Effects of Tween^® 20 on growth and drought tolerance of coleus 'Wasabi' (Plectranthus scutellarioides)^©

Water is essential for drinking, personal hygiene, power production plants, and agricultural food and animal production. Some 97.5% of the global water supply is unusable salt water. From the remaining 2.5% of fresh water, only a third can be withdrawn from the environment for use. Roughly 70% of all the fresh water drawn from the environment is used for irrigated agriculture (Seckler et al., 1998). Because irrigated agriculture consumes such a large percentage of the available fresh water, optimizing irrigation efficiency in all sectors of horticulture and agriculture is critical. Moe and Rheingans (2006) estimated that 50% less water could be used for irrigation if highly efficient irrigation practices were adopted.