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<br />OJJ7J6 <br /> <br />Irrigation Water Conservation <br /> <br />Research, product development, and technology improvements occurring over the past several decades <br />have produced a wide range of practices that have the potential of conserving irrigation water, The adoption <br />of the various practices by agricultural producers has been a function of economic and social elements as well <br />as institutional factors. The purpose of this section of the report is to summarize the types of conservation <br />methods available and discuss the issues associated with water conservation practices in general, including <br />the implications of implementing various methods, Terminology used to describe the direct effects of various <br />conservation practices will follow that previously established in the report, As used herein, the term <br />application efficiency refers to the amount of water diverted and applied per unit of irrigated land area, <br /> <br />Irrigation Water Conservation Practices <br /> <br />Tvoes of nractices, Decreases in irrigation water use at the individual farm level can be achieved by <br />structuraI improvements in the application systems or target land, better maintenance of existing irrigation <br />systems, information management techniques, altered tillage and soil management, or changes in the crops <br />grown. In some cases, combinations of these different methodologies are applied in a single setting, <br />Structural improvements in application systems include practices such as replacing open ditches with <br />underground pipe, lining ditches, use of gated pipe, fitting gated pipe systems with surge-flow devices, <br />conversion from furrow to sprinkler irrigation or drip irrigation, upgrading existing sprinkler systems, and <br />installation of tailwater recovCIy systems, The primaIy objective of adopting these practices is to increase <br />application efficiency at the individual farm level. In many instances they also have the potential of <br />decreasing nonbeneficial consumptive use, Similarly, structural land,improvements such as construction of <br />conservation bench terraces and land leveling are designed to improve application efficiency and decrease <br />nonbeneficial consumptive use, <br />Information management and altered tillage and soil management are also practices designed to increase <br />application efficiency at the fmm level, Information management usually involves techniques that allow <br />growers to schedule irrigation based on moisture needs of crops, Specific techniques include monitoring soil <br />moisture and maintaining daily records of crop water balance Using estimates of consumptive water use from <br />weather data, Conversion to minimum or conservation tillage, use of furrow diking, and practicing more <br />timely fertilization are examples of altered tillage and soil management. Information management techniques <br />can also be used to schedule strategic deficits in water availability during periods when crops are relatively <br /> <br />43 <br />