IRRIGATION SCHEDULING
sensed images. Some types of sensors can detect water stress better than others. The earlier these sensors are able to detect water stress, the more useful they are in helping schedule irrigation.
Considering these three types of feedback, which one is the best? Using all of them is best, but using one is good enough, while having two of them is better. The reason is that not all of them are perfect and that having multiple independent types of feedback adds more confidence in making irrigation scheduling decisions.
As with other technologies, each of these sensors or feedback can fail temporarily or cause significant disruption. I have seen soil moisture sensors fail in the middle of the season due to either circuit or power failure. ET-based water balance may also deviate from reality if crop growth is not optimum (e.g., delay due to wind, hail or pest). The same is true with plant-based
How do you know if you need to irrigate?
sensors; the representative plants being monitored may have some growth issues due to pest and disease. Regardless of the feedback used, it’s still important to check the field occasionally. This also underscores the advantage of using multiple types of feedback in case one fails or the reading is questionable.
For example, during a hot sunny day, one may see the plants starting to curl and the thermal cameras showing stress on the leaves. Checking on the soil moisture sensor, it shows that the moisture content
is still 80% or about an inch of water in the soil profile. Checking on the ET water balance, there’s still a ¾-inch of water in the profile. The producer can safely assume that while the plants may look stressed that day, soil moisture is still enough to hold off irrigation and wait for the rain forecasted in the next two days. As one Kansas farmer sums it up, “Knowing that information gave me confidence to shut off my irrigation system and sleep peacefully at night.”
As well capacities in several major aquifers dwindle and surface water sources become critical, irrigators will need to adopt irrigation scheduling to maintain productivity. Making sure that rainwater is fully utilized is the first step in effective irrigation scheduling.
, is an associate professor, extension specialist and irrigation engineer for the Kansas State University Southwest Research Extension Center.
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irrigationtoday.org Agriculture_Irrigation_Products_Half_Page_Ad.indd 1 Spring 2024 | Irrigation TODAY 23 7/31/23 9:55 AM
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