An integrative view of intrapredial water management for agriculture
In recent years we have seen how rainfall has varied in relation to its distribution, frequency and intensity due to climatic variability, which may affect the productive objective to a greater or lesser extent. Gross annual and seasonal rainfall has been below historical almost continuously since 2007.
In the precordillerana zone of Vilcún, specifically in the Inia Carillanca Research Center, 4 important water deficit events have been observed. The average historical gross rainfall per agricultural season is 537 mm, where the estimated effective rainfall would be 260 mm. This value would be well below the water needs of some agricultural species of importance for the region, forcing an application of irrigation water to meet the productive objective.
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There are technological tools such as Automatic Meteorological Stations (EMAs: www.agromet.inia.cl), which provides information on climatic variables. One way to add value is to determine the water balances, so that the farmer is prepared and knows when or not to incorporate water into an agricultural species. Thus, in some areas it has been necessary to apply irrigation water from October to March, which can vary between agricultural seasons (September-April) and between agricultural species.
Given the climatic variability, it is essential to incorporate intrapredial irrigation management, which involves a set of processes or activities carried out within the site to make a more adequate use of irrigation water, focused on enhancing a productive objective that maximizes economic results and social welfare The intrapredial water management is the intermediate component between the management of water resources outside the property (extra property) and the desired productive objective, increasing economic income with the same water consumed or applied (water productivity).
