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Assessment and water saving issues for Ningxia paddies, upper Yellow River Basin

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Abstract

In the Hetao Irrigation Districts of the Ningxia autonomous region, Upper Yellow River Basin, the “continuous deep flooding irrigation” method is used for the rice paddies. The field irrigation water use during the rice-growing season is two to three times higher than in other regions of North China where water-saving practices have been introduced. This paper, based on the data measured in experimental rice fields and sub-branch canal systems, presents main results concerning crop evapotranspiration, percolation and irrigation requirements for deep and shallow water irrigation. Causes for water waste relate to both the lack of regulation in supply and distribution canals and to the poor management of paddy fields. The potential for water saving is discussed using water balance data. Improved irrigation techniques and water management strategies, including the shallow water irrigation method, are suggested considering the expected impacts and benefits. Replacing the current continuous deep flooding with the shallow-ponded water irrigation method may reduce the growing season irrigation water use from 1,405 to 820 mm in average, with a likely increase in yields of 450 kg/ha. Water productivity would then increase from 0.49 to 1.03 kg/m3. Adopting improved canal management and modernization of regulation and control structures may lead to decreasing the gross irrigation demand from the present 3,100 mm to about 1,280 mm, which would highly benefit the environmental conditions in the area.

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Acknowledgments

This research was part of the project “Policies for Water Savings in The Yellow River Basin: A DSS Applied to Ningxia and Shandong”, Contract no. ERBIC18CT970170 with the European Commission.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Agricultural Engineering Research Center, Institute of Agronomy, Technical University of Lisbon, Tapada da Ajuda, 1349–017, Lisbon, Portugal

    Luis Santo Pereira

  2. Department of Irrigation and Drainage, College of Water Resources and Hydropower, Wuhan University, 430072, Wuhan, P.R. China

    Zhi Mao & Bin Dong

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  1. Zhi Mao
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  2. Bin Dong
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  3. Luis Santo Pereira
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Correspondence to Luis Santo Pereira.

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Mao, Z., Dong, B. & Pereira, L.S. Assessment and water saving issues for Ningxia paddies, upper Yellow River Basin. Paddy Water Environ 2, 99–110 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10333-004-0048-1

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