Masters of Science / The Bottelary River area is located in a Mediterranean climate region, where the agricultural sector plays an important role. During the dry summer season, there is not enough precipitation to meet the agricultural irrigation requirements. Some farmers extract river water which is practically the final treated effluent from the Scottsdene Wastewater Treatment Works (WWTW) to irrigate crops. This research investigates the use of treated effluent for agricultural irrigation in this area, particularly focuses on the effluent quality, farmers' perception, and the potential extent. The Bottelary River area is located in a Mediterranean climate region, where the agricultural sector plays an important role. During the dry summer season, there is not enough precipitation to meet the agricultural irrigation requirements. Some farmers extract river water which is practically the final treated effluent from the Scottsdene Wastewater Treatment Works (WWTW) to irrigate crops. This research investigates the use of treated effluent for agricultural irrigation in this area, particularly focuses on the effluent quality, farmers' perception, and the potential extent. The methods used in this research included the statistical analysis of the effluent quality and questionnaire analysis of the collected data. In addition, the research employed the SAPWAT model to calculate the irrigation requirements and the potential area that could be irrigated by treated effluent. The research indicated that the effluent quality variables in general complied with the regulation of requirements for the purification of wastewater or effluent (known as 1984 general standard), which controlled the wastewater treatment works discharging final effluent to the watercourses. The only exception was faecal coliform concentration, which exceeded the general standard in certain periods. According to the South African water quality guideline on irrigation water use, the treated effluent should be used with caution, in order to minimize the potential risks, protect the public health, crops, soil and surface waters and groundwaters. The research found that although the farmers' attitudes were various, their most important concerns were on the effluent quality. The farmers cared for the impact of this unconventional water sources to human beings' health, crops and soil. Thus, eliminating the concerns amongst the farmers and solving the problems met during the practice would contribute to the use of treated effluent in agricultural irrigation in this area. The research indicated that during the normal dry summer season, treated effluent could act as an additional water resource to meet irrigation demand. During the normal wet winter season, the treated effluent was surplus compare to the irrigation requirements due to the ample precipitation. The treated effluent needs to be stored in dams to fulfill the summer peak demand. In order to promote the use of treated effluent as an additional water resource in agricultural irrigation, improved technologies, comprehensive monitoring systems and an extended public participation need to be established.

Restoration of Lithuanian independence, land reform, radically changed farming structure and strawberry growing potential has conditioned an increase of modern strawberry plantation. Irrigation is a rather important precondition for the commercial cultivation of fruit and berries in Lithuania. The new farm structure requires new, mainly small-scale irrigation systems. Strawberry water consumption and the soil water dynamics during strawberry growing period stated performing pilot research and additional yield which had been got because of the irrigation influence allows to measure optimal irrigation regime of the strawberry based on research. The aim of the work was to investigate dynamics of strawberry evapotranspiration in the Middle Lithuania and in the course of experiments, with respect to development peculiarities and productivity, to determine optimal irrigation regime for the strawberry grown in loamy soils. In the summary is presented strawberry evapotranspiration results maintaining optimal soil moisture conditions with irrigation; analysis of reference evapotranspiration methods; determination of their interaction degree and evaluation of the possibilities to introduce reference evapotranspiration models in calculation of the evapotranspiration of strawberries; quantitative evaluation of the influence of meteorological factors on the amount of the water consumed by strawberries and analysis of strawberry evapotranspiration calculation methods; evaluation of soil... [to full text]

Ethiopia has long since been an area strongly affected by drought. Although there is a relativelylarge amount of fresh water present in the country, variability in rainfall and lack ofinfrastructure lead to the result that most of the population is undersupplied with water. In thisregion where water is such a valuable commodity, the Abay River is a large, mainly untappedresource. Agriculture is the largest economic activity in Ethiopia but the productivity ofagriculture here is one of the lowest in the world, making food security a serious problem for acountry with a fast growing population. The development of irrigation projects is hoped toensure food security at the household level. The Koga Dam is a key project for the Ethiopiangovernment, as a step towards achieving food self-sufficiency at both national and regionallevels for a country that has a history of draughts and famine. If this project succeeds, it will be amodel for projects to come and proof that dams and water management can bring change to theregion, particularly concerning food security. Sedimentation is a problem for many dams aroundthe world, and especially in this region. It is likely that the volume of the Koga reservoir willdecrease over time due to reservoir siltation. Variability in climate is also predicted for the regionwhich could mean years with below average rain. These two factors combined could mean adecrease in water supply for the irrigation project in the future. This study applies existingknowledge of sedimentation and annual climate variability relative to the Koga reservoir to asimple reservoir model in order to investigate current and future annual changes in thereservoir’s volume. Climate and volume change were incorporated into the water balance model.Results showed that the dam should be capable of providing enough irrigation water to farm yearround assuming average climate and climate variability and no sedimentation. However, as lowas an 11% decrease in storage could result in the reservoir drying out for at least one month ayear. / Etiopien har sedan länge varit utsatt för vattenbrist. Trots att det finns ganska mycket sötvatten ilandet leder variation i nederbörd och brist på infrastruktur till att en stor del av befolkningensaknar vatten i tillräcklig utsträckning. När vatten är en sådan värdefull råvara är Blå Nilen(Abay floden är den inhemska beteckningen) en stor och outnyttjad resurs för regionen.Jordbruk är den största näringen i Etiopien men jordbrukets produktivitet är en av de lägsta ivärlden. Med tanke på landets snabbt växande befolkning är livsmedelsförsörjningen därför enallvarligutmaning. Utvecklingen av bevattningsprojekt förväntas trygga livsmedelsförsörjningenpå familjenivå. Kogadammen är ett centralt projekt både på nationell och på regional nivå. Denetiopiska regeringen som ser den som ett steg mot livsmedelssäkerhet mot bakgrund av landetshistoria av regnbrist och svält. Om projektet lyckas, kommer det att bli en modell för framtidaprojekt och ett bevis på att dammar och vattenförvaltning kan ge förändra situationen, särskiltmed avseende på livsmedelssäkerhet. Sedimentering är ett problem för många dammar runt om ivärlden, särskilt i denna region. Risken är stor att Kogadammens vattenvolym kommer attminska på grund av igenslamning. Klimatets variabilitet förutspås dessutom öka i regionen ochkan innebära år med såväl mindre som mer regn än idag. Sedimenteringen och den ökadenederbördsvariabiliteten kan möjligtvis innebära en minskad tillgång på bevattningsvatten iframtiden. Denna studie använde sig av befintlig kunskap om sedimentering och årligaklimatvariationer för att studera tänkbara förändringar i Kogadammens vattenvolym.Existerande data användes i en enkel reservoarmodell för att undersöka årliga volymförändringari reservoaren idag och i framtiden. Dammens månatliga vattenbalans beräknades årsvis underolika antaganden om klimat och volymförändringar. Beräkningarna visar att dammen bör kunnaleverera tillräckligt med vatten för att bevattna hela projektområdet om ingen klimatförändringeller volymminskning sker. Men om en volymminskning skulle inträffa, skulle dammensannolikt inte kunna leverera tillräckligt med vatten för bevattning under torrsäsongenmednuvarande odlingsmönster.

Recurring drought conditions have always been an endemic feature of climate in South Africa, limiting maize development and production. However, recent projections of the future climate by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change suggest that due to an increase of atmospheric greenhouse gases, the frequency and severity of droughts will increase in drought-prone areas, mostly in subtropical climates. This has raised major concern for the agricultural sector, particularly the vulnerable small-scale farmers who merely rely on rain for crop production. Farmers in the Luvuvhu River catchment are not an exception, as this area is considered economically poor, whereby a significant number of people are dependent on rain-fed farming for subsistence. This study was therefore conducted in order to improve agricultural productivity in the area and thus help in the development of measures to secure livelihoods of those vulnerable small-scale farmers. Two drought indices viz. Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) and Water Requirement Satisfaction Index (WRSI) were used to quantify drought. A 120-day maturing maize crop was considered and three consecutive planting dates were staggered based on the average start of the rainy season. Frequencies and probabilities during each growing stage of maize were calculated based on the results of the two indices. Temporal variations of drought severity from 1975 to 2015 were evaluated and trends were analyzed using the non-parametric Spearman’s Rank Correlation test at α (0.05) significance level. For assessing climate change impact on droughts, SPEI and WRSI were computed using an output from downscaled projections of CSIRO Mark3.5 under the SRES A2 emission scenario for the period 1980/81 – 2099/100. The frequency of drought was calculated and the difference of SPEI and WRSI means between future climate periods and the base period were assessed using the independent t-test at α (0.10) significance level in STATISTICA software. The study revealed that planting a 120-day maturing maize crop in December would pose a high risk of frequent severe-extreme droughts during the flowering to the grain-filling stage at Levubu, Lwamondo, Thohoyandou, and Tshiombo; while planting in October could place crops at a lower risk of reduced yield and even total crop failure. In contrast, stations located in the low-lying plains of the catchment (Punda Maria, Sigonde, and Pafuri) were exposed to frequent moderate droughts following planting in October, with favorable conditions noted following the December planting date. Further analysis on the performance of the crop under various drought conditions revealed that WRSI values corresponding to more intense drought conditions were detected during the December planting date for all stations. Moreover, at Punda Maria, Sigonde and Pafuri, it was observed that extreme drought (WRSI <50) occurred once in five seasons, regardless of the planting date. Temporal analysis on historical droughts in the area indicated that there had been eight agricultural seasons subjected to extreme widespread droughts resulting in total crop failure i.e. 1983/84, 1988/89, 1991/92, 1993/94, 2001/02, 2002/03, 2004/05 and 2014/15. Results of Spearman’s rank correlation test revealed weak increasing drought trends at Thohoyandou (ρ = of 0.5 for WRSI) and at Levubu and Lwamondo (ρ = of 0.4 for SPEI), with no significant trends at the other stations. The study further revealed that climate change would enhance the severity of drought across the catchment. This was statistically significant (at 10% significance level) for the near-future and intermediate-future climates, relative to the base period. Drought remains a threat to rain-fed maize production in the Luvuvhu River catchment area of South Africa. In order to mitigate the possible effects of droughts under climate change, optimal planting dates were recommended for each region. The use of seasonal forecasts during drought seasons would also be useful for local rain-fed maize growers especially in regions where moisture is available for a short period during the growing season. It was further recommended that the Government ensure proper support such as effective early warning systems and inputs to the farmers. Moreover, essential communication between scientists, decision makers, and the farmers can help in planning and decision making ahead of and during the occurrence of droughts. / Agriculture, Animal Health and Human Ecology / M. Sc. (Agriculture)