An international conference has proved the ideal venue for consultant Mark Skewes from our Loxton office to report on more efficient ways of water management.

The 5th International Symposium on Irrigation of Horticultural Crops features the latest scientific research in irrigation across a broad range of horticultural crops from fruit tees to cut flowers. With the majority of our horticulture relying on irrigation to maximise yield, there’s pressure on water resources from competitive users and the need to clearly demonstrate practices that do not impact on the environment. Water efficiency is becoming a vital issue.

The State Water Plan – South Australia (Department for Water Resources, 2000) states that “The Government will, by 2005, have converted all water allocations to a volumetric basis and all water use will be measured so that the Department for Water Resources can determine the annual amount of water taken”

How these volumes are calculated and allocated can naturally be crucial for seasonal growth and yield.

Mark makes the point in his paper that the evapotranspiration (Eto) calculation methods need more careful scrutiny – due to variations in crop water use and soil evaporation characteristics, among others.

As part of his objective to ensure fair and efficient water distribution for crops, Mark looks at many areas for improvement. How and where the raw data is collected; the variables in crop calendars and designated growing seasons, etc. His questioning of current reference data and listing extra items impacting on results are a valuable improvement on assessment methods.

Contact: Mark Skewes