Water use in Irrigated Agriculture Ana Ramirez
Irrigated agriculture produces 40% of the food crops uses 70% of all water withdrawals (Huffaker 2003) 2007 Rice production (000 t) World 650,193 Why it matters? USA 8,956 Texas 9,565 cwt FAO Statistics Division 2008 USA rice
Location Lakeside irrigation District County: Colorado, Wharton 1 st crop: 247 fields / 23,012 acres 2 nd crop: 118 fields /11,485 acres Fields in production Estimating Water Demands for Irrigation Districts on the Lower Colorado River David R. Kracman
Growing Season 2006 – 93 days – 20 April-22 July – °F 2007 – 82 days – 19 May-10 August – °F 2008 Time between a field’s first water delivery and its last water delivery. Split date Beg_date Weather data Daily average during the average growing season
Sources Graph of thiessen polygones and stations w/labels Data – National Climate Data Center – Lower Colorado River Authority – Texas A&M AgriLIFE R Center Calculate Evapotranspiration – FAO r Penman-Monteith – Combination Method
Temperature
Precipitation
Evaporation
Conclusions Water consumption Increase water demand & decrease supply Water consumption in 2 nd crop is higher Other factors to consider Conservation measures Management practices Things to do Incorporate rice coefficient Calculate and graph storage
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