Laserfiche WebLink
<br />1 <br /> <br />2 <br /> <br />HIGH-FREQUENCY. IR.~IGATION AND GREEN REVOLUTION FOOD PRODUCTIONl <br /> <br />3 <br /> <br />S. L. Rawlins <br /> <br />5 <br /> <br />Research Leader <br />U.S. Salinity Laboratory <br />Agricultural Research Service, <br />Post Office Box 672 <br />Riverside,CA 92502 <br /> <br />USDA' .. <br />... <br /> <br />4 <br /> <br />6 <br /> <br />( <br /> <br />7 Although only 15 to 20% of the world's crop land is irrigated, it <br /> <br />8 produces a far greater proportion of the world's food because the yield <br /> <br />9 per unit area is about twice that for nonirrigated land (1). The reason <br /> <br />10 is not always fully recognized. lfuere the farmer controls the. quantity <br /> <br />11 of water and its timeliness of delivery, he can plan other operations to <br /> <br />12 increase production. Assured of an adequate water supply, he is more <br /> <br />13 willing to invest in the needed fertilizer and seeds of high-yielding <br />, . <br /> <br />14 varieties. For this reason, irrigation has played an essential role <br /> <br />15 in the remarkable gains in productivity obtained with the so called <br /> <br />16 green revolution technology package. This package includes new varietie <br /> <br />17 that produce abundantly when they are grmVII in dense plantings with ade- <br /> <br />18 qua~ererti1izer, pesticides, and water. <br /> <br />19 <br /> <br />Typical of the experience of many countries adopting this green <br /> <br />20 revolution package in the early 1960's is:that of Mexico (2). In the <br /> <br /> <br />21 1930's and 1940's, Mexico's growth in food production was stagnant. <br /> <br /> <br />22 Imports accounted for 15 to 20% of the food required to feed its 22 <br /> <br />23 million people. With green revolution technology, the food deficits <br /> <br />24 were erased by 1960, and from 1963 to 1968, Mexico exported food even <br /> <br />25 <br /> <br />1 <br />26 Paper presented to the New York Academy of Science, December 1-3, <br /> <br />27 1976. <br /> <br />v ~ Si'l <br />