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This page outlines the inspiration for this project and serves as a quick summary of the importance of irrigation scheduling.
Importance of Conserving Water While Irrigating
Groundwater Pollution
Irrigation water runoff can carry sediment, nutrients, and agrochemicals into waters, lakes.
Source: Agricultural Runoff: Causes, Effects, and Solutions for Cleaner Water, oceantoday.noaa.gov
One striking example is the Gulf of Mexico dead zone, which was directly caused by such runoff.
"...a hypoxic area spanning over 6,000 square miles where oxygen levels are so low that marine life cannot survive"
Waterlogged Soil
Poor irrigation management can lead to the accumulation of salts and chemicals in the soil and water
Sources: Top 5 Reasons Why Irrigation Might Not be Your Go to Adaptive Solution, rhs.org.uk
"When excessive water is applied, it can cause the water table to rise, bringing salt to the surface. The accumulation of salts in the soil can make it less fertile and hinder crop growth."
Ecosystem Disruption
Water depletion has a damaging impact on both aquatic life and the surrounding terrestrial ecosystems
Source: Expansion, environmental impacts of irrigation by 2050 greatly underestimated
"For example, research has shown that nutrient runoff from crops has contributed to events such as coral bleaching, bio erosion and some coral diseases in the Great Barrier Reef"
Maximizes Profit and Minimizes Energy Usage
Irrigation scheduling maximizes profit and minimizes water/energy use
Source: Irrigation Scheduling to Improve Water-Use and Energy-Use Efficiency
"Studies have shown that irrigation scheduling using water balance methods (to be discussed later) can save 15 to 35 percent of the water normally pumped without reducing yield"
See below for more examples!
The Hidden Threat to Water and Crop Efficiency
Irrigation scheduling can be categorized into 4 categories:
Soil Moisture-Based
Evapotranspiration-Based (full irrigation based on evapotranspiration)
Deficit Irrigation (also based on evapotranspiration but a consistent amount of water stress)
Plant Growth-Based / Climate Modeling
If you'd like to learn more, relevant technical manuals and other steps for implementing these methods are outlined by the tool provided!
Choosing the right scheduling method is extremely important, as it's been shown to have 20%+ difference in plant yield/water productivity if you implement a suboptimal irrigation scheduling category in many locations! [Sources - Datta et al., Sohail et al.]
Yet still, over 76% of farmers don't use smarter irrigation scheduling methods as of 2020.
This is why this tool aims to help farmers understand the existing technology and simpler irrigation scheduling alternatives and resources!
Note! This tool does consider the case that conventional scheduling or simply a more specialized irrigation delivery system can be more effective, but, in general, this was rare.
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