Challenges Confronting Soil Management for Dryland Agriculture

Abstract

Dryland cropping regions are present on every continent except Antarctica and represent major small grain producing regions as well as major food grain producing regions. As the human population continues to grow there will be greater demand for food, fiber, and biofuel production. Society is emphasizing the quality of production in addition to the quantity produced. Increased production will be needed at the same time land is being lost to urban encroachment and degradation resulting from wind and water erosion, physical and chemical degradation, and other competing uses (e.g., natural areas). Increased productivity will require efficient capture, storage, and use of precipitation and efficient utilization of all available nutrient resources. Tools for quantifying the spatial variability in soil properties affecting water dynamics, tools for sensing crop stresses that can be alleviated through management, and methods for quantifying the spatial variability in nutrient availability are needed. As efforts are undertaken to increase productivity under dry land conditions, practices that are sustainable and preserve biotic and abiotic natural resources will need to be developed and adopted by producers.