Overirrigation is a typical mistake made by farmers, especially when soil moisture monitoring instruments are not used. The extra water you applied, which you assumed would help the plant grow even bigger, may be the cause of your plants’ wilting and yellow leaves. Here are several indicators that your plants are getting too much or too little water.
Your field has plenty of water but your plants are wilting
The roots of the plant absorb nutrients from the soil. Roots need a mix of water, nutrients, and oxygen to survive and develop for plants to grow optimally. The gaps between the soil particles should be filled with oxygen in the ideal situation. Overwatering fills the gaps between soil particles with water and pushes the oxygen out, decreasing the amount of oxygen available to plant roots. When this happens, your plants will wilt, giving the impression that there isn’t enough water even when the soil is clearly saturated.
Your plants have yellow leaves which turn brown and wilt
Plant growth suddenly stops, and leaves turn yellow, then brown, indicating either over or under-irrigation. Examine the leaves: if they’re crisp, you’re probably under-irrigating; if they’re mushy to the touch, you’re probably over-irrigating.
Leaves falling
In both overirrigating and underirrigating scenarios, leaves fall. The premature fall of both young and old leaves, as well as the failure of buds to open, is an indication of too much water.
Leaf blister
Excess water reaching the roots can also be seen in the plant’s top portions, such as the stem and leaves. When there is too much water in the leaves, they cannot withstand the stress and the water breaks out, resulting in leaf blisters.
The soil
Before irrigating, inspect the soil. If you can locate moisture from your previous irrigation cycle 5 cm/2″ below the soil surface, you may be over-irrigating. On the other hand, if the soil is so hard that you can’t get a screwdriver through it, you might be under-irrigating.
How to avoid over-irrigating or under-irrigating?
Irrigation management must considernot onlythe water delivered through irrigation and rainfall, but also how this water moves through the soil and the soil’s capacity to store and make this water available to plant roots. Pay attention to the structure of your soil and its field capacity. Plant development is optimal when soil moisture is around the soil’s field capacity, so the water level should be assessed and taken into account for irrigation scheduling and maintenance. You can keep an eye on your fields and check if your plants are healthy or stressed using modern technologies like Manna or Rivulis ReelView.
In addition to the above guide, it should be noted that in some cases you want to deliberately stress your plants via under-irrigation (e.g. reduced deficit irrigation regimes).
Disclaimer: The above is provided as general advice only. Every application is different, and your irrigation schedule should be developed to your specific requirements.
FAQs
Plant growth suddenly stops, and leaves turn yellow, then brown, indicating either over or under-irrigation. Examine the leaves: if they're crisp, you're probably under-irrigating; if they're mushy to the touch, you're probably over-irrigating.
How can you tell the difference between under and over watering? ›
Determine which by feeling the leaf showing browning: if it feels crispy and light, it is underwatered. If it feels soft and limp, it is overwatered. Yellowing leaves: Usually accompanied by new growth falling, yellow leaves are an indication of overwatering.
How do you know if you're over watering your plants? ›
If a plant is overwatered, it will likely develop yellow or brown limp, droopy leaves as opposed to dry, crispy leaves (which are a sign of too little water). Wilting leaves combined with wet soil usually mean that root rot has set in and the roots can no longer absorb water.
What can excessive irrigation result in? ›
Over-irrigation leads to water loss, increases energy use for pumping, causes leaching of nitrogen and other micro nutrients, and wastes time. Crop nitrogen needs, fertilizer costs, and nitrogen losses to groundwater also result from over-irrigation.
How do I know if my grass is over or under watered? ›
Your lawn should be a nice, even, deep green. If it begins to fade to a dull or dry shade, like a brown, it could be underwatered. The confusion comes in since this is also an overwatering sign. If you also see sponginess in your soil, then the discoloration is from overwatering, not underwatering.
Which is worse overwatering or underwatering? ›
Overwatering your lawn is actually worse than under-watering because it will cause more damage. An under-watered lawn will struggle and die, while an overwatered lawn will not only kill off your lawn, but can also ruin the soils underneath.
What does overwatered soil look like? ›
Soggy soil will look dark and damp, and will hold its form when squeezed and compacted and will have a plastic consistency. If you squeeze darker soil in your hand, and it maintains that shape, your water is soggy.
How to tell if your plant needs more or less water? ›
“Plants will droop if they are thirsty or too soggy. This is your cue to feel the soil on the top. You might have to dig down a couple of inches to really see what's going on but from there you will know how to adjust to your plant's specific needs.”
Am I over watering or under watering my plants? ›
When plants have too little water, leaves turn brown and wilt. This also occurs when plants have too much water. The biggest difference between the two is that too little water will result in your plant's leaves feeling dry and crispy to the touch while too much water results in soft and limp leaves.
How long does it take for plants to recover from overwatering? ›
The good news is that most plants will bounce back between 7-14 days if they're given proper care (which includes rehydration). If this isn't possible because major damage was done or little healthy root system exists then expect about 2 weeks until improvement can be seen.
One of the most damaging repercussions of over-irrigation is the increase in the soil's salinity. Naturally, most crops don't favor salty conditions, which can adversely affect growth. An important factor in determining the scale of the damage is the soil type.
What happens if you irrigate too much? ›
Applying too much water causes leaching of nutrients, erosion, high water tables and salinity pro blems. Many times problems show up on a neighbor's property, down slope of irrigated land.
What three problems can irrigation cause? ›
The expansion and intensification of agriculture made possible by irrigation has the potential for causing: increased erosion; pollution of surface water and groundwater from agricultural biocides; deterioration of water quality; increased nutrient levels in the irrigation and drainage water resulting in algal blooms, ...
How to tell if a tree is overwatered or underwatered? ›
Your soil should be cool and moist. If it's sopping wet, you're overwatering. If your soil isn't drenched or sandy, roll into a ball. If it crumbles, your tree needs more water.
What does under watering look like? ›
Take a close look at the lower leaves on your plant. If your plant is under watered, the leaves will turn yellow then begin to curl around the edges.
Is underwatering worse than overwatering? ›
Usually underwatering a plant is less damaging than overwatering, which can cause additional problems like root rot and other diseases. But of course, if a plant is too dry it can shrivel up before you even realize it.
Can you overwater with bottom watering? ›
Bottom Watering
It's not impossible to overwater with this method, but it's much less likely. Sensitive leaves are happy since you're not pouring water over them. The roots do a little more work to soak up the moisture and ultimately become stronger.
