Reclamation Information Sharing Environment (RISE)

Studies conducted measured data from over a dozen crops and cropping patterns. Measurements include crop ET, irrigation efficiencies, and soil salinity loading and leaching. Systems evaluated include preirrigation scenarios, and crops such as iceberg lettuce, spinach, wheat, Sudan grass, barley, romaine lettuce, leaf lettuce, cantaloupe, watermelon, cauliflower, broccoli, and cotton. Crop water use data for modern production systems was needed. In many cases figures show slightly higher crop water use as compared to a half-century ago, while crop yields have in some cases doubled. Having accurate updated crop water use numbers will assist in all types of planning for this precious resource. We found that in many cases and for most vegetable crops, irrigation efficiencies are so high that the necessary salt leaching does not take place. This project has shown that augmenting weather-based data and crop coefficients with satellite data provides a powerful tool for irrigation management in the Region.