Production of Alfalfa in Semi-arid Conditions

The total area of forage production in Sudan is expanding with the increased attention given to dairy production, particularly around urban centers and also to satisfy the requirements of increasing animals. In addition to this, a remarkable activity for cattle and sheep for export has resulted in increasing the area of fodder crops under irrigation. In semi-arid regions, the growth and productivity of alfalfa may be limited by environmental factors and characterized by water deficit especially in summer. Thus, the efficient use of available water is a key to success in augmenting production of all irrigated crops. Innovations are needed to increase the efficiency of use of available water. There are several possible approaches; one is through introducing efficient irrigation systems. Irrigation technologies and irrigation scheduling should be adopted for more effective use. Sprinkler and drip irrigation have proven to be most effective and feasible for the irrigation of some field crops including alfalfa. This book therefore, seeks to find relationships between the irrigation systems, irrigation intervals and derived or calculated values need for irrigation scheduling.