The correct application of DI requires thorough understanding of the yield response to water (crop sensitivity to drought stress) and of the economic impact of reductions in harvest.
This is a combination of water lost by evaporation from the soil surface and transpiration by the plant, occurring simultaneously.
[6] For certain crops, experiments confirm that deficit irrigation (DI) can increase water use efficiency without severe yield reductions.
[9] Yields could be stabilized at around 1.6 tons per hectare by supplementing irrigation water if rainwater was lacking during the plant establishment and reproductive stages.
[10] Scientists affiliated with the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) of the USDA found that conserving water by forcing drought (or deficit irrigation) on peanut plants early in the growing season has shown to cause early maturation of the plant yet still maintain sufficient yield of the crop.
In addition to these findings, ARS scientists suggest that deficit irrigation accompanied with conservation tillage would greatly reduce the peanut crop water requirement.
[13] Apart from university research groups and farmers associations, international organizations such as FAO, ICARDA, IWMI and the CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food are studying DI.