SWAGMAN-Whatif, an interactive computer program to teach salinity relationships in irrigated agriculture

Robbins, C.W. and Meyer, W.S. and Prathapar, S.A. and White, R.J.G. (1995) SWAGMAN-Whatif, an interactive computer program to teach salinity relationships in irrigated agriculture. Journal of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Education. 24:150-155.

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Abstract

Managing salt-affected irrigated lands and marginally salinine
irrigation water requires understanding the interactions among
soil salinity, crop salt tolerances, soil physical properties, irrigation
water quality, irrigation management, water table depth
and quality, climate, and crop yield. An interactive computer
program was developed to simulate interactions among the
above factors. It shows how changing one factor impacts the
others for a growing season. The user selects a climate, crop, and
soil characteristics from menu lists, then sets the water table
depth and quality, irrigation water quality, and develops an
irrigation schedule. On execution, surface runoff, water table
rise or fall, and the relative yield reductions due to overirrigation,
underirrigation, and salinity are shown numerically for 1 yr.
Soil water content, soil salinity, water table depth changes, and
rain and irrigation events are also shown graphically. An IBM-compatible
computer with a math coprocessor executes the
program in 6 to 10 s. This is an educational tool designed to teach
the concepts of salinity and irrigation management and is not an
irrigation scheduling program nor a management tool. Two
versions have been developed, one using metric units, southern
hemisphere growing seasons, and Australian terminology; and
a second using northern hemisphere growing seasons and U.S.
units and terminology. The U.S. version also allows use of metric
units. The program is supplied in executable code with a user
guide, a soil salinity manual, and a salinity units conversion slide
rule.

Item Type:	Article
NWISRL Publication Number:	0883
Subjects:	Research methodology Mass Import - autoclassified (may be erroneous)
Depositing User:	Dan Stieneke
Date Deposited:	20 Nov 2010 21:54
Last Modified:	22 Nov 2016 23:52
Item ID:	650
URI:	https://eprints.nwisrl.ars.usda.gov/id/eprint/650