The world uses more and more water than the earth can offer us, so one of the most important obligations of farmers is to improve the use of water in agriculture.
Watering is one of the most common tasks in agricultural activity since without water the crops would not produce. Therefore, making sustainable use of water in agriculture is of vital importance for its sustainability, and even more so if we are talking about organic crops. You have to learn to use water efficiently, to get the most out of it, causing the least possible expense.
But in addition to the sustainability of agricultural water use due to environmental issues, there are many reasons to take care of irrigating crops. If you invest in improving and making more efficient your irrigation techniques for crops, you will be enhancing their productivity, since it stabilizes agricultural production in the face of rainfall changes. This will have a huge impact on your farm income and they won’t be as volatile.
So there are no more excuses for you not to be more prudent with the use of water in agriculture
Techniques to improve water consumption in agriculture
If you have made the wise decision to improve the use of water in agriculture, we leave you with some tips to help you achieve it.
Select the most efficient irrigation system that meets the needs of the crop. An irrigation system that consumes much more water than necessary is surface irrigation (A blanket), whereas drip or sprinkler irrigation uses less water and manages to achieve the same yields.
Study the water consumption needs of the crop in each season. In this way, the amount of water can be adjusted to the true needs and you will not waste water in times when it rains more or the water is more expensive.
Properly choose the time of day in which the production is going to be irrigated in order to avoid the evaporation of the water. Ideally, crops are watered at those times of the day when the sun is not very high, for example early in the day or late in the afternoon, in this way you will ensure that all the water used is destined for its purpose.
Avoid water losses due to runoff and infiltration beyond the reach of the roots, and adjust the use of fertilizers to the real needs of the crop and manage them properly so that no losses due to leaching occur.
Grow Mediterranean products that only need an extra water in addition to rain, instead of basing all production on irrigation water.