irrigation management in yuma county...spring mix: 84” level basins. wheat. alfalfa. sudan. drip...
TRANSCRIPT
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College of Agriculture & Life SciencesArizona Cooperative Extension
University of Arizona
Paul BrownCharles Sanchez
Kurt Nolte
Irrigation Management in Yuma County
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The Case Study Report
• Yuma Agriculture• Trends/Transformation
• Agricultural Water Use• Trends• Factors Impacting Use
• Irrigation Management• Infrastructure• Field Procedures• Scheduling• Efficiencies
• Future Research
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Agricultural Transformation
• Declining Production• Citrus• Cotton• Sorghum
• Stable Production• Alfalfa• Small Grains
• Expanded Production• Vegetables
• Leafy Greens• Broccoli• Cauliflower
• Melons• Sudangrass
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Vegetable Production
• Vegetables• 6-Fold Increase• Winter-Centric
• Sep-Mar• Multi-Cropped Land
• 6-Fold Increase• Vegetables Crop +
• 2nd Vegetable +• Wheat• Melons• Cotton • Sudan
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Agricultural Water Use
• Downward Trend• Total Delivered• Per Acre
• Fluctuations• Salinity Control Act• Rise of Vegetables• Improved Mgmt.
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Rise Of Vegetable Production
“Subbing Up” Vegetables
Subbing: fields flooded for extended period to ensure uniform germination/stands.Very high water consumption, resulted in higher water tables.
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Improved Water/Irrigation Management
Sprinklers have replaced subbing as a means of establishing vegetable crops. Water used to establish vegetable crops has decreased by 50-75%.
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Multi-Crop Production SystemsOften Use Less Water
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Change in Seasonal Water Use
• Lower Summer Use• Less Cotton & Alfalfa• Wheat Matures in Spring• Summer Crops
• Early Termination• Vegetable Field Prep
• Higher Fall Use• Vegetable Establishment• Vegetable Irrigation
• Lower Use: Jan/Feb• Less Pre-Irrigation
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Level Furrow/Basin Irrigation
Deep Percolation
Root Zone
High flows, rapid advance of water limits deep percolation
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Level Basin IrrigationInfrastructure, Equipment, Management
Lined Canals
High Flow TurnoutsLaser Leveling (Annual)
Press Wheels (Bolas)
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Shortened Irrigation Runs
Shortened irrigation runs when combined with high flow improve efficiency.
Adapted from Sanchez et al. 2008
Reduced from 1200’ to 600’
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Irrigation System Management
Sanchez et al. (2008) have developed procedures to optimize irrigation system management in both Valley and Mesa soils. High application efficiencies & uniformity can be achieved using proper inflow rates and cutoff times.
Inflow: 22 gpmCutoff Time: 80 minAE = 0.85
Inflow: 22 gpmCutoff Time: 80 minDU = 0.94
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Drip IrrigationNot Widely Used
• Advantages• Uniform Water Application• Reduced Water Use• Improved Crop Performance
• Disadvantages• Cost• Field Flexibility• Salinity• Non-Uniform Germination• Capacity Limitations
N
Vegetables: North-South Melons: East-West
Variable Bed WidthTwo Row Veg: 42”Cauliflower: 38”Romaine Let: 34”Spring Mix: 84”
Level BasinsWheatAlfalfaSudan
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Drip IrrigationSalinity Concerns
Salt accumulates above the drip tape and must be flushed out with leaching.Surface or sprinkler irrigation must be used to leach salts from surface soil.
Source: Burt et al., 2003 Source: Burt et al., 2003ECe (dS/m)
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Salinity ManagementLeaching is a Requirement!
Root Zone
Deep Percolation/Lateral Drainage Removes Salt
Irrigation Adds Salt
-- Leaching requirement: water in excess of ET required to flush salts and maintain proper salinity level in the root zone.
-- Varies with salinity of irrigation water and salinity tolerance of crop.
DrainageWater
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Salinity ManagementLeaching is a Requirement!
Root Zone
Deep Percolation/Lateral Drainage Removes Salt
Irrigation Adds Salt
DrainageWater
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Vegetable Crops Intolerant of High Salt Levels
Source: Ayers & Wescott, 1994
Late Summer Leaching Prior To Planting Vegetables
Leaching fractions of ~15% are required to maintain optimal salinity levels for vegetables.
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Fallowing & Salinity
From: Ayers & Wescott, 1994Data: Mohamed & Amer, 1972
Saline Groundwater
Water Moves to Surface By Capillarity
Evaporation
Salt Accumulation
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Irrigation SchedulingUnderstanding Soil Water Reservoir
-Field Capacity
-Wilting Point
-Allowed Depletion
Unavailable
Plant Stress
Readily Available
We Manage ~ 25% of Soil Water Through Irrigation
|-Pl
ant A
vaila
ble
Wat
er-|
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Estimating Crop Water Use
ETos
Weather Data
Crop Water Use
Reference
Evapotranspiration
Crop
Coefficients
Crop
Coefficients
AZMET Reference ET
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Estimating Crop Water Use
ETos
Crop Coefficients
Reference
Evapotranspiration
Lysimeters
Measured Water Use vs Reference ET
Measure Water Use Water Use as Fraction of Reference ET
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District Wide Irrigation EfficiencyWellton-Mohawk Irrigation & Drainage District
• Procedure 1• Crop Water Use
• Crop ET * Acreage• Compared to Water Diverted to Farms
• Procedure 2• Salinity of Water Diverted to District (Ciw)• Salinity of Water Diverted to Drainage
Canal (Cdw)
LF = Ciw/CdwEfficiency = 100*(1-LF)
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On-Farm Irrigation EfficiencyFrom Crop Water Use Estimates
Without acreage adjustment: 60-70%With acreage adjustments: 70-76%
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District Irrigation EfficiencyUsing Salt Balance Procedures
-Irrigation efficiencies averaging close to 75%, upward trend-Seasonal minimum during vegetable establishment-Peak efficiencies in summer (deeper rooted crops)
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Improving Water Use EfficiencyGrowers Implementing New Production Technologies
Yield/Acre-Inch of Evapotranspiration
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Research Needs
• Reexamine Crop Water Use• Much of Data Very Old!• New Vegetable Crops/Production Strategies
• Salinity Issues• Effectiveness of Current Leaching Procedures• Fallow/Salinity Assessment
• Sprinkler Management• Microclimate, Salinity & Crop Establishment
• Scientific Irrigation Scheduling• Weather/ET Systems• Soil Moisture Monitoring