Improving Irrigation Efficiency In the Australian Cotton Industry -
A Grower Led Approach
IAL Conference, Adelaide June 2012
Key presentation points
• Background• The concept• The team• The trials• Achievements• Future
Background
• Low water availability• Growers looking a ways to increase
production with less water• 90% irrigation techniques were
flood/siphon• No valley specific research or examples of
others technologies
The project
• Sort funding from National Water Commission
• Timeframe 2008-2012• Approximately $500,000 of funding• To improve the irrigation efficiency in
the Gwydir and nationally within the Australian Cotton Industry
• Grower-led approach
The team
• National Water Commission
• The Gwydir Valley Irrigators Association – staff and executive (past/present)
• Trial hosts – Sundown Pastoral Co and Australian Food and Fibre Limited
• NSW DPI – Janelle Montgomery
• Guy Roth
• GVIA Committee• Gwydir Valley
Irrigators • Other growers
• CSIRO• CSD• Yara
Nipro
• Netafim• Aquatec
h• DPI• NSWIC
The concept
• Championed irrigators showing irrigators• Grass-roots ideas with robust
application• Focus on practical information• Direct industry linkages• Flexibility to allow the project to
evolve overtime
Trial program overview
Off-season Trials
2008:Telleraga Trial
2010:Redbank Trial
Core Trial
2009: Keytah Trial, first season
2011: Keytah Trial,
second season replication
Off-season trials
• Focus on improving efficiency of furrow irrigation
• Pipe through bank trial at Telleraga, Moree
• Limited water and row-configuration trial at Redbank, Moree
• One-on-one consultations to reducing losses from on-farm storages
• Highly collaborative
Core trial - Keytah
• Established and operated four system comparison trial
• On-farm at Keytah, Moree
• Commercial scale
Keytah trial design
• 11 Ha• Small
scale
Drip
• 32 Ha• Rooftop
design
Bankless channel
• 123 Ha• Replicated
Lateral
• 86 Ha• Control
Furrow/siphon
2009-2010 Season
• Holistic water accounting• Benchmarking• Management streamlined and
consistent• Variables minimised – soils,
climate, chemicals and fertilizer
2009-2010 Summary
2009-2010 Lessons
• Established process, tested the concept• Challenges• Operational and management• Soil type variation• Crop establishment• Water monitoring technology• Scale
2011-2012 Season
• Replication of the Keytah Trial• Accepted inherent design challenges• New aim to optimise each system
individually and tailor management• Remained focussed on holistic water
assessment• Included demonstration of water-
balance technology as water accounting ‘back-up’
2011-2012 Progress
• Seasonal challenges with extensive flooding and reduced temperatures during growing periods
• Interim results assumptions:• Using field techniques to estimate
yield• C-probe data used to determine
effective rainfall• Residual soil moisture
2011-2012 Summary
2011-2012 Season
• All yields (where crops were not lost) were high – reflective of the season
• Performance of the Bankless assisted by luck
• Lateral move showed continued high performance
• Furrow system appears to be most consistent
2011-2012 Season
• Challenges• Germination issues• Equipment failure• Management issues with new
technologies were mostly avoided• Difficult season for water accounting
Two-season Comparison
Achievements
• Demonstration of a grower-led approach• Relevant• Practical
• Adaptive project management • Real opportunities to improve existing
technologies• Locally specific information for decision
making
Achievements
• Communication• Broad-ranging
education and extension activities
• Hands-on extension opportunities
• Multi-media reporting
Acknowledgements
• National Water Commission – highly supportive and flexible
• Farm hosts considerable in-kind contribution and outside the scope of original project
• External contributors and advice
Future
• Recognition of the investment in establishing the trial
• Growers locally want more seasons of data
• Sundown Pastoral Co ad Gwydir Valley Irrigators Association maintained committed
• Currently, Cotton Research and Development Corporation have provide preliminary advice for funding in 2013/2014 season
Further Information
• Final reports for 2009-10 and 2010-2011 trials
• Final Report for 2011-2012 season available September 2012
• Brochures – due to be updated with new results• Specific Drip brochure • Specific Bankless Channel brochure• Specific Lateral brochure• Specific Furrow/Siphon brochure• Overall Brochure with final results
• DVDwww.gvia.org.au