Irrigation data from Castro and Parmer Counties, Texas, 1983-84

Castro and and Parmer Counties, with an estimated 700,000 acres under irrigation, are two of the leading agricultural counties in Texas.

This report summarizes irrigation data collected by the U.S. Geological Survey at 64 randomly-selected sites as part of a study to better define the relationship between pumpage for irrigation and return flow to the High Plains aquifer from applied water (irrigation plus precipitation). The irrigation data include well yields, time of operation, fuel consumption, and water applied to individual crops for the 1983 and 1984 growing seasons. The average water application rate for corn was 35.1 inches in 1983 and 31.5 inches in 1984; the rate for cotton was 12.4 inches in 1983 and 13.7 inches in 1984; and the rate for wheat was 15.5 inches in 1984.