Precision Irrigation By Steven Calhoun. Irrigated cropland Water is the most limiting resource for...
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Transcript of Precision Irrigation By Steven Calhoun. Irrigated cropland Water is the most limiting resource for...
Precision IrrigationBy Steven Calhoun
Irrigated cropland
• Water is the most limiting resource for most producers in many regions.
• The law of minimum – Limiting factor
Irrigated acreage
• In 2008 US farmers and ranchers irrigated 54.9 million acres of farmland.
Irrigation types
• Surface • Drip/micro • Pivot
Flood/Furrow
• Uses gravity to transport water
• management practices to consider include precision land leveling
• Auto steer rows/channels
• Hard to control
Flood/Furrow
• Water lost to runoff/evaporation
• Soil erosion
• Conventional tillage
Surface Irrigation
Drip/Micro
• High efficiency
• Well suited to automation
• Less labor intensive
• Precise application
Drip/Micro
• Problems
• Water quality is very important
• Limited from deep tillage
• Initial cost
Drip/mirco
Drip/Micro
Pivot
• Even application over field
• More efficient application
• Less runoff/evaporation
Pivot
• Maintenance
• Tracks
• Move for field operations
Variable Rate Irrigation
• provides precision control of all sprinklers on a pivot
• individually pulsing sprinklers
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=es_yv-NevTo&feature=player_embedded
Variable Rate Software
• Rate management– Soil type– Dual crops
• Arial photo/Soil map
• Soil samples
• GPS recordings
Variable Rate Irrigation
• Central controller
• Node
• Valve
• Easy to apply
Variable Rate Irrigation
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXhB6A-p3R8&feature=player_embedded
Questions?