ABSTRACT
The primary objective of irrigation is to maintain crop water con sumptive use. In humid regions, irrigation water is applied to supple ment crop water needs when rainfall is insufficient during the growing season. However, water for plant growth in arid climates is solely supplied by irrigation. Due to the limited supply of water resources in such climates, optimum utilization of irrigation water to maintain crop évapotranspiration is essential. Moreover, the increasing demands for water and the limited supply of resources necessitate the adoption of water conservation and augmentation practices. Successful irrigation water management programs remain, by far, the most important alter native to conserving both the quantity and quality of water resources in arid climates and otherwise mitigating the sometimes negative im pacts of agricultural production on the environment.
