Farming in the - WordPress.com

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Analysis of the agricultural situation in Azraq Basin
German-Jordanian Programme “Management of Water Resources”
equipment, field measurements
campaign (reference plot and
innovative plot), statistical analysis
of field data, and extension through
creation of guidelines and open
gate visits on the experimental
plot for other farmers.
A list of field observations and
related identified project are listed
below.
Water savings through choosing
adapted crops and adopting
adapted farming practices
1. Worrying extension of alfalfa in
Azraq (Um al Masael and South
Azraq), a high water requiring crop
Use of polymer for alfalfa
cultivation 68 .
Develop guidelines and
technical recommendations for
alfalfa cultivation, based on field
experiments.
Experiment more water-saving
fodder crops (e.g. sorghum..) to
substitute alfalfa 69 .
2. Some farms complain that
they bought their olive trees
without knowing the specificities
for each variety, and today have
a big difference in terms of yield
between varieties.
Experiment with olive tree
varieties best suited for the area.
3. Many olive trees are not pruned
to ensure optimal production
(structure of the tree is not optimal,
some old olive trees orchard are
grown as in a forest..).
Demonstration of the impact of
rejuvenation pruning of trees on
production, impact of good pruning
techniques on young olive trees to
build the architecture of the tree
and favour better production and
limit water consumption.
Water savings through adapted
irrigation practices
1. 3 farms in Azraq reported that
by using sub surface main lines and
secondary lines for their irrigation
networks, they can cut down their
water consumption by half.
Installation of sub-surface main
lines and sub main lines in irrigation
networks.
2. Many farms facing problems of
soil salinisation and difficulty to
leach soils.
Build simple drainage systems
to limit salinity (2 m deep trench
down the slope to drain excess
water).
3. Most farmers monitor irrigation
by eye.
Pilot project for irrigation
monitoring with tensiometers.
68 WaterWorks Crystals® is a completely non-toxic superabsorbent cross linked polymer, capable of absorbing up to 400 times its weight
in rain or irrigation water, and a percentage of water-soluble nutrients and fertilizers, making almost 100% of that water and nutrients
available to plant roots.
69 Check experiments done by ACSAD