Efficient Sand Integration

How Much Water?

Sprinkler

What Are Crop Factors?

The proportion of daily evaporation that must be replaced by irrigation is referred to as the ‘crop factor’ and this varies with crop type, vigour and growth stage. An example of the crop factors for high yielding (more than 80 t/ha) carrots growing on the sandy soils of the Swan Coastal Plain is shown in Figure 1.

To get the water required by the crop at a particular growth stage, you simply multiply the previous day’s evaporation by the crop factor for the growth stage of the crop.

Crop factor curve for irrigating carrots on sand

Figure 1. Crop factor curve for irrigating carrots on sand ( McKay, Calder & Deyl, 2000)

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