Introduction

Crop IR Log is the "missing piece of the jigsaw" for vineyard owners and orchardists to achieve efficient, reliable and accurate irrigation scheduling. Despite soil moisture monitoring now being common place, its outputs can have limitations when used alone, for example, cost influences on replication and the potential for instrument failure or operator error. As a result some growers and consultants already run a climatic water budget based on PET (Potential Evapotranspiration) with a canopy adjustment factor as a means of verification. However, this is not an easy task for growers to undertake manually for tree and vine crops.

A simple, real time irrigation calculator, based on HortResearch's considerable existing and ongoing plant water use knowledge, widely publicised and made freely available to all kiwifruit, pipfruit, summerfruit, winegrowers and their consultants would therefore of great value for the long term sustainability (economic and environmental) of these industries.

More Information

• A detailed explination of Evapotranspiration.
• MAF's best irrigation management guidelines.
• The FAO Irrigation and drainage paper 56.