Cropinfo.net in Ontario, OR, US (United States)

Irrigation Design and Management Biological & Agricultural Engineering University of California-Davis One Shields Avenue Davis, CA 95616 530/752-0103 Fax: 530/752-2640 dhills@ucdavis.edu 

Past work at the Malheur Experiment Station (MES) in the 1980's demonstrated that considerable water stress was associated with high alfalfa seed yields. It is very difficult to irrigate alfalfa for optimal seed yield with a gravity irrigation system. 

Deficit irrigation is a strategy where crops are allowed to sustain some degree of water deficit in order to reduce costs and potentially increase revenues. 

In fact, for any drip irrigation emitter or orifice in the lateral line, there will be manufacturer's variation that depends on the manufacturer's quality control in production. 

Onions were submitted to 8 soil water potential treatments using subsurface drip irrigation. Onions were grown on 2 double rows spaced 22 inches apart on 44-inch beds with a drip tape buried 6 inches deep in the bed center.