About half of British potato growers do not calculate crop need. Many still irrigate a fixed quantity, regardless of rainfall and evaporation rates, leading to either wasteful or insufficient application of water.
By calculating when and how much water the plant needs, growers can ensure they are meeting their crops' needs without wasting valuable water supplies by over-irrigating, says Melvyn Kay, executive secretary at the UK Irrigation Association.
The objective of irrigation scheduling is to maintain optimum soil water conditions to meet crop yield and quality targets with minimum water wastage
