Assessing potential water savings implementing variable rate sprinkler irrigation in a maize farm in northern Italy

In recent agricultural seasons, many areas of the Po plain have experienced periods of water scarcity; to cope with this situation, farmers are introducing water saving technologies which would be more effective if supported by appropriate tools. Specifically, agro-hydrological models and soil moisture probes can support farmers in the irrigation management. In this study, an agro-hydrological model and soil water content measurements were used to optimize the water management in two irrigation sectors char-acterised by different soils under a center-pivot in a maize farm. When compared to the management operated by the farmer, a water use reduction of 17 and 23% was achieved in the coarse and fine soil sectors, respective-ly; this water saving was obtained respecting the constraints imposed by the farmer. The same modelling approach, applied to simulate variable rate irri-gation for all the sprinkler systems of the farm (covering about 300 ha) in the period 2016-2020, resulted in an average water saving of 18%. This translates to a proportional energy saving at the farm level.