Conservation irrigation is an integral part of a complete farm management program of soil, water, air, plant, and animal resources. There are both environmental and economic benefits to conserving water.

Goals for Water Management in Irrigation include:

To conserve surface and ground water supplies.

To minimize surface and ground water contamination.

To efficiently use precipitation and irrigation for increased crop production; to apply irrigation in a manner that stores water in the crop’s active root zone and minimize percolation of water below the root zone.

Reduce overall on-farm energy use.

Reduce costs for crop production.

Proper water management results in conservation of water quantities, maintenance of onsite and offsite water quality, soil chemical management and irrigation related erosion control. For the producer, benefits must justify the costs of purchasing and operating the irrigation system and the time required to adequately operate, manage and maintain the irrigation system while leaving a reasonable return on investment.

Escalating costs of energy used for pumping makes every acre-inch of excess water a concern to many irrigators. Improving and maintaining pumping plants, irrigation equipment; irrigation application efficiencies, and following an irrigation scheduling program can lead to significant reductions in pumping costs.

Escalating costs of farm equipment, fuel, seed, fertilizer, pesticide and irrigation equipment also make every irrigation and field operation a financial concern to the producer. Field operations should be limited to those necessary to grow a satisfactory crop. Decreasing profit margins for producers increases the need for greater production with the same or reduced amounts of irrigation water.

Conservation Irrigation typically Reduces:

Overall on-farm energy use.

Soil compaction, which affects root development and water movement.

Water quantities for ground water and surface water pollution.

 

Examples of Techniques to achieve Water Conservation and Efficient Irrigation:

Schedule irrigations with appropriate amounts and frequency.

Measure current soil water status, rainfall, and irrigation water applied to the field.

Obtain regional information on evapotranspiration (crop water use).

Balance rainfall and irrigation applications with crop water use.

Choose the amount of water and the time to apply water based on availability of storage in the active root zone and the needs of the crop.

Choose an acceptable source, method, and timing for nutrient application.

Apply water uniformly by furrow irrigation.

Adjust stream size and set time to achieve more uniform penetration of water.

Probe soil one to two days after an irrigation set to determine penetration of applied water and uniformity of application. Adjust stream size and/or set time to improve next set.

Modify irrigation system and tillage management as necessary to improve application uniformity and efficiency, including runoff recovery systems and improved land grading.

Install Hi-Flow Turnouts or other simple irrigation structures to control the flow of water onto surface irrigated fields. Combined with land grading, the management and efficiency of an irrigation system can be increased.

Technical Questions about HIT may possibly be quickly answered by contacting:
Rudy Garcia
Natural Resources Conservation Service
Soil Conservationist & Water Quality Specialist
e-mail: rgarcia@nm.nrcs.usda.gov
or call: 1-505-522-8775, extension 116

Note: Technical Questions may possibly be quickly answered by contacting USDA, Natural Resources Conservation Service Soil Conservationists:

Holistic Irrigation Technology (HIT) Rudy Garcia, Soil Conservationist (Water Quality),  rgarcia@nm.nrcs.usda.gov or call: (505) 522-8775, ext. 116

Remote Sensing & GIS Technology Dave Christenson, Soil Conservationist (Remote Sensing), dchriste@nm.nrcs.usda.gov or call: (505) 522-8775, ext. 115

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Copyright © 1999 Regional Precision Farming Pilot Project
Last modified: April 28, 2000