Meeting Irrigation Demands in Water Deficit Counties of Texas Panhandle: Biotechnology and Other Novel Strategies

Considering the increasing pressure on natural resources to augment production for satisfying grain demand for the growing human and livestock population, ground water supply in the Texas Panhandle reflects itself as a limiting yet indispensable factor. This study evaluates the effectiveness of eight potential water management strategies in terms of water savings that could be used to meet irrigation shortages of six irrigation deficit counties in Region A of Texas Panhandle, namely Dallam, Hansford, Hartley, Hutchinson, Moore and Sherman. These strategies include Irrigation scheduling, Changes in crop variety, Irrigation equipment efficiency improvements, Changes in crop types, Conservation tillage methods, Precipitation enhancement, Conversion of irrigated land to dry land and Biotechnology adoption respectively. Biotechnology adoption emerged as the most promising water management strategy, given the high associated cumulative water savings and reduction in annual water use for all the six counties of study, however a careful analysis of implementation of each of the strategies is required to incorporate them in to the agricultural production systems of the region.