Document Type

Circular

Type

text

Format

application/pdf

Keywords

soil moisture, irregation management, crop water usage tables

Publication Date

5-1993

Publisher

Cooperative Extension Service, South Dakota State University, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture

Circular No.

897

Pages

32

Description

Irrigation scheduling is deciding when to irrigate and how much water to apply. Your experience and judgement uses information on the crops, soils, and weather to time water applications. You can choose one of many methods to schedule irrigations. This publication presents a method commonly referred to as “checkbook scheduling”. Irrigation scheduling is becoming more important because of concerns for water quality and possible shortages of water in the future. Crop stress and yield loss can result from too little water. Too much water results in added pumping costs and may leach fertilizer from the root zone. The checkbook method is quite simple and has been proven to be reliable in South Dakota and neighboring states. The procedure outlined in this publication uses a soil moisture balance worksheet. Information in this publication can be used without keeping the balance sheet. Some irrigators use the crop water use tables to keep a notebook or they simply record the crop water use on a home calendar.

Language

en

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