By: Nick Baldwin

• Number of farms irrigated: 220,163

• Total acres: 52,583,431

• Water used (total acre-ft): 86,894,031

Irrigation in the United States

Top 5 States for Irrigation

• California 8,856,326 acres

• Nebraska 7,536,860 acres

• Texas 4,944,631 acres

• Arkansas 3,999,645 acres

• Idaho 3,182,176 acres

Flood (furrow) Irrigation

Low Energy Precision Application (LEPA)Center-Pivot Irrigation systems

Subsurface Irrigation

Drip/Microirrigation

Flood (furrow) Irrigation Systems

• Flood irrigation is the least expensive irrigation method where water is relatively cheap. • It should only be used on very flat fields, where ponding is not a problem. • Flooding is a good way to flush salts out of the soil.

• It is highly inefficient, however, when speaking of water loss through evaporation.

Center-Pivot Irrigation Vs. LEPA Center-Pivot Irrigation Systems

• Center-Pivot up to 35 percent, is lost because of evaporation and the blowing winds.

• Center-Pivot LEPA systems allow more than 90-percent of the water pumped to be used by the crop.

• Crop water use efficiency increased by 50%-75%. Water savings compared to any surface irrigation up to 45-70%.

Subsurface Irrigation and Drip/Microirrigation

• Subsurface irrigation water below the ground surface by using a buried perforated or porous pipe system that discharges directly into the root zone.

• In properly designed and operated systems, little or no wetting of the soil surface occurs.

• Microirrigation is a low pressure, low volume irrigation system suitable for high-return value Crops such as fruit and vegetable Crops.

• Excellent management is needed to maintain the system since clogging of the emitters

• High initial cost of the systems.

• Infrared Thermo-Couples (IRT)

• Red Band Wave (RED)

• Near Infrared Band (NIR)

• Used to optimize irrigation water by using data from crop (plant temperature and Leaf Area Index) and soil.

Irrigation system where sensors control water output

Thermal Scanner on board a helicopter.

* This was a study done of water stress on cotton in Arizona.

• Infrared pictures used to show water movement.

Irrigation Systems apply water at constant rate

Sources• http://www.nass.usda.gov/census/census02/fris/frisfeaturestory.pdf

• http://www.irrigation.org/gov/pdf/Fed_FarmRanchIrrSurvey_ReillyPresen_Nov152004.pdf

• http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/irmethods.html

• http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/sdi/Photos/Photos.htm

• http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/sdi/Reports/2000/K-StateRep/campis.htm

• http://www.colorado.gov/oemc/programs/agriculture/precision_irrigation/nice3.pdf

• http://precisionagriculture.tamu.edu/brochures/Remotesensing_final.pdf

• http://precag.tamu.edu/reports/files/sub22/Bart_Thesis.pdf

• http://agebb.missouri.edu/irrigate/bhconf/2000/ppt7/tsld014.htm

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Questions