Suboptimal Irrigation Strategies for

Alfalfa has the highest water requirement of any crop grown in Arizona, and any strategies that conserve water growing this crop could have a large impact on water availability in the state. The purpose of this study is to determine yield and profitability of sub-optimal irrigation strategies in alfalfa. An irrigation study was conducted at the University of Arizona Maricopa Agricultural Center on a sandy clay loam soil. The following irrigation treatments are included in this study: 1) One irrigation per cutting, 2) Two irrigations per cutting, 3) Summer (August) irrigatio