Irrigation Efficiency on the RISER

According to Jason Krutz, Mississippi State University (MSU) irrigation specialist, increasing irrigation efficiency is a no-brainer.

“The water level of the Mississippi alluvial aquifer should be important to all Mississippi farmers,” he says. “Water conservation related to irrigation does not have to mean deficit irrigation. Smarter irrigation might be all it takes.” 

RISER, or Row-crop Irrigation Science and Extension Research, is a multifaceted approach to water conservation. RISER uses a number of methods to increase irrigation efficiency, such as scheduling tools, soil-moisture sensors and the Pipe Planner program. This program helps promote good management practices for soybean irrigation.

In 2016, MSPB evaluated the use of the RISER program and the savings that can be realized from using it. In many cases, farmers can use various tools to improve their irrigation while seeing the same or, in some cases, improved yields. Increasing irrigation efficiency can mean a decrease in water use, fuel and labor costs.

Adoption of irrigation water management on soil textures ranging from very fine sandy loam to clay will have no adverse effect on furrow-irrigated soybean yield or irrigation costs. However, irrigation water management will reduce the amount of irrigation water used and improve water-use efficiency. These practices can be adopted without adversely affecting on-farm profitability and will reduce the demand on depleted groundwater resources.