Description of practice
Supplemental irrigation is the addition of small amounts of water to rainfed crops during times when rainfall is insufficient for normal plant growth in order to improve and stabilize yields.
| Examples of how to use supplemental irrigation | Further information (see Note below) |
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Cisterns and water tanksCisterns and water tanks are used to store rainfall and runoff water for multiple purposes such as drinking water for human and animal consumption and supplemental irrigation. |
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Plastic-lined pondA plastic-lined pond is created to store water for irrigating crops in periods of low rainfall when plant growth would be otherwise limited. |
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Deficit irrigationA moderate plant water deficit is maintained to improve the quality of some crops such as grapes. While irrigation scheduling is often used to maintain soil water content near field capacity, deficit irrigation requires accurate soil moisture or plant 'stress' sensing, the ability to estimate crop water demand, and the ability to irrigate frequently. |
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Off-season irrigationSupplemental water is applied to fields and pastures during the off-season pre-seeding period when irrigation water is available and not being used by other farmers. Water accumulates at depths of 1.5-2 m in the soil and is available for pasture and crop growth in spring and early summer. |
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Note: Most of the Further information links are to a full description of the example in the WOCAT database. However sometimes the link may be to similar practices or a research paper. Occasionally the link is to a commercial product in which case it should be understood that this does not imply any endorsement of the product by iSQAPER.