ACIAR has been funding projects in Africa, and soon in Pakistan, to help irrigators manage their water better (LWR/2014/085 and LWR/2014/074). This work has been conceived as the “Virtual Irrigation Academy” (VIA), an online environment where growers and researchers can learn together using simple tools about how to manage irrigation water and nutrients better.
The research has developed the Chameleon Soil Water Sensor which measures how hard it is for plants to suck water out of the soil and the data is displayed as coloured lights. It can measure the soil moisture at three depths in the ground. The light for each sensor can turn from blue (soil wet) to green (soil moist) to red (soil dry).
This is an archived blog from the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR). For the latest news visit www.aciar.gov.au
Showing posts with label land and water resources. Show all posts
Showing posts with label land and water resources. Show all posts
Friday, 5 August 2016
Friday, 18 December 2015
Participants test out new climate analyser app at workshop in West Bengal, India
A three day training workshop focussing on climate variability and soil water balance to support more diverse and intensive cropping systems on the East India Plateau was held in Purulia, West Bengal in November. The workshop, which ran over three days and involved presentations, ‘hands-on’ sessions and a field trip, and was attended by 16 Professional Assistance for Development Action (PRADAN) Development Executives from Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha and two scientists from the Advanced Center for Water Resources Development and Management (ACWADAM).
ACIAR project LWR/2010/082, ‘Improving livelihoods with innovative cropping systems on the East India Plateau’, has supported the development of a daily soil water balance based on field monitoring of soil water in rice-based cropping systems and utilising historical daily climate records. The research has been published in the journal Agricultural Systems, but until now this understanding and expertise has been unavailable to PRADAN professionals working with farmers to develop cropping systems that better utilise available water resources.
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David Freebairn discussing output
from ClimAnalyser with Ashok Kumar (PRADAN). Source: Western Sydney University |
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