Prepare for the rainy season

• Agree shifts to capture surface water with the other users of the basin, through the user associations of the rivers.
• Repair water leaks in the pipes.
• Conform and seal the flanges of the irrigation ditches.
• Use the 4.0 version Water Balance program to prioritize irrigation by age and cutoff number.
• Prioritize irrigation by textural soil family: 

• Guide the water in the grooves and remove the obstacles (large lumps, stones, weeds).
• Plug the grooves at the end to avoid water waste. If surpluses occur, direct them to other lots that require irrigation.
• Incorporate cachaza and compost in sandy or stony areas.
• According to the entresurcos with two ditches in the base, in order to improve the progress of the water and bring the water to the roots of the crop
• If you do not have enough water to water germination, avoid renewing plantations.
• In times of drought, avoid deep breaking work. Perform scarification. Only in cases of absolute water shortage do you post mechanized work as far as possible.
• Monitor harvesting equipment traffic to prevent trampling of strains.
• Use crop residues to conserve moisture in the soil. Ship only on the regrowth.
• In socas, perform the first irrigation at 2.5 months of age, trying to match the fertilization.

• In socas with bellows to the 4 × 1 place the water in two of the four streets without waste and alternate in time. The potential water savings is 60%. In socas with bellows to the 2 × 1 place the water in one of the two streets without waste and alternate in time. The potential water savings is 66%.
• Measure the partial water advance times along the groove and increase or decrease the flow rate per groove according to the suggested times:
• Move the granulated fertilization until the soil has adequate humidity (for example, after a rain of more than 20 mm). If you are going to make late fertilizations, use high clearance tractors.
• Potassium is key to the crop in case of a possible water deficit. Verify if you perform proper fertilization with this element using soil analysis.
• In cases of absolute water shortage reduce the doses of nitrogen application. Higher doses will not protect the crop.
• For nitrogen fertilization, preferably use UAN solution or ammonium nitrate, which are sources of immediate availability for the plant.

 

WATER MEASUREMENT FOR IRRIGATION

• Measure the flow of water that is used in irrigation both in luck and in the sources (deep wells and bocatomas).
• Determine the volume applied in luck using the administrative control of irrigation and compare with the reference values, like this:
  - Gravity irrigation: 
    Irrigation of germination or fertilization: <800 m³/he has
    Rising irrigation:
  <1000 m³/ ha (2 - 4 months)
    <1200 m³/ ha (4 - 10 months)
  - Germination or fertilization irrigation:
    Watering up to 2 months old: 300 - 500 m³/he has
    Irrigation from 2 months of age: 500 - 700 m³/he has

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• Irrigation alternatives according to soil types
• Recommendations for the cultivation of sugarcane in the Cauca river valley in the face of the El Niño phenomenon (Full document)