Annual Irrigation Requirements

Annual Irrigation Requirement For Horticultural Crops

Second Edition


$30

GST inc. Order Form

Available from the:

Irrigated Crop Management Service
PIRSA – Rural Solutions
PO Box 411, Loxton 5333.

PH 08 8595 9138
Fax 08 8595 918

 

This publication has been developed to assist irrigators and irrigation designers in estimating the average irrigation requirements for a range of perennial horticultural crops at different locations in the State of South Australia.

The publication outlines a user-friendly method for estimating the water requirements for specific horticultural crops at most major towns in South Australia, based on established principles (Doorenbos and Pruitt, 1977, FAO 24; Allen, Pereira, et al., 1998, FAO 56).

Other sections in the publication discuss the importance and calculation of effective rainfall and leaching requirement.

The publication also includes a Microsoft® Excel® Spreadsheet that can be used to simplify the calculation process. The spreadsheet also allows for the inclusion of stored soil water, field application efficiency or leaching requirement in the calculation of Annual Irrigation Requirement.

The figures calculated in this publication and the spreadsheet can be used to assist in:

  •          Estimating the volume of irrigation water required for a new horticultural development.
  •          Calculating peak water requirements and subsequent Irrigation System capacity.
  •          Comparing actual irrigation volumes applied with estimated irrigation requirements.

This publication is intended as a guide to annual water requirements in a normal year and is not intended to be used as an irrigation scheduling tool.