Viticultural Information

Subject	Irrigation
Description	Irrigation is the process of supplying water, in addition to natural precipitation, to field crops, orchards, vineyards, or other cultivated plants. Irrigation water is applied to ensure that the water available in the soil is sufficient to meet crop water needs. The role of irrigation is to improve production and the effectiveness of other inputs. Overall, irrigation water is applied to maintain a favorable water balance in the crop root zone, but, in order to maintain this balance, an excess of water is applied resulting in some water becoming deep percolation (water that passes vertically through the root zone to deeper soil layers below the crop root zone) or surface runoff (applied water that does not enter the soil and flows off the lower portion of a field). Both deep percolation and surface runoff are not available for use by the crop, although in some areas, deep percolation and surface runoff can play a vital role by helping to leach salts from the crop root zone, for cooling and frost protection, and for groundwater recharge. Irrigation is an important part of water management in vineyards and additional information is available on this website under both 'Irrigation' and ‘Water Management’.
People	Blaine Hanson Terry Prichard Larry Schwankl
Links	The California Irrigation Management Information System (CIMIS) is a program in the Office of Water Use Efficiency (OWUE), California Department of Water Resources (DWR) that manages a network of over 120 automated weather stations in the state of California California Irrigation Management Information System.
Publications	Peacock, W.L., Williams, L.E., and Christensen L.P. 2000. Water Management and Irrigation Scheduling (PDF). Pages 127-133 in: Raisin Production Manual. University of California, Agricultural and Natural Resources Publication 3393, Oakland, CA. Buy book Peacock, W.L., and Christensen, L.P. 2000. Interpretation of Soil and Water Analysis (PDF). Pages 115-120 in: Raisin Production Manual. University of California, Agricultural and Natural Resources Publication 3393, Oakland, CA. Buy book Prichard, T. Vineyard Irrigation Systems (PDF). Pages 57 - 63 in: Raisin Production Manual. University of California Agricultural and Natural Resources Publication 3393, Oakland, CA. Buy Book. Williams, L.E. 2000. Grapevine Water Relations (PDF). Pages 121-126 in: Raisin Production Manual. University of California, Agricultural and Natural Resources Publication 3393, Oakland, CA. Buy book Williams, L., and Araujo, F. 2002. Correlations among Predawn Leaf, Midday Leaf, and Midday Stem Water Potential and their Correlations with other Measures of Soil and Plant Water Status in Vitis vinifera (PDF). J. Amer. Soc. Hort Sci. 127(3):448-454.

This website is a work in progress of the University of California (UC) Division of Agricultural and Natural Resources (ANR) Integrated Grape Production Workgroup. It is designed to increase accessability to the work of UC researchers, including faculty, Cooperative Extension (CE) specialists, CE advisors, and staff. UC Researchers interested in contributing content are invited to contact Deborah Golino dagolino@ucdavis.edu to discuss possible contributions.