Irrigation research, development and practice in Mauritius

Code (CO)	MSI99P0164
Author (AU)	Soopramanien, G. C. Berthelot, P. B. Batchelor, C. H.
Title - English (ET)	Irrigation research, development and practice in Mauritius
Document Type(DT)	Periodical article
Date of publication (DP)	1990
Series (SE)	Agric. Water Manage.
ISSN (SN)	0378-3774
Source (SO)	17: 129-139
Language of text (LT)	En
Abstract (AB)	The island of Mauritius has a mosaic of micro-climate and soil type. Water is becoming a scarce resource due to an expanding population and other industries. To meet the objectives of the national agricultural diversification, productivity on cane lands has to increase significantly with a concurrent increase in irrigation water use efficiency. Very little research has been undertaken to improve the low efficiency of surface irrigation. Some recommendations are available for overhead irrigation following soil physics and crop water requirement studies. A number of factors which influence cane yield under drip irrigation have been tackled to-date. Suggestions are made for future research studies to enhance the development of irrigation. The present practice of irrigating sugarcane are reviewed as well as yields achieved and economic aspects. Training in the operation and management of irrigation systems seem to be a key element to ensure profitability.
Descriptors - English (DE)	SUGARCANE IRRIGATION TRICKLE IRRIGATION OVERHEAD IRRIGATION SURFACE IRRIGATION ECONOMICS WATER USE MSIRI COLLABORATORS
Descriptors - Geographic (DG)	MAURITIUS
Sort Key 1(K1)	Sugarcane: Water use and management
Sort Key 2 (K2)	Irrigation
Date record entered (DA)	1992-02-12
Language of analysis (LA)	En
Affiliation (AF)	Mauritius Sugar Industry Research Institute, Réduit Institute of Hydrology, UK
Location (LO)	LIB BOT
Processing status (PS)	CAT
MSIRI Staff (MS)	BOT ECON