3. Cotton 2/3 Flashcards
Sowing and harvesting times
Sown in the spring, grows over the summer, harvested in autumn.
Cotton family
Hibiscus family, can grow up to 1.2m,
Water management key points (4)
- federal and state gov control aus water resources
- water users must be licensed
- cottons average water requirement is 6-7 ML/ha.
- farms recycle water for re-use
Average Australian annual rainfall
420mm although variable.
Irrigation industry value
- one of Australia’s most valuable industries, $9billion + for the economy
In Aus irrigation uses ___ GL of water each year.
14,000 GL of water each year
How much water % is lost when water is diverted from rivers before it reaches the farm gate
10-30%
Lost water within distribution channels on-farm.
Up to 20%
What percentage of water is lost to over-watering?
10-15%
Open channel flow
A water supply channel
For irrigation.
Furrow irrigation
Used for row crops, topography should be between, 0.25 and 2.5% of uniform slope.suitable for medium to heavy soils. Unsuitable for light soils.
% of Aus Ag production in the Murray darling basin
40%
Rubble drain
Rubble or large rocks/bricks are piled in a dig out drain then soil is layer flat over the top.
Mole drain
A bullet shaped plug attached to a ripper Tyne, is drawn through soil creating a mole like burrow drain.
Irrigation water use efficiency IWUE
A water use index that relates total production to irrigation water applied. Only useful for comparison of nearby fields, does not account for rainfall nor stored soil moisture.
