Farm Irrigation Scheduling in Different Soil Types

Irrigation is one of the most important production variables. In cotton production, any shortcomings in water use efficiency can have a significant impact in yield. For such reason, farmers look constantly for effective irrigation scheduling tools. The objective of this presentation is to talk about improving farm irrigation scheduling methods based on results of a soil moisture study of different types of soil. Watermark, Decagon, and Vegetronix soil moisture sensors are used in the experiment. The relative performance of selected soil moisture sensors was studied in farm conditions. Results of the experiment show contrasting differences in soil moisture trends among clay, loam and sandy soils under identical weather and irrigation conditions. Relations between soil moisture trends and crop coefficients associated with the different soil types were developed. Implementing results of these studies in irrigation scheduling tools, particularly in ET based irrigation scheduling method, will help improving water use efficiency.