IRRIGATION DURATION AND VOLUME BASED ON IRRADIATION

Although summer is coming to an end in the northern hemisphere, solar radiation is still high in September. If the solar radiation increases, the evapotraspirative demand is higher and the plant’s need for water is higher. 

As already mentioned in previous posts, among the main climatic parameters affecting plant evapotranspiration is radiation, and the amount of water required to compensate for the loss through evapotraspiration is defined as crop water requirements. Radiation is therefore directly involved in the water needs of the crop and is a factor to be taken into account when estimating irrigation time or volume.

One of the most difficult tasks in the management of a crop is to determine the dose of water to be applied during irrigation. With some irrigation equipment such as the Mithra Pro from Nutricontrol, it is possible to correct the duration of the Pre-fertilisation, Fertilisation and Post-fertilisation phases according to the instantaneous radiation. The correction of the duration and volumen of the irrigation phases is carried out in a modulating way between the start irradiation values and the final irridiation values indicated in the irrigation controller depending on the crop. This correction is expressed as a percentage and affects both the irrigation time and the volumen of water programmed in each grouping.

This rectification or modification helps to optimise reosurces such as water by applying only what the crop requires at any given time.