Are some cropping strategies or crop rotations better-suited to limited or deficit irrigation than others?
A. When implementing limited or deficit irrigation it is important to match crop rotation with local patterns of precipitation and evaporative demand. Certain crops like soybean, edible bean, winter wheat and sunflower are the major crops with lower water requirements. Splitting fields between corn and one of these crops would reduce total water requirements for the field and distribute the water requirements across a longer portion of the growing season. For example, peak water demands for wheat are during May and June, while corn uses the most water during July and soybean water needs peak in August. Splitting the field into multiple crops allows producers with low-capacity wells or limited water supplies to more completely meet the peak requirements of all crops. (http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/irrigate/OOW/P05/Schneekloth2.
Related Questions
- Are some cropping strategies or crop rotations better-suited to limited or deficit irrigation than others?
- Practically, or in reality, how much water can I conserve by practicing limited or deficit irrigation?
- What is a reasonable expectation of different crop responses to limited or deficit irrigation?
