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National Program for Sustainable Irrigation Publications

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Groundwater and Surface Water Interactions in the Fractured Rock Areas

of the South West of Western Australia

This report entails the component of works undertaken in the Wilyabrup catchment, located in the south west of Western Australia, near the town of Cowaramup and Smith Brook catchment located in the south west of Western Australia immediately south of the town Manjimup. These catchments were selected as they are both reliant on reliable water supplies to sustain established agricultural and viticultural systems.

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Guidelines for Fertigating Citrus

This fact sheet outlines the approaches to fertigation, equipment used and links to more information on citrus fertigation.

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Guidelines for Fertigating Citrus Orchards

Management update

Managing fertigation systems to achieve good productivity and avoiding fertiliser wastage and loss.

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Guidelines for Managing Soil Structure in Irrigated Vineyards

Update

Good soil structure is essential for healthy, resilient plants because it allows them to develop extensive, active root systems. This promotes efficient use of water and nutrients, encourages biological activity and cushions plants against drought and other hardship.

The general perception of a soil with good structure is that it is well-drained, easy to penetrate and crumbles readily into aggregates of about 1-10 mm that remain intact when they are wet.

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Guidelines for Managing Soil Salinity in Groundwater Irrigated Vineyards

Managers Update

 This report outlines the key findings from the project:

  • Rainfall percolation is the key to sustaining supplementary irrigation with saline groundwater
  • At 25 years of age, salt excluding rootstocks have equal or better yield than own rooted vines and half the fruit chloride
  • Soil water extractors give fast and cheap guidance on vineyard salinity status

Handbook of flexible technologies for irrigation infrastructure

Final Report 4

URS Australia was commissioned by the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) to prepare a handbook of technologies that are available to provide flexibility in irrigation delivery systems to deal with the varying irrigation demands which may occur in the future. The project follows on from a process of scenario planning which was used by the Department to develop a vision for the future of irrigated agriculture in the Goulburn-Broken Catchment of (more)...

Harvey District Irrigation Futures

Sustainable Irrigation Program Research Proposal

The research outlined below is based on Expressions of Interest received by, and feedback from, the Sustainable Irrigation Program Management Committee. It may not precisely describe the final project agreement, particularly in terms of final project design, cash and inkind contributions.

Implementing partial rootzone drying

National Program for Sustainable Irrigation Fact sheet 2005/2

The partial rootzone drying (PRD) method of irrigation, originally developed for grapevines, is now being used in a range of perennial tree crops in Australia and achieving some exciting results in citrus and pears, as well as grapes.

The technique requires that wet and dry rootzones are created simultaneously around each plant.

Implications of water reforms for the national economy

final report

This report been prepared by the CIE as part of the National Program for Sustainable Irrigation. The financial assistance provided by the Program through Land and Water Australia is gratefully acknowledged. Many people have contributed to this study. Murray Chapman, Program Coordinator for the National Program for Sustainable Irrigation deserves praise for his enthusiastic support and assistance throughout the study. Colin Creighton, formerly Rivers Manager, Land and Water (more)...

Implications of water reforms for the national economy

From humble beginings in the 1880s by individual farmers along inland rivers and, in particular, the efforts of the Chaffey brothers at Renmark and Mildura in 1887, the irrigation industries in Australia have expanded to where they now use three quarters of all water used, have a combined area of about 2.6 million hectares under irrigation and produce agricultural outputs worth over $9 billion. Irrigation industries are an integral part of many regional economies and the national economy, and, on one (more)...

Improving Productivity and Sustainability in Irrigation

Case Studies of Success

Projects featured in this booklet highlight the diversity of the research commissioned by the National Program for Sustainable Irrigation and the practical outcomes they offer for irrigation sustainability and productivity.

Improving the water use efficiency of horticultural crops

NPIRD project CDH1

The results of this project show that there is considerable scope for improving the water use efficiency of fruit production in Australia. The two year project has sought to test the partial rootzone drying (PRD) irrigation method, originally developed for grapevines, in a range of woody perennial horticultural crops. The technique requires that both wet and dry rootzones are simultaneously created. Results with grapes, citrus and pears have given (more)...

Improving water use efficiency by reducing groundwater recharge under irrigated pastures

final report

Approximately 65% of water extracted for irrigation in Northern Victoria and over 30% in the NSW Murray Valley is applied to pastures. In 1996, Murray Irrigation Limited (MIL) introduced a Total Farm Water Balance Policy which aimed to limit farm water use to sustainable levels and hence to reduce groundwater recharge to the district watertable. The dairy industry had some concerns with the original limit of 4 Ml per hectare and initiated (more)...

Incorporating rye grass into soil management

4 - Incorporating rye grass into soil management from Land and Water Australia on (more)...

Increasing Irrigation Efficiencies in the Australian Sugar Industry

In 1995 the Land and Water Resources Research and Development Corporation funded the two-year project ‘Increasing Irrigation Efficiencies in the Australian Sugar Industry’. The main aim of the project was to develop a model for the adoption of improved irrigation practices using grower focus groups and participatory interaction. Since the Burdekin district of north Queensland is the largest single area of sugarcane that is furrow irrigated in Australia, the project was focussed (more)...

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Increasing the Resilience of Eastern Australia Irrigated Farm Businesses

Case Study

This case study looks at trialling retention of corn stubble as an inexpensive way to reduce soil water evaporation.

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Increasing the resilience of Eastern Australian irrigated farm businesses

Fact Sheet

This report looks at the experiences from farming systems that used experimental and participatory modelling methods to explore farmer’s opportunities to develop more profitable and less risky irrigated cotton, grains and rice-grains farm businesses.

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Informing Ord River water management

Research Bulletin

In many regions of Australia there can be gaps between scientific community and general public understanding of water management issues. This bulletin outlines a framework for working together in the Ord River region using an initiative from the UNESCO International Hydrological Program called Health Environment Life Policy (HELP).

Introduction to Open Hydroponics

National Program for Sustainable Irrigation Fact Sheet

Open Hydroponics is an irrigation and nutrition management program aimed at increasing yield and fruit quality of horticulture crops. The fundamental principle of Open Hydroponics is that nutrients are applied continuously by drip irrigation that is operated at very high frequency. Design, installation, operation, monitoring and control are all critical components of Open Hydroponics. Professor Rafael Martinez (University Miguel Hernández, Spain) was the first to introduce the concepts of Open (more)...

Investigating lake/groundwater interactions at Lake Tutchewop

Salinity is an on-going environmental concern that causes damage to agricultural land, downstream water users, aquatic ecosystems and biodiversity, as well as to regional and urban infrastructure. One strategy to manage increasing salinity in the Murray Darling Basin is the construction of 13 major salt interception schemes that divert 550,000 tonnes of salt away from the Murray River each year. The Barr Creek Drainage Disposal Scheme is one of these schemes diverting saline water into (more)...