Presentar la historia del desarrollo social, económico, cultural, y agrícola del estado de Misisipi; discutir el impacto de las actividades agrícolas sobre los recursos hídricos en la región; presentar estudios que se están liderando para la protección y uso racional del agua en producción de vegetales y hortalizas a pequeña escala los cuales están encaminados a un desarrollo sostenible

1. Manejo Sostenible del Agua para Riego en Produccion
de Vegetales y Hortalizas a Pequena Escala
Jairo Diaz
Mississippi River Research Center
Department of Agriculture
Alcorn State University

2. Objetivos
• Presentar la historia del
desarrollo social, económico,
cultural, y agrícola del estado de
Misisipi;
• discutir el impacto de las
actividades agrícolas sobre los
recursos hídricos en la región;
• presentar estudios que se están
liderando para la protección y
uso racional del agua en
producción de vegetales y
hortalizas a pequeña escala los
cuales están encaminados a un
desarrollo sostenible.

3. Agricultural Water Issues in Mississippi
• Although Mississippi annually
receives a high amount of
precipitation, the temporal
distribution is not uniform and
farmers are forced to
supplement crop water needs
via irrigation.
• Extensive drought seasons
have been observed in recent
years (1998-2002,2007, and
2011),increasing the risk
associated with water
availability to croplands.
Monthly variation of rainfall and potential
evapotranspiration. Data from Leflore
County, MS (1997-2002)

4. • Mississippi showed the highest
percent change of any state in
irrigated area from 1978
(161,000acres) to 1997
(1,076,000acres).
• In the Mississippi Delta, the
primary source of water for crop
irrigation is the alluvial aquifer
that has shown the biggest
declines nationwide since 1900.
• New Mississippi water
regulations (well permits) will
require farmers to implement
water managementpractices or
lose permitted use of ground
water wells.
Cumulativegroundwater depletion by yearsin theMississippi alluvial
valley, 1900 -2008(Konikow, 2013)
Cumulative groundwater depletion, 1900 -2008
(Konikow, 2013)
Agricultural Water Issues in Mississippi

5. Agricultural Water Issues in Mississippi
• In Mississippi,small-scale
farmers with limited
resources produce
vegetablesto maximize
their returns,mostly
without irrigation systems.
• About 99% of the irrigated
land in Mississippiis
operated in large farms (>
500 acres). Irrigation systems used in Mississippi (SAAESD)

6. • There are nearly
42,000 farms in
Mississippi, of which 92
percent are classified
as small.
• Farmers have
expressed a need to
get more information
about easy-to-use and
affordable technology
to irrigateand
scheduling irrigation of
fruit/vegetablefields.
Irrigation Scheduling Methods Used by
Farmers in Southwestern Idaho
(modified from Steiber and Mahler,
2013)
Agricultural Water Issues in Mississippi

7. Water testing capabilities at Alcorn’s MRRC lab
Testing of Agricultural Water
Microbial: total coliforms and E. Coli

8. Rainwater harvesting systems for
agricultural production

9. Acknowledgements
• Universidad de
Ciencias Aplicadas y
Ambientales
• Departamento de
Agricultura de los
Estados Unidos
• Estado de Misisipi

10. Contact Info: