Research continues on sub-surface irrigation systems.

"Basically what's happening, we install a tile drainage system in a special manner so we can re-introduce water into the tile, and keep the water table at a level where the roots can access it," explains Chris Unrau of Precision Land Solutions, based in Winkler. "We want to keep the water table down to a level where the roots have access to oxygen, but close enough that they have access to water."

He notes there are many benefits to irrigating the crop from below the soil surface.

"It's continually getting fed water from the bottom. We're not getting the losses of evaporation or any sort of run-off. It uses less energy and is all around a better way to feed the water to the crop," he says.

Unrau has been working with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada researchers on a field-scale sub-irrigation test site south of Winkler for several years.

"During the month of July they've put water in steady into that system at a rate of 4 gallons a minute per acre. The crop has just been soaking it up and using it on a daily basis," he says.

"There's a lot of interest that's starting to pick up. It looks like we'll be working on some very large sub-irrigation projects in the very near future," says Unrau.