Patent ID: 8849468

Claim:
The method of irrigating a field during times of drought and during times of reduced water availability with an elongated center pivot irrigation system, having spaced-apart sprinklers thereon, comprising the steps of: determining the number of acres of a field over which the center pivot irrigation system travels; preparing a map which divides a field into irrigation sectors; determining the number of acres in each of the irrigation sectors; determining a yield potential of a field in each of the irrigation sectors; determining a crop water requirement; determining a water flow rate, in gallons per minute, available to the center pivot irrigation system; determining a number of gallons per minute per acre to achieve the crop water requirement; calculating the number of acres available to receive sufficient water to achieve the crop water requirement by dividing the water flow rate available to a center pivot irrigation system by the number of gallons per minute per acre to achieve the crop water requirement; dividing the number of acres available to receive sufficient water to achieve the crop water requirement by the number of acres of the field to determine a percentage thereof; multiplying the percentage and a total number of irrigation sectors to identify the number of irrigation sectors available for the crop water requirement; identifying the top yielding sectors in the field corresponding to the number of irrigation sectors available for the crop water requirement; moving the center pivot irrigation system over the field; and operating the sprinklers on the center pivot irrigation system as the center pivot irrigation system moves over the top yielding sectors to irrigate those top yielding sectors.