Sunset Colonia, Uruguay 28 Sept 2015 Water-saving rice irrigation - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Sunset Colonia, Uruguay 28 Sept 2015

Water-saving rice irrigation practices in Mississippi Potential Applications to Uruguay Production Joe Massey, Ph.D. YMD Joint Water Management District Stoneville, Mississippi, USA E-mail: joe@ymd.org

Yazoo Mississippi Delta Joint Water Management District Management and Measurement of Water Resources • Began in 1989 after major drought in 1988 created regulatory problems for farmers. • Farmers wanted to know (a) how much surface and ground water is available for irrigation and (b) how much water is being used by agriculture. • YMD staff measures irrigation use on ≈ 300 fields each year.

Oryza sativa Producing Regions in the USA Humid, sub-tropical climate Mississippi River Flood Plain Rainfall ≈ 1,500 mm/year In- season ≈ 300 mm ≈ 90,000 ha rice grown in MS Source: US Geological Survey

Outline • Overview of irrigation in Mississippi Delta (MS Delta). • Rice irrigation management practices used in MS Delta. • Multiple-inlet rice irrigation (MIRI). • Potential applications to Uruguay rice production. • Research needs and opportunities.

Crop Irrigation in the Mississippi Delta

Crop Irrigation in the Mississippi Delta YMD (2014) Cropland Approximate Area (ha) Total 1,000,000 Irrigated 690,000 Non-irrigated 310,000 Non-irrigated land is being converted to irrigation at rate of ≈ 13,000 ha (1.3% per year) over past 6 years.

Crop Irrigation Applied in the Mississippi Delta 12-yr average values (YMD, 2014) Crop Irrigation Applied (m 3 /ha) Soja 2,750 ± 920 Maiz 3,055 ±920 Algodon 1,833 ± 611 Arroz 9,176 ± 920 ≈ 8 x 10 9 m 3 (2014) Total irrigation applied

Rice irrigation management practices used in the Mississippi Delta.

Rice Production in Mississippi Began land grading in 1980’s 80% of rice fields = graded to 0 - 0.2% slope ≈ 35 year process and federal funding to get to this stage. 2014 20% of rice fields = ungraded (“crooked levees”)

Average Irrigation Use in Mississippi Rice Production Crooked Levees = 20% of rice grown use 11,171 ± 1,269 m 3 /ha irrigation Grading saves ≈ 14% irrigation relative to crooked levees. Straight Levees = 45% of rice grown use 9,648 ± 508 m 3 /ha irrigation Data source: YMD Joint Water Management District, Stoneville, MS

Average Irrigation Use in Mississippi Rice Production Straight Levees = 45% of rice grown use 9,648 ± 508 m 3 /ha irrigation 0- grade saves ≈ 47 % irrigation relative to straight levees. Zero-grade (no levees) = 5% of rice grown use 5,078 ± 1,523 m 3 /ha irrigation Data source: YMD Joint Water Management District, Stoneville, MS

Zero-Grade Rice Irrigation Issues that limit adoption by farmers Rice is typically grown in 1:1 or 2:1 soybean:rice rotation. The major drawback of Zero- Grade systems is water logging of rotational crops. Thus, 0-grade fields often grown under continuous rice.

Average Irrigation Use in Mississippi Rice Production Straight Levees = 45% of rice grown use 9,648 ± 508 m 3 /ha irrigation Multiple- inlet rice irrigation (MIRI) saves ≈ 18 % irrigation relative to straight levees alone. Straight Levees plus MIRI = 30% of rice grown use 7,871 ± 1,269 m 3 /ha irrigation Data source: YMD Joint Water Management District, Stoneville, MS

Multiple-Inlet Rice Irrigation (MIRI)

Poly-tubing first used in rice near Stuttgart, Arkansas (1991) Charles Phil Jim Pappen Tacker Thomas Photos courtesy of Phil Tacker

Poly-Tubing • Lay-flat plastic tubing • Low-density polyethylene (LDPE) • Diameters range from 20 to 55-cm • Thickness ≈ 300 microns • 1 tubing roll will irrigate ≈ 15 to 30 ha* • May be reused with care (*) depends on field size, shape, and topography.

Attach tubing to water outlet

Lay Tubing in Furrow Cross levees at 90 o angle

Multiple-Inlet Rice Irrigation (MIRI) Mid-Field Installation

Rice fields irrigated using only one outlet Rice field irrigated MIRI (Conventional practice) Poly-tubing Field 1 Field 2 Water Outlet Water Outlet Image credits: Google Earth (USDA FSA)

MIRI Trial on Relatively Flat 20-ha Field in RS, Brazil. First 20 ha trial in 2013. Potential Benefits 2014 =4,000 ha MIRI • Easier management of flood (e.g., water savings). • Improved rainfall capture (?) • Reduced runoff of agro- chemicals. • Improve N management. Image credit: Delta Plastics

Improved Nitrogen Fertilizer Management using MIRI In addition to reducing runoff from field, MIRI allows more rapid establishment of shallow flood over entire field. This should help to stabilize N-fertilizers, reducing NH 3 losses. This has agronomic, economic, and Irrigation x N-management is key to sustainability environmental benefits. of rice production.

Revised Planetary Boundaries by Steffen et al. (2015) Science 347:1259855.

Multiple-Inlet Rice Irrigation Field Trials in South America • Uruguay Began in 2009 by Bernardo Böcking. INIA began in 2014. • Brazil Bretanhas farm in 2013. IRGA in 2013. UFSM in 2014. • Argentina COPRA in 2013 El Junco, Salto, Uruguay

South American MIRI Field Trials Poly-tubing used to replace secondary canal.

South American MIRI Field Trials Argentina Comparison of conventional secondary canal and poly-tubing replacement. Potential Benefits: • Increased area devoted Standard 2nd Canal to crop production. (6 to 7 meters) • Reduce maintenance costs for canal. • Reduced conveyance (e.g., seepage) losses of water from canal.

MIRI Field Results from El Junco, Salto, Uruguay Mangas Regaderas Comparaciones Ejemplo 2 chacras 11/12 Has 90 143 2009 = 30 ha trial. 2014 = 1,500 ha MIRI Regadores (operarios) 1 2,5 Ha por regador 90 57 33 Se abarca más área con un operario y mangas 1.400m 3 menos de gasto de agua en la represa m³/ha de represa 12.126 13.550 -1.424 Ciclo de riego (días) 118 120 Días de riego efectivo 95 93 mm aplicados/día 10,2 11,6 -1,4 Se puede regar con menor caudal en la chacra lts/seg/ha/día 1,2 1,4 -0,2 (15%) Ef. Kg de arroz/kg de agua 0,74 0,7 0,04 Uso más eficiente del agua Eficiencia de riego 72% 65% 7% Uso más eficiente del agua FUENTE: ING. BERNARDO BOCKING – SALTO

South American MIRI Field Trials Argentina Comparison of conventional secondary canal and poly-tubing replacement. Potential Benefits: • Increased area devoted Standard 2nd Canal to crop production. (6 to 7 meters) • Reduce maintenance costs for canal. • Reduce soil erosion? • Reduced conveyance (e.g., seepage) losses of water from canal.

Extending Irrigation Capacity with Improved Irrigation Efficiency By reducing waste in system, it is possible that more crops can be grown using existing irrigation infrastructure.

Summary • MIRI has been used in mid-South rice production since 1991. • In US, water savings of 18% or more possible using MIRI while reducing agrochemical runoff and improving N use efficiency. • Trials using MIRI in South America began in 2009 and suggest potential applications in Uruguay rice production. • Many research needs and opportunities to maximize production and reduce water footprint.

Resources • Delta Plastics Irrigation Resources: Gerardo Cerutti http://www.deltaplastics.com/irrigation-resources • Training video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XR2JNspMXkk • Extension bulletin: http://msucares.com/pubs/publications/p2338.pdf • ASAE paper by Vories et al. (2005) http://www.ars.usda.gov/sp2UserFiles/Place/50701000/cswq-0215-174368.pdf • Joe Massey, YMD Joint Water Management District, Joe@ymd.org