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New Measure Developed of Irrigation Water Requirements

Irrigation sprinklers (Agricultural Research Service/USDA)

(Agricultural Research Service/USDA)

The Agricultural Research Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, has devised a new method for measuring the water requirements of crops, based on the yield per drop of water actually taken in by the crops. A company is now developing instruments and software to measure and manage the amounts of water absorbed by crops using this method.

Traditional measures are based on crop yield per drop of irrigation water applied to the crops, not the amount actually taken in. Tom Trout and colleagues with ARS’s Water Management Research Unit in Fort Collins, Colorado are studying the amount of water the four crops common to the High Plains region actually use: corn, wheat, sunflower, and pinto beans. The research aims to find out if limited irrigation is best for each of these crops and to help determine irrigation timing, amounts, and other options.

The four crops are being grown on a research farm with six levels of irrigation, from full irrigation down to only 40 percent of full. The farm controls water precisely and takes accurate field measurements of water consumed. Use of drip irrigation on the research farm eliminates the many variables found in furrow and overhead sprinkler irrigation.

Trout has results for three seasons of limited-irrigation studies. For example, he found that corn yields varied from 210 bushels an acre for full irrigation down to 130 bushels for the lowest irrigation level.

The ability to measure and manage water more precisely gives growers not only more control over water resources, it opens up new business opportunities as well. For example, farmers can grow alternative crops requiring less water, or sell or lease the water rights on non-irrigated areas.

Regenesis Management Group in Denver, Colorado, has signed a cooperative research and development agreement with ARS to develop monitoring instruments and write software for a Web-based application, known as Sustainable Water and Innovative Irrigation Management (SWIIM). In addition to measuring water use on a farm, the system will allow farmers to manage water as a commodity, like corn.

Read more: Software Helps Farmers Determine Pesticide Spray Dates

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