ABSTRACT

Irrigated cotton producers in the Texas High Plains will continue to face declines in the availability of irrigation water due to the depletion of the Ogallala Aquifer, increases in pumping costs and/or changes in water policy. The most efficient irrigation method available in this area is subsurface drip irrigation (SDI). SDI has been successfully used for over 20 years in Howard and Glasscock counties where pumping capacities have been very low for years. SDI is currently used on approximately 150,000 of the 2,000,000 acres of irrigated High Plains cotton with producer interest increasing due to limited irrigation water, the development and promotion of new SDI products, and increases in State and Federal matching funds for the installation of water efficient irrigation systems.