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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 46(12)

Influence of irrigation method on water use and production of perennial pastures in northern Victoria

M. L. Wood A B and L. Finger A C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Primary Industries Research Victoria (PIRVic), Department of Primary Industries, Tatura Centre, Ferguson Road, Tatura, Vic. 3616, Australia.

B Current address: Department of Sustainability and Environment, 8 Nicholson Street, East Melbourne, Vic. 3002, Australia.

C Corresponding author. Email: lucy.finger@dpi.vic.gov.au

Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 46(12) 1605-1614 https://doi.org/10.1071/EA05197
Submitted: 20 July 2005  Accepted: 2 April 2006   Published: 10 November 2006

Abstract

The irrigation of pasture for the dairy industry accounts for a large proportion of Australia’s total irrigation water use, particularly in the Murray–Darling Basin. Most pasture is irrigated using the border-check method. The dairy industry is under increasing pressure to use water more efficiently in response to water market reforms and restrictions on future irrigation water availability, creating interest in the potential of alternative irrigation methods. A field experiment was conducted at Tatura, Victoria, Australia between July 2000 and July 2002 to quantify the differences in water use, perennial pasture production and pasture composition under border-check, surge, sprinkler and subsurface drip irrigation. The experiment aimed to assess each irrigation method as it would perform under farm best management practices. Measurements included applied water, tailwater runoff, soil water status, dry matter production and botanical composition. This experiment found that sprinkler and subsurface drip irrigation used on average 2 ML/ha.year (17–23%) less water than border-check irrigation while maintaining or increasing pasture production, consequently having a significantly higher water use efficiency. Surface runoff was significantly reduced under sprinkler and subsurface drip irrigation. Surge irrigation had no advantages over border-check. Although some differences in pasture composition were observed between irrigation treatments, the trends were inconsistent from one season to the next. The high water use by gravity fed irrigation methods is attributed to a combination of higher evaporation and groundwater accessions.


Acknowledgments

We thank Peter Clayton, Tony Cook and Brian O'Meara for their dedicated technical support, Matthew Bethune, Q. J. Wang, David Robertson and others at the Department of Primary Industries for their scientific input and assistance in the field, and Leigh Callinan and Alvin Milner for statistical support. The study was funded by the Victorian government through the Department of Primary Industries and the Department of Sustainability and Environment, Dairy Australia, and Murray Dairy. Netafim Pty Ltd contributed the subsurface drip tape.


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