Location: Water Management Research
2023 Annual Report
Accomplishments
1. Model simulation of agricultural managed aquifer recharge in alfalfa. Agricultural managed aquifer recharge is a potential practice for recharging depleted groundwater aquifers. However, there is little information on the amount of water that can actually move below the rootzone, especially for deep-rooted crops such as alfalfa. ARS researchers at Parlier, California, in collaboration with University of California researchers, determined that from 76 to 89 percent of the applied water was available for groundwater recharge during the winter alfalfa dormancy. This finding is valuable to alfalfa growers, water managers, and policymakers for making informed decisions regarding groundwater recharge using alfalfa.
