Analyzing irrigation water can give vital insight into what nutrients and salts might be entering your field. Irrigation water quality and proper irrigation management are critical to successful crop production. The quality of the irrigation water may affect both crop yields and soil physical conditions, even if all other conditions and cultural practices are optimal. In addition, different crops require different irrigation water qualities.
In addition to the vital need for lifelong water analysis to attain maximum yield, testing the irrigation water before selecting the site and the crops to be grown is critical. Crop growth reductions because of dissolved substances in the water are similar to drought-stressed effects. An osmotic gradient on salty soils is formed. Water uptake by plant roots is increasingly restricted as the concentration of soil salts increases.
Because of this, as soil salts build up in the soil, more frequent irrigation is necessary to help flush out salts and reduce water stress. Thus, through the use of preemptive water analysis, I provide a valuable insight into developing a water application and management strategy that best suits the needs of your land in order to eliminate potential waste.
The quality of some water sources may change significantly with time or during certain periods (such as in dry/rainy seasons), so it is recommended to have more than one sample taken, in different time periods.