Eficiencia económica de dos métodos de riego: gravedad y aspersión en el cultivo de pasto en el módulo Cebadas Central, parroquia Cebadas cantón Guamote, provincia de Chimborazo, año 2017.

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the economic and technical efficiency of sprinkler irrigation (technified) and gravity (traditional) methods in grass production, the raw material for producers to obtain the milk that generates their main economic income in the Cebadas Central module, Guamote canton, province of Chimborazo. For this, a characterization of the agronomic and hydraulic factors of the Irrigation System Cebadas was carried out and its Central Cebadas module, then the total water footprint of the pasture cultivation was analyzed, differentiating the two irrigation methods in the study and finally the economic efficiency of each method applied by the producer was evaluated. The methodology was non-experimental due to the need generated of a study by the irrigation board Cebadas in a productive plot already established, where the independent variables were not controlled. The technical efficiency analyzed through the water footprint of the crop, determined that the best results were shown for the sprinkler irrigation method; that is, for the production of 1 kg of fresh grass material 0,76 m3 of water is required, despite that the sprinkling method is underutilized, there is a water saving of 0.88 m3/kg of pasture produced when compared to the gravity irrigation method; under these conditions the equilibrium point for the sprinkler irrigation method was analyzed, presented values for the produced quantities of pasture of 7,6 Tm and for the income $ 3,027.39, the total average cost for each Tm produced is $ 339.01, to determine which irrigation method generated the most money per m3 of water used in the pasture production, was determined that the sprinkler irrigation method presented the highest value of 0,53 $/m3.