Just the right amount: variable rate irrigation makes effective and efficient use of water

摘要

All fields aren't alike. Fields can vary in the type of soil present, the topography of the land, soil water-holding capacities, infiltration rates and drainage rates. Different areas of even the same field may require differing amounts of water. With a traditional irrigation system, all areas of the field receive the same amount of water. Thanks to variable rate irrigation (VRI), areas of the field with different water needs receive the amount of water they need. "VRI refers to any method of applying different rates of irrigation water to different areas of a field," says Calvin Perry, agricultural research engineer at the University of Georgia's National Environmentally Sound Production Agriculture Laboratory (NESPAL).