Ключевые слова: water balance, irrigation, soil moisture sensors, water balance calculation, sprinkling equipment

// Мелиорация.— 2022. – №4(102) – С 39–44

An assessment of the costs of managing the operational regime of irrigation using water balance calculations was made. A brief literature review of the existing methods of irrigation regime control is given. It is noted that the most accurate method of controlling soil moisture is the thermostatic-weight method, however, this method is highly labor-intensive. It is proposed to use the method of soil water balance as a production method for controlling the irrigation regime. Comparison of operating costs of determining for the timing of irrigation of agricultural crops using water balance calculations according to the algorithm proposed by us and using the thermostatic-weight method showed an annual saving of 1780 rubles per 100 ha.