To be more profitable, it is vital to have a better understanding of the relationship
between soil and water.
To determine the total cost and profitability of the production of a crop, it is very important to
know how much I am going to invest in irrigation.
Although there is profitability, if we don’t use water resources properly, we can make profits but
also lose the possibility that these are bigger.
Watering isn’t free and a poorly executed project generates more serious losses. That’s why it’s
important to emphasize the correct usage of water.
When we water a soil, we must take into account its geophysical, textural, structural and
chemical conformation -among other variables- so that the water takes the correct path and
leads to the roots of the plants.
Runoffs, evaporation, strong adhesion to soil particles, percolating under the roots and / or
drifting into subterranean waters are some negative consequences of poor water management.
Not only are they difficult to notice, but they are synonymous with loss of water and money and
damage to the environment.
Given all these unwanted possibilities, what we deal with with irrigation is making the plant
absorb the necessary amount of water. That is why it is so important to know how our soil works
potentially and hydraulically; in how much and in what time it infiltrates; how much it retains,
stores and for what amount of time; and how much is drifted elsewhere.
When we calculate the cost of irrigation – according to the pumping power, the hours of use and
depending on the liters applied to the crop – it is based on the gross amount of water. How much
of that application is absorbed by the plant? It is impossible to know if we don’t know first how
the soil interacts with the water, nor how are the gravimetric and volumetric parameters and the
real hydraulic potential.
If only a 10% applied would stop wasting, knowing the cost of the millimeter of irrigation, the
savings per hectare is surprising. We invite the producer to do the math.
Can someone be surgically operated without, at least, a previous x-ray?
Can you install a heating without a thermostat? The answer is no. The same happens with
irrigation projects, without a prior study of the soil-water relationship, the results will be negative.
If we do not manage irrigation efficiently, the deficit of nutrients, the deterioration of the soil
quality and the damage of the environment are much more serious than we really think, in
addition to the economic losses.
We understand that all producers and agronomists know everything about their soils, but the
more efficiently they know it, better and more intelligent decisions can be made.
