The 2015 Crop Water Use Table is updated and available on-line on the IREC website. This table is a useful tool to track daily water use for crops grown in the Klamath Basin. Keep in mind values shown in the table are estimates of crop water use and do not reflect soil moisture levels. Growers should regularly check soil moisture by digging or installing soil moisture monitors to determine when fields need irrigation.
As of April 14th, alfalfa, fall planted winter grain, and grass pasture used 2 to 2.5 inches of water since breaking dormancy. Taking into account rainfall for the same period, alfalfa has depleted 1.7 inches of water from the soil and winter grain and pasture have depleted 2 inches of water from the soil. Alfalfa should not require irrigation yet due its' deep root system, but winter grain and pasture are likely running low on soil moisture. I dug in winter grain trials at IREC today and all fields need irrigation ASAP.
Feel free to stop by the IREC office if you need additional information on crop water use, soil moisture monitoring, or irrigation practices.
Use this link to access the web page: Weather, Physical & Biological Data, then click on 2015 Weather at the bottom of the page.
Click on the file below to view the table.
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