4. Water Application Concepts


The amount of water applied and its uniformity of application is important information for the grower who is managing the irrigation system. In this topic several ways to measure and to evaluate the amount of water applied will be covered.

These methods will help a grower to determine how well he/she is doing. The system was designed to apply water at some rate but the grower may not have that information or changes may have occurred since the system was initially built.

Also, the grower must learn to calibrate his watering schedule to match the crop requirements as the crop grows over a season. For an overhead sprinkler system, part of the water applied is going to fall outside the containers and the grower should have an outstanding of the amount of water intercepted and the amount of water that falls to the ground. When runoff from the operation is considered, large spaced containers should be located where the runoff can be captured for reuse or treated. These techniques are required for good water management.