Designed and Controlled Irrigation Application in an Irrigation District to Improve Plot Efficiency

In Mexico around 6.5 million ha are irrigated. Of this area, approximately 3.5 million are divided into 85 irrigation districts, where plot, or application, efficiency is on average 57%. This is the result of a joint effect of multiple factors of technical, social, management and operational character on the entire system, and of the prevailing method of irrigation by gravity. To show the users of irrigation district 025 Lower Río Bravo, in the state of Tamaulipas (DR), the third largest of the country with 110,000 ha under irrigation, the virtues and advantages of applying irrigation water in a designed, controlled manner and with real-time follow-up to improve application efficiency and contribute to water savings, 70 plots were set up in modules I-1 (20 plots), II-3 (42) and III-4 (8). These plots have an average area of 18.3 ha and cover a total of 1261.8 ha under maize cultivation, the most common and important in the DR. Hydrodynamic characteristics of the soils and plot topography were characterized. Surface irrigation by gravity in furrows was designed for all the plots for the crop cycles 2014-2015 and 2015-2016. Irrigation was applied following the design and each application was evaluated. The irrigation schedule was followed-up in real-time and depths to be applied were in accord with real climate. Crop yield was also assessed. On average, the reference depth was 25.9 cm, application efficiency was 55.8% and crop yield was 7.1 t/ha. In the two crop cycles the depths applied were 5.1 cm less, which meant an increase in plot efficiency of 9.8% and represented a savings of 8.7 thousand m³. The increase in yield was 0.8 t/ha, equivalent to 11.3%. The results show that it is possible to increase plot efficiency of irrigation water substantially and even of maize crop yield using the techniques applied.