Site-Specific Sprinkler Irrigation in a Water-Limited Future

Available water supplies for irrigation are becoming more and more limited in the western U.S. and other locations around the world, and this downward trend is accelerating. These issues will force major changes to physical and managerial aspects as well as the design of water delivery and on-farm irrigation systems. Thus, a water- and energy-limited future will be the likely catalyst that finally brings many of the existing precision agricultural technologies together for irrigated agriculture. Resource conservation as well as achieving environmental benefits will probably require the adoption of non-uniform water applications, also known as site-specific irrigation, for many growers. The goal of site-specific irrigation is to conserve water by directing the amount and frequency of water applications according to established spatial and temporal crop water requirements. However, more than 20 years of private and public research on site-specific irrigation has resulted in very limited commercial adoption of the technology. The current state of the art of site-specific center-pivot and linear-move sprinkler irrigation is reviewed. Several general barriers to adoption of the technology and various knowledge gaps are identified. The primary reason for the very low rate of commercial adoption appears to be the absence of a market for the technology and a low rate of return. Documented and proven water conservation strategies using site-specific sprinkler irrigation for crop production are quite limited, and its cost-effectiveness has not been demonstrated. Simulation studies comparing conventional and site-specific irrigation have reported water savings of 0% to 26% for well-watered crop production, and the greatest savings are most likely to occur in humid climates by spatially maximizing utilization of non-uniform growing season precipitation. In arid and semi-arid climates, the greatest potential water savings could come from highly managed deficit irrigation strategies in which spatial management of soil water deficit timing is used to maximize net return rather than yield. Future research needs to focus on developing and documenting cost-effective site-specific water conservation strategies to support market development for these advanced and needed irrigation technologies.

[1]  Alison McCarthy,et al.  VARIwise: A general-purpose adaptive control simulation framework for spatially and temporally varied irrigation at sub-field scale , 2010 .

[2]  Fabio Rodrigues de Miranda.  A Site-Specific Irrigation Control System , 2003 .

[3]  Shufeng Han,et al.  Spatial variability of soil properties on two center-pivot irrigated fields , 1996 .

[4]  Richard W. Wall,et al.  Comparison of Site-Specific and Conventional Uniform Irrigation Management for Potatoes , 2002 .

[5]  Richard W. Wall,et al.  Center-pivot irrigation system for independent site-specific management of water and chemical application. , 2009 .

[6]  Rafael L. Bras,et al.  Intraseasonal water allocation in deficit irrigation , 1981 .

[7]  R. G. Evans,et al.  Opportunities for conservation with precision irrigation , 2005 .

[8]  C. R. Camp,et al.  CENTER PIVOT IRRIGATION SYSTEM MODIFICATION TO PROVIDE VARIABLE WATER APPLICATION DEPTHS , 1997 .

[9]  Shahbaz Khan,et al.  Can Irrigation Be Sustainable , 2006 .

[10]  R. G. Evans,et al.  Methods and technologies to improve efficiency of water use , 2008 .

[11]  E. Fereres,et al.  Deficit irrigation for reducing agricultural water use. , 2006, Journal of experimental botany.

[12]  H. R. Sumner,et al.  CENTER PIVOT IRRIGATION ATTACHED SPRAYER , 1997 .

[13]  J. A. Millen,et al.  Spatial variation of corn response to irrigation , 2002 .

[14]  José O. Payero,et al.  Long-Term Response of Corn to Limited Irrigation and Crop Rotations , 2007 .

[15]  Luis S. Pereira,et al.  Assessing economic impacts of deficit irrigation as related to water productivity and water costs , 2009 .

[16]  Todd V. Elliott,et al.  Performance Assessment of Wireless Sensor Networks in Agricultural Settings , 2007 .

[17]  I. Yule,et al.  Variable Rate Irrigation , 2009 .

[18]  Y. Kim,et al.  Software design for wireless sensor-based site-specific irrigation , 2009 .

[19]  Kelly R. Thorp,et al.  Simulating the effects of spatially variable irrigation on corn yields, costs, and revenue in Iowa , 2007 .

[20]  Robert L. Roth,et al.  Modified Self-Moving Irrigation System for Water-Nitrogen Crop Production Studies , 1989 .

[21]  F. J. Pierce,et al.  A remote irrigation monitoring and control system (RIMCS) for continuous move systems. Part B: field testing and results , 2010, Precision Agriculture.

[22]  F. J. Pierce,et al.  A Remote Irrigation Monitoring and Control System for continuous move systems. Part A: description and development , 2010, Precision Agriculture.

[23]  Glenn J. Hoffman,et al.  A Paradigm Shift in Irrigation Management , 2002 .

[24]  R. G. Evans,et al.  Evaluation of Closed-Loop Site-Specific Irrigation with Wireless Sensor Network , 2009 .

[25]  Yunseop Kim,et al.  Remote Sensing and Control of an Irrigation System Using a Distributed Wireless Sensor Network , 2008, IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement.

[26]  Suat Irmak,et al.  RESPONSE OF SOYBEAN TO DEFICIT IRRIGATION IN THE SEMI-ARID ENVIRONMENT OF WEST-CENTRAL NEBRASKA , 2005 .

[27]  Ahmad Khalilian,et al.  Development of Clemson variable-rate lateral irrigation system , 2009 .

[28]  S. R. Evett,et al.  DEVELOPING WIRELESS SENSOR NETWORKS FOR MONITORING CROP CANOPY TEMPERATURE USING A MOVING SPRINKLER SYSTEM AS A PLATFORM , 2010 .

[29]  Marshall English.  A Developing Crisis in Irrigation Advisory Services , 2010 .

[30]  Sandra Postel,et al.  Pillar of Sand: Can the Irrigation Miracle Last? , 1999 .

[31]  Joe T. Ritchie,et al.  FIELD EVALUATION OF PLANT EXTRACTABLE SOIL WATER FOR IRRIGATION SCHEDULING , 1990 .

[32]  M. Dukes,et al.  Effects of Variable-Rate Sprinkler Cycling on Irrigation Uniformity , 2004 .

[33]  José O. Payero,et al.  Field Scale Limited Irrigation Scenarios for Water Policy Strategies , 2004 .

[34]  M. G. McCarthy,et al.  Regulated deficit irrigation and partial rootzone drying as irrigation management techniques for grapevines , 2002 .

[35]  Dale L. Shaner,et al.  EVALUATION OF A LOW VOLUME AGRO-CHEMICAL APPLICATION SYSTEM FOR CENTER PIVOT IRRIGATION , 2006 .

[36]  Jordi Palacín,et al.  CENTER-PIVOT AUTOMATIZATION FOR AGROCHEMICAL USE , 2002 .

[37]  Thomas H. Marek,et al.  The Feasibility of Variable Rate Irrigation with Center Pivot Systems in the Northern Texas High Plains , 2001 .

[38]  R. G. Evans,et al.  Technologies for variable water application with sprinklers. , 2000 .

[39]  Luis S. Pereira,et al.  Coping with Water Scarcity , 2009 .

[40]  H. Sourell,et al.  The feasibility of using variable rate water application under a central pivot irrigation system , 2006 .

[41]  Bradley A. King,et al.  Variable rate water and chemical application for continuous-move sprinkler irrigation systems , 1997 .

[42]  James W. Jones,et al.  Optimizing irrigation management for a spatially variable soybean field , 2003 .

[43]  José L. Chávez,et al.  Compensating inherent linear move water application errors using a variable rate irrigation system , 2009, Irrigation Science.

[44]  Ken Solomon,et al.  Center Pivot End Sprinkler Pattern Analysis and Selection , 1978 .

[45]  D. Raes,et al.  Deficit irrigation as an on-farm strategy to maximize crop water productivity in dry areas , 2009 .

[46]  Ian J. Yule,et al.  Key Performance Indicators for Simulated Variable-Rate Irrigation of Variable Soils in Humid Regions , 2009 .

[47]  Robert G. Evans,et al.  Development of Combined Site-Specific MESA and LEPA Methods on a Linear Move Sprinkler Irrigation System , 2010 .

[48]  A. D. Schneider.  Efficiency and uniformity of the LEPA and spray sprinkler methods: a review , 2000 .

[49]  K. Ro,et al.  The potential impacts of biomass feedstock production on water resource availability. , 2010, Bioresource technology.

[50]  Elif Surer,et al.  Methods and Technologies for Gait Analysis , 2011, Computer Analysis of Human Behavior.

[51]  Susan A. O’Shaughnessy,et al.  A Review of Center Pivot Irrigation Control and Automation Technologies , 2010 .

[52]  David D. Tarkalson,et al.  Yield response of corn to deficit irrigation in a semiarid climate , 2006 .

[53]  J. Oswald,et al.  AUTOMATED WATER MANAGEMENT FOR CENTER PIVOT IRRIGATION SYSTEMS , 2006 .

[54]  Ian J. Yule,et al.  Soil water status mapping and two variable-rate irrigation scenarios , 2009, Precision Agriculture.

[55]  Carl R. Dillon,et al.  Precision Agriculture, Whole Field Farming and Irrigation Practices: A Financial Risk Analysis , 2003 .

[56]  Andre Pretorius,et al.  Center pivot irrigation on sugar cane , 2005 .

[57]  Michael D. Dukes,et al.  Uniformity testing of variable-rate center pivot irrigation control systems , 2006, Precision Agriculture.

[58]  James A. Larson,et al.  Evaluating the returns to site-specific irrigation. , 2004 .

[59]  Wen-Yuan Huang,et al.  ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL FEASIBILITY OF VARIABLE RATE NITROGEN FERTILIZER APPLICATION WITH CARRY-OVER EFFECTS , 1998 .

[60]  Yao-chi Lu,et al.  Economic Feasibility Study of Variable Irrigation of Corn Production in Southeast Coastal Plain , 2005 .

[61]  J. Stark,et al.  Variable Rate Water Application Through Sprinkler Irrigation , 2015 .

[62]  F. J. Pierce,et al.  A Remote-Real-Time Continuous Move Irrigation Control and Monitoring System , 2006 .