Sugar, oil, and fiber

This chapter contains information on a variety of crops that span the globe in production. Information on sugarcane, tea, coffee, peanut, sugarbeet, and tobacco are contained within the chapter. Each section is written to accommodate the irrigation practices of a specific crop. The chapter discusses crop water use and the latest in irrigation management practices, including the influences of water quality and the physiological effects of water stress. Cotton, a perennial, is grown like an annual, requiring close monitoring of water and nutrient status to obtain optimum yield. Likewise, sugarcane and sugarbeet are harvested annually, although the plant’s life cycle is longer. In peanut and sugarbeet, excess soil moisture can cause a plethora of fungal activity; in sugarcane, excess water at the end of the season reduces sucrose accumulation in the stalk. For coffee, water stress is a part of the natural plant physiology.