Improved Irrigation Scheduling for Freshwater Conservation in Pecan Fields of El Paso, Texas, USA.

Pecan is a dominant crop in the El Paso County, Texas, USA. In a typical irrigation season growers apply about 152 cm of water in 12 irrigations. Currently, most pecan growers base their irrigation scheduling on intuition or by counting the calendar days since the last irrigation. This method of irrigation scheduling can lead to over irrigation. This study evaluated potential for freshwater conservation by improved irrigation scheduling that is based on sensors that monitor soil moisture conditions. Results suggested that soil moisture sensors performed well under field conditions and indicated that potentially about 24 million m³ of water can be conserved. Conserving freshwater in rapidly urbanizing extremely arid regions such as El Paso is important to meet ever increasing demand for potable water.