The effects of climate change on water availability affect the performance of surface irrigation, which is the oldest and most common method of water application to row crops worldwide. A paradigm shift towards strategies aimed at increasing flexibility of irrigation scheduling and improving the design and management of field layouts and irrigation practices should be explored to promote water conservation at the farm scale. In this study, we investigate how by adopting a more flexible irrigation scheduling and optimizing irrigation management variables and field layout it is possible to increase the efficiency of border irrigation and thus achieve water conservations and improve quality of crop production. The analysis of the actual performance of border irrigation was carried out on two maize fields located in the Padana Plain (Northern Italy) in 2 years characterized by different rainfall patterns (i.e. 2021 and 2022). Based on this information, continuous monitoring of soil moisture status combined with the AquaCrop-OS agro-hydrological model was used to manage flexible irrigation scheduling over the experimental fields, while the optimization of irrigation management (flowrate per unit width and cutoff time) and field geometries (border width and slope) was studied using WinSRFR 5.1 USDA software, which was properly calibrated by measures of waterfront advance and recession. The results show that with flexible irrigation scheduling and proper irrigation management and field layout, significant water conservation can be achieved. Specifically, in the case study, seasonal water conservation of about 10% was obtained just by scheduling irrigation based on actual crop water needs in a very dry agricultural season, while water conservation reached up to 60% in a wetter season. On average, an additional 7% of water conservation was achieved over the agricultural season when the irrigation duration was correctly applied to each border of the experimental plots, while approximately 20% of water was conserved when the border width was correctly designed based on inflow availability. These results provide useful information for improving the management of border irrigation in practice, both under current conditions and in prospective of increasing freshwater scarcity in the future.

气候变化对可用水量的影响会影响地面灌溉的性能，地面灌溉是全世界最古老、最常见的中耕作物用水方法。应探索向旨在提高灌溉调度灵活性、改进田间布局和灌溉实践的设计和管理的战略范式转变，以促进农场规模的节水。在本研究中，我们研究如何通过采用更灵活的灌溉调度、优化灌溉管理变量和田间布局来提高边境灌溉效率，从而实现节水和提高作物生产质量。对位于帕达纳平原（意大利北部）的两块玉米田在不同降雨模式（即 2021 年和 2022 年）的两年内边境灌溉的实际绩效进行了分析。基于此信息，结合AquaCrop-OS农业水文模型对土壤湿度状况进行连续监测，以管理试验田的灵活灌溉调度，同时使用WinSRFR 5.1 USDA软件研究灌溉管理（单位宽度的流量和截止时间）和田地几何形状（边界宽度和坡度）的优化，该软件通过滨水前进和后退的措施进行了适当校准。结果表明，通过灵活的灌溉调度以及适当的灌溉管理和田间布局，可以实现显着的节水。具体来说，在案例研究中，在非常干旱的农业季节，仅根据农作物的实际需水量安排灌溉即可获得约10%的季节性节水，而在丰水季节节水可达60%。平均而言，当试验地的每个边界正确应用灌溉时间时，在农业季节可额外节省 7% 的水，而当根据流入量正确设计边界宽度时，可节省约 20% 的水。这些结果为在当前条件下和未来淡水短缺日益加剧的情况下改善边境灌溉实践管理提供了有用的信息。在旱季，仅根据作物实际需水量安排灌溉，季节性节水量可达到10%左右，而在丰水季节，节水量可达60%。平均而言，当试验地的每个边界正确应用灌溉时间时，在农业季节可额外节省 7% 的水，而当根据流入量正确设计边界宽度时，可节省约 20% 的水。这些结果为在当前条件下和未来淡水短缺日益加剧的情况下改善边境灌溉实践管理提供了有用的信息。在旱季，仅根据作物实际需水量安排灌溉，季节性节水量可达10%左右，而丰水季节节水量可达60%。平均而言，当试验地的每个边界正确应用灌溉时间时，在农业季节可额外节省 7% 的水，而当根据流入量正确设计边界宽度时，可节省约 20% 的水。这些结果为在当前条件下和未来淡水短缺日益严重的情况下改善边境灌溉实践管理提供了有用的信息。当试验地的每个边界正确应用灌溉时间时，在农业季节可额外节省 7% 的水，而当根据流入量正确设计边界宽度时，可节省约 20% 的水。这些结果为在当前条件下和未来淡水短缺日益严重的情况下改善边境灌溉实践管理提供了有用的信息。当试验地的每个边界正确应用灌溉时间时，在农业季节可额外节省 7% 的水，而当根据流入量正确设计边界宽度时，可节省约 20% 的水。这些结果为在当前条件下和未来淡水短缺日益加剧的情况下改善边境灌溉实践管理提供了有用的信息。