Field Crop 2024, Vol.7, No.4, 232-242 http://cropscipublisher.com/index.php/fc 232 Feature Review Open Access Innovations in Water Management for Rice Cultivation: Benefits of Alternating Wetting and Drying Yumin Huang School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, Fujian, China Corresponding email: hym@xmu.edu.cn Field Crop, 2024, Vol.7, No.4 doi: 10.5376/fc.2024.07.0023 Received: 19 Jun., 2024 Accepted: 30 Jul., 2024 Published: 21 Aug., 2024 Copyright © 2024 Huang, This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Preferred citation for this article: Huang Y.M., 2024, Innovations in water management for rice cultivation: benefits of alternating wetting and drying, Field Crop, 7(4): 232-242 (doi: 10.5376/fc.2024.07.0023) Abstract Rice cultivation is a major consumer of water resources, and traditional continuous flooding (CF) methods contribute significantly to water scarcity and environmental degradation. This study explores the benefits of the Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) irrigation technique as an innovative water management practice for rice cultivation. AWD has been shown to reduce water usage by 25-70% and greenhouse gas emissions by up to 95%, while maintaining or even improving rice yields by 1-20% compared to CF. Additionally, AWD enhances water productivity, reduces the accumulation of harmful heavy metals in rice grains, and improves grain quality. Despite these advantages, the adoption of AWD faces challenges such as the need for precise water level control, institutional support, and farmer education. This study synthesizes findings from various studies to highlight the potential of AWD to contribute to sustainable rice production, mitigate climate change impacts, and support the livelihoods of rice farmers in water-scarce regions. Keywords Rice cultivation; Alternate Wetting and Drying; Water management; Greenhouse gas emissions; Sustainable agriculture 1 Introduction Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a staple food for more than half of the world's population, particularly in Asia, where it is a primary source of calories and nutrition. As an aquatic plant, rice has a great demand for water, and insufficient water supply under drought conditions can directly affect its growth and development (Zhu and Shen, 2024). Traditional rice cultivation methods, such as continuous flooding (CF), require substantial amounts of water, making rice one of the most water-intensive crops. This high-water demand poses significant challenges, especially in regions facing water scarcity and increasing competition for water resources due to urbanization and industrialization (Thakur et al., 2018; Sriphirom et al., 2019; He et al., 2020). The sustainability of rice production is further threatened by climate change, which exacerbates water shortages and affects the reliability of water supplies (Maneepitak et al., 2019; Morshed, 2023). Innovative water management practices are crucial to ensure the sustainability of rice cultivation. These practices aim to reduce water usage, enhance water productivity, and mitigate the environmental impacts associated with traditional irrigation methods. Effective water management can also help maintain or even improve rice yields, ensuring food security for growing populations (Patikorn et al., 2018; Bwire et al., 2022). Among these innovations, the alternate wetting and drying (AWD) technique has gained attention for its potential to address the dual challenges of water scarcity and greenhouse gas emissions (Kwanyuen et al., 2021; Pham et al., 2021). The AWD technique involves periodically allowing the rice field to dry out after the disappearance of ponded water before re-irrigating. This method contrasts with the continuous flooding approach, where fields are kept submerged throughout the growing season. AWD has been shown to significantly reduce water usage by up to 40% while maintaining or even increasing rice yields under certain conditions (Sriphirom et al., 2019; He et al., 2020). Additionally, AWD can lower greenhouse gas emissions, particularly methane, by reducing anaerobic conditions in the soil (Sriphirom et al., 2019; Acosta-Motos et al., 2020). The technique's effectiveness depends on precise water level control, which can be enhanced through technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) (Pham et al., 2021).
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