Key Points
Water use and efficient irrigation are becoming increasingly important as the water resource is under growing pressure and as energy costs escalate.
- The Code of Practice for Irrigation Evaluation establishes standard practices for on-site assessment of irrigation systems and their management to help optimise efficiency.
- A number of key performance indicators are determined, providing growers with information about evenness and depth of application, amount of applied water usefully stored in the soil, and areas where improvements can be made.
- When adequate farm information is available, seasonal irrigation efficiency and adequacy, and regulatory compliance can be assessed.
- Of 16 spray irrigators tested, potential application efficiencies varied from 35% to 90%.
- Improvements in irrigation efficiency of over 10% were achievable with many irrigators and at $3.00/mm/ha this could save over $60/ha/year.