Crop Water Use

Crop water use varies significantly depending on climatic conditions and differs among various crops. Understanding the water needs of crops is crucial for effective irrigation scheduling and improving water use efficiency. To support this, MSU Extension provides estimated crop water use data for various field crops across three locations in Michigan. This data helps irrigation management decisions by showcasing potential crop evapotranspiration, calculated based on reference evapotranspiration and crop coefficients for each crop growth stage.

It's important to note that crop water use values vary across regions due to differences in weather conditions, growth stages, agronomic practices, and soil properties. When using these values for irrigation scheduling, be mindful that they assume all applied irrigation water will be utilized by the plants without any loss. Additionally, these values do not account for any precipitation that may occur during the week of calculation

Reference evapotranspiration data was obtained from Enviro-weather, which also offers a model for determining potential crop evapotranspiration. To access this tool, visit Enviro-weather, click on "Crops,"then select your crop, and use the potential evapotranspiration tool by choosing your nearest weather station, the latest date of interest, and other crop information.

For additional tools and information on irrigation scheduling, please refer to: Irrigation Scheduling Tools.

Crop water use values were calculated by Angie Gradiz, MSU Extension Agriculture Water Use Efficiency Educator; Lyndon Kelley, MSU and Purdue Extension Irrigation Educator; and Dr. Younsuk Dong, MSU Irrigation and Extension Specialist.

For more information about irrigation, please refer to the resources available on the MSU Extension Irrigation website.

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