The economics of irrigating wheat in a humid climate - A study in the East of England

In the UK, wheat is the most important cultivated cereal, grown extensively as a rainfed crop. Irrigation of wheat has previously been considered uneconomic, but increases in world wheat prices and recent droughts have led to some farmers revising their views. Widespread adoption of wheat irrigation would have major implications for wheat production, the irrigation industry and water resources in regions that are already water scarce. This study investigated the financial viability of irrigating winter wheat grown on a sandy loam soil in the East of England. Long-term climate data (1961–2011) for Silsoe (Bedfordshire) was used to drive a biophysical crop model to assess irrigation water requirements and yield response. Modelling assumed a typical irrigation schedule to maximise yield and quality, and average reported wheat prices for 2007 to 2012. Irrigation costs were calculated assuming an overhead mobile hosereel–raingun system applying river water, abstracted either in summer and used directly, or abstracted in winter and stored in an on-farm reservoir. The results suggest that the yield benefit would justify supplemental irrigation by farmers who have unused irrigation equipment and unused summer water, although irrigation of higher-value field vegetable crops later in the season would normally take precedence – the Added Value of Water (AVW) usefully applied to milling winter wheat under these conditions ranged between 0.24 and 0.32 £ m−3. Investment in new irrigation schemes could also be marginally viable if unused summer river water was available for direct abstraction (AVW = 0.08 £ m−3). Investments in new farm reservoirs for irrigating wheat are currently not profitable (AVW = –0.23 £ m−3). Sensitivity analysis suggests that in the longer term, the expected increase in world wheat prices and the impacts of climate change are likely to make the financial benefits stronger, particularly in the drier catchments further east and on low moisture retentive soils, but competing demands for water would still make extensive wheat irrigation unlikely

Water and energy footprint of irrigated agriculture in the Mediterranean region

Irrigated agriculture constitutes the largest consumer of freshwater in the Mediterranean region and provides a major source of income and employment for rural livelihoods. However, increasing droughts and water scarcity have highlighted concerns regarding the environmental sustainability of agriculture in the region. An integrated assessment combining a gridded water balance model with a geodatabase and GIS has been developed and used to assess the water demand and energy footprint of irrigated production in the region. Modelled outputs were linked with crop yield and water resources data to estimate water (m3 kg−1) and energy (CO2 kg−1) productivity and identify vulnerable areas or 'hotspots'. For a selected key crops in the region, irrigation accounts for 61 km3 yr−1 of water abstraction and 1.78 Gt CO2 emissions yr−1, with most emissions from sunflower (73 kg CO2/t) and cotton (60 kg CO2/t) production. Wheat is a major strategic crop in the region and was estimated to have a water productivity of 1000 t Mm−3 and emissions of 31 kg CO2/t. Irrigation modernization would save around 8 km3 of water but would correspondingly increase CO2 emissions by around +135%. Shifting from rain-fed to irrigated production would increase irrigation demand to 166 km3 yr−1 (+137%) whilst CO2 emissions would rise by +270%. The study has major policy implications for understanding the water–energy–food nexus in the region and the trade-offs between strategies to save water, reduce CO2 emissions and/or intensify food production

The Textual Interest of the Syriac Versions of Galen’s Simples

As a complement and supplement to the various articles in this issue devoted specifically to the manuscript olim Hiersemann 500/20, henceforth referred to as the “Syriac Galen Palimpsest”, or simply “SGP”, this article presents selected examples of how and why the undertext of SGP is important for scholarship, especially in disciplines beyond the confines of Syriac Christianity. Our examples are drawn from Sergius of Reš ʿAynā’s sixth century Syriac translation of Books VI-VIII of Galen of Pergamon’s important pharmacological treatise On simple drugs (hereafter “Simples”), which, as is well known, is found not only in SGP, but also and especially in another, older and better preserved manuscript, British Library Additional 14661 (hereafter “BL”). These selected examples illustrate two points (both of which require much further study in order to be elucidated fully): firstly, how the Greek text of Galen’s Simples, as published by Kühn, may in some cases be corrected on the basis of indirect textual evidence provided by Sergius’ Syriac translation, and secondly, how Sergius’ sixth century translation was to prove fundamental even centuries later, during the ʿAbbāsid translation movement centered in Baghdad

Carolina López-Ruiz et Brian R. Doak (éd.), The Oxford Handbook of the Phoenician and Punic Mediterranean

Cet ouvrage rassemble quarante-huit chapitres réunis dans cinq parties. Il débute par une « Introduction », constituée de trois chapitres préliminaires, dont deux sont axés sur les outils de recherche – définition des toponymes Canʿan et Phénicie ; sources indirectes ; corpora des inscriptions (Philip Schmitz) – et sur la naissance de la discipline, notamment l’apport de Moscati aux études phénico-puniques et les moyens qui contribuent à définir la « phénicité » (Nicholas Vella). La partie I,..

Climate change impacts on rain-fed and irrigated rice yield in Malawi

There is extensive scientific evidence on climate impacts and adaptation in rice (Oryza sativa L.) but the majority relates to production in south Asia and China. Only a handful of studies have been conducted in Sub-Saharan Africa and none in Malawi. In this paper, the climate impacts on rain-fed and irrigated rice yield have been assessed by combining the downscaled outputs from an ensemble of general circulation models (GCM) (HADCM3, INCM3 and IPCM4) with data from the LARS-WG weather generator to drive the CERES-Rice crop model. This was calibrated and validated using 10 years (2001-2010) field data from three rice schemes to simulate the baseline (1961-90) yield (t ha-1) and then model future yield changes for selected (B1 and A2) emissions scenarios for the 2050s. Although relatively small increases in average yield were projected (+8% and +5% for rainfed and irrigated rice, respectively) there was large uncertainty (-10% to +20% yield change) when considering different GCMs and emission scenario. Farmer responses to cope with the projected impacts include both autonomous and planned adaptation strategies, such as modifying planting dates to maximise crop growth calendars and available soil moisture, increased use of on-farm water conservation measures and land levelling to improve water efficiency in rice schemes dependent on surface irrigatio

La rationalisation économique du rapport à la biodiversité : éléments d'ethnographie

L’ « érosion de la biodiversité » a fait l’objet d’un processus d’alerte et de mise à l’agenda scientifique, politique et médiatique depuis les années 80. Cette dynamique a conduit à l’émergence d’instances de gouvernance et à l’élaboration de technologies de maîtrise. Parmi celles-ci, le recours aux mécanismes du marché semble l’une des pistes privilégiées et en tout cas des plus discutées. L’objectif du texte suivant est d’une part de rendre compte de la mise en place d’un dispositif institutionnel et instrumental de mise en marché de la biodiversité. D’autre part, il s’agit d’analyser les conditions sociales de production des instruments de rationalisation économique du rapport à la biodiversité et d’apparition d’une communauté de spécialistes.The “biodiversity loss” has been subjected to a whistleblowing and an agenda-setting process since the 80’s (in science, politics and the media). This trend has led to the emergence of governance entities and of management and control technologies. Among these, resorting to the Market has been one of the most salient – or at least one the most discussed – ideas. The aim of the following paper is to describe the appearance of a specific institutional and instrumental apparatus; to analyze the social production of these tools of economic rationalization of the attitude towards biodiversity; and to understand the emergence of a community of specialists

Modelling irrigation and fertiliser use for chlorophyll production

Chlorophyll is a natural coloring extract used extensively in the food and pharmaceutical industries. In Europe, most chlorophyll is produced commercially from rainfed grassland production in eastern England. This paper describes a biogeochemical modeling study to assess the potential yield benefits associated with switching from rainfed to irrigated production. The research is in response the impacts of recent summer droughts on yield coupled with risks regarding climate change, rainfall reliability and long-term viability of rainfed production. The Denitrification-Decomposition model was calibrated and validated using multiple field data (n = 47) from 2000 to 2009 for a tall fescue grass (Festuca arundinacea) to simulate a range of irrigation and fertilizer management regimes on yield (annual and individual yield per cut). For chlorophyll production, a schedule combining 300 mm year−1 irrigation with 300 kg N ha−1 was shown to provide the highest average yield (an uplift of +62% above current levels). Switching from rainfed to irrigated production could also potentially halve (54%) current levels of fertilizer application. The implications for reducing environmental impacts from nitrate leaching are discussed

Mhamed Hassine Fantar, Maurice Sznycer, François Bron, Stèles à inscriptions néopuniques de Maktar

Ce catalogue représente l’aboutissement de travaux de longue haleine des érudits d’épigraphie sémitique depuis le début du xxe siècle. Si la publication de ces inscriptions néo-puniques a tardé à paraître, c’est parce qu’elles portaient plusieurs numéros d’inventaire (p. 16) au moment où l’étude des inscriptions fut confiée à Mhamed Hassine Fantar et Maurice Szyncer en 1971. En outre, les stèles, dont une grande partie a été découverte dans le courant du xixe siècle et une autre partie dans l..