精东传媒app

The control of the application of water to land (irrigation) and the removal of surplus water from land (drainage) is critical to much of Australia's agriculture. This course will provide the skills necessary for the design and management of effective, efficient and sustainable on farm irrigation systems. Irrigation application methods (current and proposed) are studied with an emphasis on the evaluation and optimisation of performance. Efficient irrigation also requires an appreciation of the physical processes of the entry, storage and redistribution of water in soils; the uptake of water by plants (including limitations caused by soil salinization); evaporation of water directly into the atmosphere; and evaporation through plants as transpiration (evapotranspiration). The course will also show students that the long term viability of irrigation is dependent upon the provision of adequate surface and subsurface drainage.

The course objectives define the student learning outcomes for a course. On completion of this course, students should be able to:

1. evaluate the factors limiting the performance of irrigated agriculture (in particular Australian irrigated agriculture) and urban irrigation and assess the technologies and management strategies available to address those limitations;
2. describe quantitatively the occurrence and movement of water in soils, including the processes of infiltration, redistribution and drying, and the upward movement of water from a water-table;
3. describe quantitatively the fundamental physics of atmospheric evapo-transpiration; and assess the relative magnitudes of the various factors controlling evaporation in any given agricultural or naturally-vegetated situation;
4. determine the actual crop evaporation from standard daily Bureau of Meteorology station data using the 'FA056-Penman-Monteith' method; evaluate in comparison with standard evaporation pan data; and hence determine the water requirement of crops and prepare workable irrigation schedules;
5. analyse the characteristics of irrigation application methods (surface, sprinkler and micro-irrigation), evaluate system performance, and design systems for maximum performance;
6. apply the technologies and practices required to maintain sustainable irrigation, including the maintenance of acceptable salt balances in the root zone and the provision of adequate drainage.