Irrigators properly using water supply: agrologist

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Published: March 26, 2009

OUTLOOK, Sask. – Saskatchewan residents can be confident that the province’s irrigators are using water responsibly, says an official with the provincial agriculture ministry.

“We’re not asleep at the switch,” senior irrigation agrologist Gerry Gross told an irrigation management meeting in Outlook March 12.

“Society is worried about us using water efficiently. When we schedule the water, we are using the water efficiently. We can say to people we are not over irrigating, we are not under irrigating. We know what we’re doing.”

Gross said there is competition for the limited water resource, and the irrigation industry’s job is to make sure the general public knows it is using water properly.

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Irrigation development is ongoing in Saskatchewan, where up to 20,000 acres are added annually. Efforts are now focused on developing existing irrigation districts to make use of infrastructure already in place.

Provincial irrigation agrologist Sarah Sommerfield said irrigation scheduling is one way to properly use water by ensuring it is consistently available to the plant and applied according to crop requirements.

“It looks at meeting the crop needs and maximizing its application of water so you get the yield, you get the crop quality,” she said.

“Essentially you’re getting the best use for the amount of water that you’re applying.”

Sommerfield said producers need to know the relationship of their soil and water: soil texture and its water holding capacity.

They also need to know their crops’ water requirements: total seasonal use, critical times for irrigation and when to turn off the water so maturity and harvest aren’t delayed.

She said it’s critical to know how to manage disease in irrigated crops and how to properly use chemicals to control disease and insects.

As well, producers should know the technical aspects of irrigation: how much water to apply in one day and whether they can they meet a crop’s maximum water needs.

Sommerfield said technical information is available from soil specialists and the province’s irrigation branch.

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William DeKay

William DeKay

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