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An assessment of irrigation technology performance in the southern San Joaquin Valley of California
Author(s) -
Vaux H. J.,
Handley Dale F.,
Giboney Paul M.
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
water resources research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.863
H-Index - 217
eISSN - 1944-7973
pISSN - 0043-1397
DOI - 10.1029/wr026i001p00035
Subject(s) - san joaquin , irrigation , tailwater , environmental science , drip irrigation , surface irrigation , center pivot irrigation , hydrology (agriculture) , irrigation statistics , low flow irrigation systems , crop , water conservation , water resource management , agronomy , geography , forestry , geology , farm water , soil science , oceanography , geotechnical engineering , biology
Seasonal applied water measurements were obtained for 1710 irrigated fields in the southern San Joaquin Valley of California. Most of the fields were planted to one of five major crops: citrus, almonds, grapes, cotton, and small grains. These crops were irrigated with a wide array of irrigation technologies, including drip, sprinkler, furrows with tailwater reuse facilities, conventional furrows, and border irrigation systems. The data were analyzed within an accounting framework to standardize for a variety of climatic and cultural variations. Analyses of the mean depths of applied water by crop and irrigation technology and of the standardized results reveal that drip irrigation systems were associated with the lowest levels of applied water on permanent crops and that the levels of water applied with sprinklers did not differ significantly from those applied with surface systems on either permanent or annual crops.