Irrigation

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Irrigation

• Topic 2072
• Created by Torey Birchmeier

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Irrigation Requirements

• Vary with Crop, Climate, Seasons, Soil Conditions
  and Methods of Application
• Vary according to fertilizers and pesticides

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Types of Irrigation Systems

• Border or Flood
• Furrowing
• Sprinkler
• Drip
• The system to be used is determined by the parcel
  of land that will grow crops, topography, used to
  be made of the water, water costs, and volume of
  water available

http//clay.agr.okstate.edu/alfalfa/images/water/i
rrigation-01.htm
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Border or Flood Irrigation

• Used for crops that need constant water
• Flooding is used to cover the entire field with
  water
• Example - Growing rice
• Place practiced China

http//bioag.byu.edu/aghort/aghort100/irrigati.htm
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Furrowing Irrigation

• Furrowing is having many small furrows or ditches
  throughout the field
• Each furrow or ditch can be along each row of
  crop
• Each furrow can also be spread out to every few
  rows depending on water needs

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Sprinkler Irrigation

• Piped water, either above or below ground, along
  through the fields
• Dig wells for a water source or water can be
  piped from lakes or rivers
• Depending on field layout, soil, crop and season,
  sprinkler heads will spray wate approximately 50
  feet
• As long as the water does not overlap, the
  sprinklers should not harm the field

http//ga-mac.uncc.edu/faculty/haas/geol3190/termp
ap/wilson,r/index.html
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Drip or Trickle Irrigation

• Drip irrigation uses plastic pipes and no
  pressure
• Water seeps out of the pipes
• This system is closer to the crop than its roots
• Most expensive system
• Not the best water management
• Drip irrigation puts out close to the amount of
  water that is evaporated by the plant

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When to Irrigate

• Visually observe plants
• Moisture stress plants will appear duller, more
  ashen green-gray color
• Shoot tips will become harder, darker and leaves
  will curl
• Tensiometers can be used on trees and vines
• Place in a variety or plantings and at various
  depths
• Vacuum gage will show an increase in readings as
  the soil moisture decreases
• By charting daily changes in the readings, a
  grower can make judgments when to irrigate

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When to Irrigate

• Evapotranspiration (E. T.)-the total water loss
  by evaporation from the soil surface and
  transpiration from plants, from a given area, and
  during a specified amount of time
• E.T. is known in many farming communities
• The E.T. serves as a guide as to how much
  irrigation water should be applied to compensate
  for the water loss from the soil
• The crop E.T. given over news media is for grass,
  which has been selected as the standard reference
  crop

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Converting E.T. for Grass to Crops

• E.T grapes (in/day) E.T. grasskcanopy
• k factor is a crop coefficient which takes into
  account the transpiration characteristic of the
  plant
• For grapes and deciduous trees k.8
• canopy percent of ground that is shaded by leaf
  canopy
• A mature vineyard in July will have 65 canopy

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E.T. Example!!!!!!

• The weather service has calculated the E.T. for
  grass to be .4 inches per day
• E.T. E.T.grassk canopy
• .4.8.65
• .2 in/day
• This means that a mature vineyard in Kalamazoo
  will lose .2 inches of water a day

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Water for Frost Protection

• Sprinklers can be used for frost protection
• Key to successful use is to use enough water and
  start on time
• Water must be continuously applied to all parts
  of the crops
• Alternating on and off to cover a large area will
  lead to failure

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Sprinklers-continued

• Once ice forms, continue to supply large amounts
  so that all live surfaces are covered
• The ice enclosed parts will not be harmed as long
  as water is added
• Add water until the ice starts to melt rapidly
• As sprinklers are first started a temperature
  drop occurs, but lasts only until they have made
  several revolutions
• The drops is due to evaporation

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Irrigation used to Reduce Heat

• High temperatures at the time of bud
  differentiation can cause croups to double
• This situation can be lessened by using over-tree
  sprinklers, combined with white wash on the trees
  and sod culture between rows.

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References

• Irrigation. On-line http//clay.agr.okstate.e
  du/alfalfa/images/water/irrigation-01.htm
• Irrigation Methods. On-line
  http//bioag.byu.edu/aghort/aghort100/irrigati.htm
  
• Water Use of the World. On-line
  http//ga-mac.uncc.edu/faculty/haas/geol3190/termp
  ap/wilson,r/index.html