Where water is scarce, subsurface drip irrigation comes to the rescue

New Mexico is one of the dryest states in the US, with an average of just over 13 inches of rainfall per yer, we have become accustomed to water conservation in many forms. From time to time, parts of New Mexico will just plain run out of water, or get very close to it.

This article from Clovis NM talks about how NMSU is studying drip irrigation in high plains.
According to the article, there is a lot of money at stake.

Agriculture in the two counties is worth nearly $700 million.

With this type of impact on such a small economy, it becomes self evident that the investment into subsurface drip irrigation is well worth it.

Subsurface drip irrigation reduces water use and is more efficient at
getting water to plants than the low energy precision application
techniques currently used with many center pivot systems to irrigate
crops in the area, said Mark Marsalis, Extension Service agronomist for
NMSU's Agricultural Science Center at Clovis.

Mr. Marsalis is exactly correct, of course, more effort should be put into education of the agriculture industry as to the benefits of investing in drip irrigation.

Subsurface systems are efficient because water goes directly on the
roots, Marsalis said. The technique also minimizes evaporation and
runoff losses at the surface, which is particularly important in arid
regions.

Again, he is right on, as technology advances you can calculate and automate within very exact tolerances, just the right amount of water and fertilizer required for optimum growth potention in just about every crop you would want to plant. To us, it seems a bit silly not to be using a sophisticated drip system.

The [3 year] study also will document the differences in water, fertilizers and pesticides and yields and economic returns.

We applaud their efforts and will watch closely their progress.