polycropping, namely intercropping and cultivation of three crops per year. The cultivated area under this suggested pattern will increase by 53%, compared to the area cultivated in 2014/15 growing season. Both suggested cropping patterns can save on the applied irrigation and consequently increase food production.

In Egypt, salt-affected soils exist in 830,000 hectares located in the first, second and third agro-climatic zones. This area is distributed by 36, 23 and 8% in these three agro-climatic zones, respectively Develop cropping pattern under the condition of salt-affected soils require implementation of crop rotations to minimize the harm effects of salinity on crops (Ouda et al. 2016). Thus, the objective of this chapter was to develop cropping pattern that can maximize crops production and combat salinity stress in the five agro-climatic zone of Egypt. Three crop rotations were developed to reduce the harmful effect of salinity on the crops grown in the first, second and third ago-climatic zones. Furthermore, cultivation on raised beds and polycropping was suggested as improved management practices to be implemented inside the suggested crop rotations. The use of these three practices was integrated with the prevailing cropping pattern and new cropping pattern was developed. The total cultivated area under the suggested cropping pattern that faces salinity stress was about 9.2 million hectares, with 46% increase in the cultivated area, compared to the implemented cropping pattern in 2014/15.

The objective of this chapter was to calculate the values of water consumptive use for the studied crops in the prevailing cropping pattern in 2030 under the effect of climate change in the five agro-climatic zones in Egypt. The projected values of soil temperature on the level of each agro-climatic zone in 2030 revealed that there will be an increasing trend in its value in 2030, compared to its counterpart values in 2015. The highest differences will occur in the summer season from May to September. Whereas, in the winter season, there will be small differences between soil temperature in 2015 and 2030 from September to December, then the difference becomes higher from January to April. Furthermore, soil moisture content in the layer of 0–10 cm in 2030 will be reduced to the degree that it will have the same value in the winter as the summer due to increase in soil evaporation, which will reduce soil moisture content to a very low level. These results were true for the five agro-climatic zones in Egypt. This, in turn, can result in increased water requirements for cultivated crops.

The objective of this chapter is to quantify the effect of climate change in 2030 on the prevailing cropping pattern, in terms of increasing water requirements of the crops, which could result in the reduction of cultivated area. Furthermore, testing the effect management practices on the cultivated area of the copping pattern was also done in the five agro-climatic zones of Egypt. Our results indicated that increasing water requirements for the cultivated crops in each agro-climatic zone in 2030 will result in decrease in the cultivated area of these crops. The analysis showed that the cultivated area in the prevailing cropping pattern will be reduced in 2030 by 13%, compared to its counterpart value in 2014/15. A cropping pattern was suggested, where changing cultivation methods to raised beds will increase the cultivated area by 9%, compared to its counterpart value in 2014/2015. Furthermore, another cropping pattern was suggested, where cultivation on raised beds and polycropping will increase the cultivated area by 32%. Thus, the suggested management will overcome the stress resulted from climate change on the prevailing cropping pattern in the future.

The objective of this chapter is to compare between the cropping index under the prevailing cropping pattern and the suggested cropping patterns to overcome water scarcity, salinity stress, and climate change stress in the five agro-climatic zones in Egypt. One common measurement used in Egypt to measure how cropping pattern can satisfy the needs of the population for food is cropping index. It is calculated by dividing the cropped area by the actual cultivated area multiply by 100%. The cropped area is calculated by adding the winter cultivated area to the summer cultivated area and any other additional cultivated area either early winter or early summer. Our results showed that the highest cultivated area was found in the second agro-climatic zone and the lowest cultivated area was found in the fifth agro-climatic zone. The highest value of cropping index was found in the second agro-climatic zone under prevailing cropping pattern, under cropping pattern that increases food security, and under cropping pattern that faces water scarcity. Furthermore, in the cropping pattern that faces salinity and cropping pattern that faces climate change, the highest value of cropping index was found in the third agro-climatic zone. The highest percentage of increase in the cropping index value was found in the fourth agro-climatic zone.