Water table forecasting plays an important role in the management of groundwater resources in agricultural regions where there are drainage systems in river valleys. The results presented in this paper pertain to an area along the left bank of the Danube River, in the Province of Vojvodina, which is the northern part of Serbia. Two soft computing techniques were used in this research: an adaptive neurofuzzy inference system (ANFIS) and an artificial neural network (ANN) model for one‐month water table forecasts at several wells located at different distances from the river. The results suggest that both these techniques represent useful tools for modeling hydrological processes in agriculture, with similar computing and memory capabilities, such that they constitute an exceptionally good numerical framework for generating high‐quality models.

In suburban Belgrade, there are some 200 local water supply systems which are not connected to either the Belgrade Water Supply System or to supply systems operated by municipal utilities. The small systems in Belgrade suburbs are either operated by local municipality (local government) or even by the group of local citizens who have neither technical capability nor financial resources to do it properly. Roughly 200,000 of Belgrade's inhabitants obtain their drinking water from these water supply systems. The water quality delivered by these local water supply systems is often compromised in terms of microbiological, physical and/or chemical compliance with drinking water standards in addition to the general lack of strategy on water safety plans and risk assessment. WHO Guidelines on water quality standards as well as the recommendations on safety plans and whole risk assessment are strictly respected in the main (central) Water Supply System in Belgrade. Most frequently, elevated concentrations of ammonia, nitrites, nitrates and iron lead to lack of chemical compliance, while elevated counts of aerobic mesophilic bacteria and the presence of bacteria indicative of faecal pollution tend to be behind microbiological lack of compliance with drinking water standards. In most cases, failure to meet drinking water standards can be attributed to groundwater pollution. No sewer system exists in these areas, and wastewater from septic tanks, in practice infiltration wells, is in direct contact with groundwater. Of a total of 72 laboratory-tested drinking water samples, 51.3% failed to meet physical and/or chemical standards, and 73.6% failed to meet microbiological standards. Groundwater pollution can only be prevented if wastewater disposal system is provided for all households and all suburban residential areas which obtain their water supply from local water supply systems. Some possible mitigation measures have been indicated. In the interim period, water must be disinfected continually, and the feasibility of ozonation or UV irradiation, in addition to chlorination, should be assessed.

Frequent occurrence of droughts over the last two decades, as well as increases in the air temperature increase have led to the rise farmers' concerns that field crop production would not be possible without irrigation. The aim of this research is to assess how two adaptation measures, sowing dates and irrigation and water excess impacts the yields of wheat, maize and sunflower in Serbia. In order to assess the future of climatic condition five representative locations have been selected for the analysis (Novi Sad, Valjevo, Kragujevac, Negotic and Leskovac). For the analysis of future climatic conditions, results of the ensemble of nine regional climate models from the Euro-CORDEX database were used. The period between 1986 and 2005 was used as a reference, while time slices in the future are: 2016-2035 (near future), 2046-2065 (mid-century) and 2081-2100 (end of the century). Analyses were made for the scenario of GHG emmisions RCP8.5. Aquacrop model v.6.1 was used for the yield, sowing period, and irrigation requirement assessment. The analysis and the results have indicated that earlier start of the growing season of maize and sunflower for 5, 11 and 19 days in near future, mid and end of the century, respectively, whereas optimal sowing period for rainfed wheat will vary from September 20 to November 30, depending on rainfall occurrence, and for irrigated one in optimal sowing period (beginning of October). The warmer climate will shorten the growing cycle of all studied crops. However, the shortening significantly differs among locations. The growing cycle of maize shortened from 34 up to 48 days in Valjevo in near future through the end of the century, while in Negotin it could be less only for 6 days. The increase in air temperature and earlier start of the growing season will enable the most sensitive phenophases, flowering and fruit formation, to appear in a period of more favorable weather conditions, together with the increase in CO2 concentration, can help mitigate the negative impact of the climate change, so that there will be no reduction in sunflower yields. Slight increment of sunflower yields could be expected by the end of century (2.3 - 13.8%), whereas yield of maize will remain on the present level. The increase of wheat yield could be expected only in the near future (up to 8.3 %), but also it can be reduced at some locations by the end of the century. Irrigation water requirements of all studied crops will remain at the same level the same level as the present, but only if sowing applied in the optimal period. Although it is known that irrigation changes microclimatic conditions, ie., the air humidity increases, and the air temperature decreases (the so-called oasis effect), which can affect the extension of the vegetation period, and thus the increase in yield. Such subtle changes in the microclimate cannot be "recognized" by models, so even simulated yields cannot be fully (accurately) predicted. This research come to the conclusion that in addition to irrigation, shifting the sowing dates earlier can have an impact on mitigating the consequences of climate change in crop production, which is of great importance for areas where there is not enough water for irrigation. The risk of drought will exist on shallow and sandy soils as well as on overwetted lands that cannot be plowed until drained to be sown in optimal terms and all crops sown in the late spring.

The development of agriculture in Serbia would not have been possible without the implementation of ameliorative measures. Measures to improve the soil water regime in our country have existed throughout modern era, but very significant ameliorative practices have been implemented in the last 100 years, coinciding with the establishment of the Faculty of Agriculture at the University of Belgrade. In Serbia, after the First World War, extensive work was carried out in the field of drainage, which underwent a real expansion after the Second World War. In the period from 1950 to 1970, drainage systems were built on about 1.5 million hectares, and by 1990 the total drained area exceeded 2.01 million hectares. Alongside the construction of drainage systems, dams were built on the major rivers to protect coastal areas from flooding. A significant achievement is the construction of the Danube-Tisza-Danube water system (1947-1977), which involved complex and versatile water management in Vojvodina. The introduction of irrigation in agriculture progressed much more slowly than drainage. The total irrigated area in 1990 was about 120,000 hectares, and today, after the crisis-ridden 1990s, it amounts to about 100,000 hectares. Nowadays, it is necessary to design additional drainage systems where problems of this kind arise, whereas the potential areas for irrigation are considerably larger. Until the beginning of the 21st century, various ameliorative activities were the focus of technical and research activity: soil surveys, investigation of the soil physical and water characteristics, soil chemical amelioration , the application of horizontal pipe drainage, soil recultivation, soil conservation, introduction of large machines for pressurised irrigation and application of drip irrigation methods. More recently, modern technologies and contemporary global trends such as the use of GIS, remote sensing, soil water balance monitoring, crop cover monitoring, micrometeorological measurements, automation of irrigation systems and crop growth modelling have been introduced alongside the application of traditional methods. The last decade has been marked by researches focused on the effects of climate change on agricultural production. The importance of the Soil and Water Management department is reflected in the training of professionals who are able to keep pace with technological changes and apply them to the management of soil and water resources, from the planning and implementation of new hydromeliorative systems to the maintenance of old systems and the management of crop production.

Climate change represents one of the major challenges for sustainable fruit production, particularly under conditions of limited water availability. The aim of this study was to assess the water requirements of plum (Prunus domestica L.) under future climate conditions in the Toplica District and to analyze the impact of climate change on water deficit during different vegetation periods. Calculations were based on the FAO-56 methodology, using the RCP8.5 climate scenario for three future periods: 2021-2040 (I), 2041-2060 (II) and 2081-2100 (III). Seasonal crop evapotranspiration (ETc), effective precipitation (Pe) and net water deficit (In) were analyzed for both grassed and non-grassed orchards. The results indicate that by the end of the 21st century seasonal evapotranspiration of plum is expected to increase by more than 14%, while effective precipitation may decrease by 15-20%, resulting in a substantial increase in water deficit. The most pronounced deficits were identified during the period from flowering to fruit ripening, when water deficit may reach approximately 293 mm in non-grassed and 422 mm in grassed orchards. Water deficits were consistently higher in grassed orchards due to additional water consumption by the grass cover. The obtained results indicate that under future climate conditions plum production in the Toplica District will increasingly depend on irrigation, particularly during critical phenological stages, in order to maintain stable yields and fruit quality.