Diagnostic Agronomy Workshop Flood Irrigation

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Diagnostic Agronomy WorkshopFlood Irrigation
the Future

• Russell Ford
• Manager Rice Research Australia

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Rice Production Area
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Improving operational efficiency and Water Use
Efficiency

• Hi manual input for irrigation control
  telemetry
• Slow water on/water off timings
• Weakness of traditional systems perimeter banks
• all turning must be done within 3-5 ha basins
• Problems
• Limits ability to adopt precision ag systems
• Compaction of sensitive soils (high clay,
  sodic)
• Weed seed reserve on banks

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Traditional natural contour basins
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Lasered contour basins
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Lasered contour, side-ditch delivery
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Kooloos v-bay
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Level basin beds/furrows
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From syphons to bankless
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Conversion from syphons to bankless
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System overview
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Bankless channel
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Flow velocity through 900 mm MIL stop

• Bay 1 into Bay 2 - 14.4 ML/day
• mean velocity 0.402 m/s
• avg mid-stream velocity 0.510 m/s

• Bay 2 into Bay 3 8.6 ML/day
• mean velocity 0..252 m/s
• avg mid-stream velocity 0.314 m/s

• Bay 3 into Bay 4 24.7 ML/day
• mean velocity 0..599 m/s
• avg mid-stream velocity 0.683 m/s