Guidelines and Tools for Increased Irrigation Efficiency
Dr. Jason Krutz at MSU–DREC has completed two studies that were funded with MSPB checkoff dollars. The results of those studies are here (RISER Project) and here (Surge Valves). Basic findings from that research follow.
● Implementation of Irrigation Water Management (IWM) tools that included computerized hole selection (PHAUCET), surge irrigation, and soil moisture sensor-based irrigation scheduling resulted in the same yield as that from a control system that used conventional (CONV) furrow irrigation methods. IWM reduced water use by 26% and increased Irrigation Water Use Efficiency (IWUE) 36%. Net returns above irrigation costs were not different between CONV and IWM over a range of pumping depths and fuel costs. Thus, implementation of IWM tools will reduce the demand on groundwater supplies without adversely affecting soybean seed yield or on-farm profitability.
● Using Surge irrigation (SURGE) vs. conventional continuous furrow irrigation (CONV) reduced the amount of water applied per irrigation event by 22%, reduced the total amount of seasonal irrigation water applied by 24%, and increased IWUE by 29%. Net returns above irrigation costs did not differ between SURGE and CONV regardless of pumping depth or fuel cost. Thus, Midsouth soybean producers can adopt SURGE on clay-textured soils without affecting seed yield and profits, while concurrently decreasing the amount of irrigation water applied.
These results are incorporated into three articles that Dr. Krutz recently posted on the Mississippi Crop Situation website.
The first article is Irrigation Guidelines, where he presents guidelines for irrigating corn and soybeans based on soil moisture sensor readings in the active rooting zone and crop growth stage. Included in this article is a link to another article that discusses the proper setup for sensor placement and how to interpret readings based on the active rooting zone.
The second and third articles present information to guide growers in using Soil Moisture Sensors and Surge Valves as tools to increase irrigation efficiency. Of course, use of these tools should be incorporated with the furrow irrigation setup that employs PHAUCET/Pipe Planner. Together, these three tools will result in decreased irrigation costs, increased irrigation water use efficiency, and reduced amount of water pumped from the Alluvial Aquifer.
Additional information and details about the use and calibration of soil moisture sensors for irrigation scheduling has been compiled by YMD, and can be viewed here.
To make all of these resources easy to find and use, they are combined into one article posted here.