The control of drip irrigation of sugar cane using 'index' tensiometers: some comparisons with control by the water budget method
| MSI99P0146 | |
| Hodnett, M. G. Bell, J. P. Ah Koon, P. D. Soopramanien, G. C. Batchelor, C. H. | |
| The control of drip irrigation of sugar cane using 'index' tensiometers: some comparisons with control by the water budget method | |
| Periodical article | |
| 1990 | |
| Agric. Water Manage. | |
| 0378-3774 | |
| 17: 189-207 | |
| En | |
| En | |
| A method is described for scheduling the drip irrigation of sugar cane using 'index' tensiometers. Water is applied to maintain a chosen point in the profile near the dripline and root zone at a constant soil moisture potential. The quantities of water to apply each day are determined from the tensiometer readings using simple guidelines. The method does not require estimates of crop evaporation or measurements of rainfall. A field trial was run to compare the index method of control with irrigation control based on water budgetting using estimates of crop evaporation derived from potential evaporation values. With the latter method of control, treatments were given their full water requirement (1.0 ETc) or half their water requirement (0.5 ETc), when irrigation was necessary. The amount of water applied to the index treatments lay between that applied to treatments given 1.0 ETc and that given to treatments receiving 0.5 ETc. Compared to the treatments receiving 1.0 ETc, the main saving of water by index control was made in the tillering phase. Overall, yields obtained using index control were slightly better than with water budget control. The best yields were obtained with index control, but in the crop season concerned, which had above average, and well distributed rainfall, good yields were obtained from the 0.5 ETc treatments. These had the highest water use efficiency. There seems to be scope for modifying the index method to make greater use of water stored in the profile after rainfall, to improve the water use efficiency. This applies particularly to the boom phase of cane growth, which in Mauritius, coincides with the wettest time of the year. | |
| SUGARCANE TRICKLE IRRIGATION WATER BUDGET TENSIOMETERS SOIL WATER BALANCE IRRIGATION IRRIGATION SYSTEMS | |
| MAURITIUS | |
| Sugarcane: Water use and management | |
| Irrigation: Drip irrigation | |
| 1992-02-11 | |
| En | |
| Mauritius Sugar Industry Research Institute | |
| LIB BOT | |
| CAT | |
| BOT |