Scheduling Irrigation with Computers

IS irrigation scheduling using climate-crop-soil data practical? Is this a service that farm managers might use to increase their management skills and, hence, their net returns? Tests using a computer program to predict the time and amount of the next irrigation indicate this type of scheduling is practical and is a service many farmers would like. The computer program employs estimates of daily evaporation and transpiration for a crop. When combined with experimental data on allowable soil moisture depletion for the crop and various soils, the date of the next irrigation can be estimated immediately following each irrigation. The computer not only predicts the date of the next irrigation but estimates the optimum amount of water to apply as well. This article summarizes the scheduling procedure being developed and the results to date, which have been discussed in more detail elsewhere.