Growers look to Internet for crops’ soil moisture requirements
By Rachel Alexander
Growers in the Lower Rio Grande Valley are looking to the Internet for charts and graphs that detail the soil moisture in their own fields. And, they’re using this information to schedule irrigations.
Watermark sensors in growers’ fields collect soil moisture data, which is used with rainfall and irrigation levels to calculate the optimum amount of water needed by a crop. These water requirements are then posted on a Web site developed by Texas Cooperative Extension.
"Prior to our use of the Internet, we analyzed soil moisture data at the end of the growing season," said Extension Agricultural Engineer Guy Fipps, who oversees the project. "Growers could see what they did right or wrong only after it was too late to make any changes. Now the data is available on the Internet as it is collected."
Soil moisture for two hundred fifty acres of irrigated cotton, sugarcane and citrus at Rio Farms in Monte Alto, Texas, is being monitored. Dale Murden, general manager of Rio Farms, said the benefit is irrigation that is timely and efficient.
"A tool like this offers more bang for the buck," he said. "It ensures that irrigation water is used efficiently to maximize yields while conserving water."
The crop water requirements are online at http://texaset.tamu.edu. The TexasET (evapotranspiration) Network Web site, which was launched in 1995, provides weather conditions and water requirements for plants and crops throughout the state. Funds from the federally funded Rio Grande Basin Initiative help to extend its reach in the Lower Rio Grande Valley.
Administered by the Texas Water Resources Institute, the Rio Grande Basin Initiative is a joint project of the Texas A&M University System Agriculture Program and the New Mexico State University College of Agriculture and Home Economics. The federally funded initiative is focused on research and Extension activities to improve irrigation efficiency and water conservation.
"With the water issues in agriculture making a giant leap to the front of the stage, emphasis has been placed on irrigation scheduling and increasing yields while still trying to conserve water," said Gabriel Ortega, Extension assistant in Weslaco, Texas. "Soon the days of wasteful, mismanaged irrigation will hopefully be replaced with irrigation that conserves water and still gives crops enough water when they need it."
