By Dr. Alon Tal, Alon Ben-Gal, and Noemi Tel-Zur

ABSTRACT

In efforts to provide food and fiber to a growing and developing world, agriculture is challenged to increase productivity. Moving water into arid regions and the introduction of irrigated agriculture constitute a key element in any strategy for increased global production. Arid regions offer large undeveloped land and a climate conducive to plant growth and can provide high yielding cultivation on condition that water is available. The sustainability of arid zone agriculture is questionable and faced with combined challenges of development and protection of water resources, managing salinity and creating long-term economically and environmentally sound operations. This review will address strategies to ensure the sustainability of arid agriculture via farm and regional management of water and salinity and the use of appropriate plant and crop sciences with an eye towards the agronomic feasibility of the technologies required to overcome the inherent challenges of agriculture in the drylands.

• Click here to download "The Sustainability of Arid Agriculture: Trends and Challenges"