What is a reasonable expectation of different crop responses to limited or deficit irrigation?
Undoubtedly, limited irrigation imposes some degree of stress on a crop, compared to circumstances where neither timing nor amount of water applied are constrained. It is reasonable to expect that yield of forage crops or those harvested for biomass (grass, alfalfa hay, corn silage, sudan grass, hay barley, oat hay, switchgrass, forage peas for example) will decrease in direct proportion to the degree to which water is limited. Biomass production is generally directly and often nearly linearly correlated with evapotranspiration. Timing of the limitation of water can also have an effect on yield of these crops, which often demonstrate the highest degree of water use efficiency during cool weather and early season growth. In contrast, quality of these crops, i.e., protein, digestible matter, balance in nutritional composition, is often more adversely affected by limited water during the middle or latter part of the growing season. Crops which are grown for the purpose of harvesting grain
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?
