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Factors Influencing Irrigation Amount and Application
Once we know the amount of water that must be in the container to satisfy plant water needs, there are some additional considerations to be made.
- Amount of water: The calculated amount of water needed per day is an empirical quantity that can vary. For example, the previous day may have been cloudy, and thus, container water loss was minimal. In this case, the actual amount of water needed today would not be as much as calculated.
- Uniformity: Irrigation water should be delivered uniformly so that all plants receive the same amount of water within the allocated time. Non-uniform applications ultimately result in more total water applied than necessary, because additional water is applied to compensate for drier locations within the irrigated area.
- Substrate water holding capacity: A substrate within a specific size container will retain a given amount of water based on the substrate's physical properties. The daily volume of water the plant needs may exceed the amount of available water the container substrate can retain. If this happens, the quantity of water applied each application should not exceed the amount of water the substrate can retain. The irrigation system will need to deliver the water in cycles called cyclic irrigation, where each application supplies a quantity of water to the container substrate that is less than the available water holding capacity. Enough cycles are made daily to satisfy plant need.
- Irrigation delivery system capacity: The irrigation system has a defined capacity for transporting water. In other words, a given quantity of water can be delivered per unit of time. This capacity affects the amount of water that can be applied per irrigation event. The maximum capacity per day will need to exceed maximum plant water need for the day. Many irrigation systems are designed to supply maximum plant water need in 5 – 30 minutes. The delivery system—and the type of overhead irrigation nozzle in particular—can influence the amount of water that enters the containers during operation, however.
View related article:
Efficiencies
of Irrigation Systems Used in Florida Nurseries
Evaporation
Loss During Sprinkler Irrigation
NOTE: You have reached the end of this course. Please be sure to take the Post-Test to review what you have learned!
