Rain-fed agriculture

Rain-fed agriculture is crop and livestock production that depends primarily on precipitation rather than supplied irrigation water. Its productivity varies with rainfall amount, timing, and reliability.

Soil moisture: The water held in soil pores, available in varying degrees to plants and other organisms. It stores rainfall between storms and supplies crops through dry intervals.
Dryland farming: Crop production in arid or semiarid regions using limited precipitation and moisture-conserving practices. It is a specialized form of rain-fed production adapted to scarce rainfall.
Food security: A condition in which all people have reliable access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food. Rainfall-driven harvest changes can affect food availability and access.
Irrigation: The artificial application of water to land or crops to support plant growth. Irrigation supplies water independently of rainfall, unlike the defining reliance of this system.
Evapotranspiration: The combined transfer of water to the atmosphere through evaporation and plant transpiration. It describes the main route by which rain-fed fields lose water.
Conservation agriculture: A farming approach based on minimal soil disturbance, soil cover, and diverse crop rotations. Its practices can reduce runoff and evaporation while improving soil water retention.
Agricultural drought: A soil-moisture deficit that harms crops or pasture during a period when water is needed. It translates low or poorly timed rainfall into crop stress and production losses.
Irrigated agriculture: Crop production in which irrigation is a primary source of water. It is the direct production-system counterpart to reliance on precipitation.
Crop water requirement: The water needed by a crop to grow and reach a specified yield under given conditions. Its timing and amount must align with rainfall for crops to thrive.
Agroforestry: The integration of trees or shrubs with crops or livestock on the same land. Trees can alter field water use, protect soil, and diversify farm products.

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