| Show T I V E j The There Jre Are JY Many Ways ys To aye Waler in Time of Bad Drought COALVILLE COALVILLE- During times of severe Revere drouth many things can tan be done to efficiently effi use uso wh what t irrigation water walet vt ws have To make good use of water water the tot Irrigator must understand under understand stand tho the water plant relation- relation ship Large quantities of water are aro used by crops cropt More Mor than MO i I tons of water are taken from the I sail soli for tot each e-ach ton of alfalfa hay hey produced From where in the soil Boll does doea this water waler cone come Haw much water w water wa- wa ter iter will the soil soli hold la e one heavy keavy Irrigation better than two light fight ones These are some of ot the practical questions that each farmer must answer about his own soil coil before beCore he lie can make the tile best use use of at water available 1 Crops obtain water through their roots roote The amount of ot water available In the soil depends on the type of ot eoll soli and the depth of the the plant roots S Clays Clay Hold lold More Water Than Sand SandS S J Clay loams loans will hold two in In- or or more water per foot Coot of ol depth Loams will wilt hold inches Ito to to 2 inches while sand sandy and bands will hold 1 U to 1 ilk 1 inches Itches of Water per toot Gravels and stony rolls soils will hold water according according according accord accord- ing to p the kind and amounts of oC silt b oclay t cl clay r present The Tho soil soli r re reservoir re- re reaches to the bottom of ot the root zone and varies in size for different plants Crops with deep root systems save ave av a large root zone and leave more water available in the soil soli reservoir They can go longer between irrigations than crops crops crops' with shallow root sy systems or crops on shallow fJ soils I Apply Enough Water to Fill Fill the Soil Soli Reservoir Plant roots will not grow in dry soil Plants can be under stress for water when the sub soil Is la dry even if the Is wet Irrigate to Satisfy Crop Plus Ix Lose Loa a In Irrigation You cant can't wet half tho the solL The difference between a light irrigation tion ton And a heavy irrigation la 16 that the light irrigation wets less soil The Irrigator needs to understand under under- stand anc and knoW the frequency of irrigation to Crop use and how the water Is is removed from the soil BOil When this I Id to done th the efficiency effi ett- dency clency of ot water use can be increased in in- creased Crop tise nse Varies with weather weather r rand and other ther factors Crop USa ude I of bt water refers to 1 water taken ken up by And ind tr transpires transpired from plants and 2 2 water ev evaporated from the soil under the pl plant nt Crop use varies widely depending upon temperature relative humidity length len of ot day length of growing season amount of sunshine and other factors High water use U la associated with high I temperatures temperatures tempera tempera- tures low humidity long sunny day lay long growing seasons I winds Low water use is just the opp opposite Depends on Texture I The water holding cR capacity of ot the soil BOlt depends depends- on the texture tenure oi of o the soil soli and the use by the plant depends depend on the type and size of oC root toot and the growth characteristics char char- of ot the plant itself I Alfalfa possibly uses as much or more moro water waler than any plant So the tho the farmer Carmer needs to know tho the I root zone and pattern of ot growth during the season reason I I Tho The amount of f water to apply Pt ilL each Irrigation depends upon 1 How flow much water the soil wilt will hold In the root zone 2 The rhe amount of ot water In tho the soil at the time of ot Irrigation a and 11 1 3 the efficiency of ot tho the farmer in Ir Ir- Irrigate when halt half the Water in the soil eoll reservoir Is used Dont Don't gue guess s examine the soil soll Use an auger and examine each foot toot of ot soil soli in the root zone eel IVel el tho the soil soli Is It coarse coaree medium or fine tine textured Adjust your hours of irrigation to tho the water needs and size of ot stream tho size sze of field or number of or acres Be Do euro you know an anti and then Irrigate with that understanding and efficiency ef et- ef that you have Guard against loss in leaky outlets etc Save water and time lime 1963 looks looka like a year that will need all aU the theare care are we can get If It you need help on any problem problem lem in irrigation contact the Soil Conservation Service or the Ex- Ex chant and nd J J. Reed Moore |
