K-Line Resources
ET Rate
Estimating Evapotranspiration of your field
Evapotranspiration (ET) is the combination of soil moisture evaporation to the atmosphere and the transpiration of moisture from plant tissues. Understanding ET and using the correct ET number to design your system will maximize operational efficiency; provide sufficient irrigation for optimal plant growth, and eliminate excessive application so as to not waste precious water resources.
Historic ET by Zip Code Parcel Level ET
Soil Moisture
Finding Your field's soil moisture holding capacity
Soil moisture holding capacity is as important as the ET rate in ensuring the conservation of irrigation water. The Web Soil Survey database from the USDA, Natural Resources Conservation Service contains soil data of 90% + of private land in the United States. Identify your planned irrigation field in this database and calculate the field's moisture-holding capacity. This number is used to calculate the optimal application rate which determines 1) nozzle sizing of the sprinklers and 2) line relocation frequency.
BACK