Done right, flooding fields can be efficient

With their orchards, vineyards and high-value crops, California farmers have embraced drip and other forms of micro irrigation, making such systems the leading method used to water their crops.

Despite increased adoption of drip, the traditional and more low-tech method of flooding the ground and using gravity to deliver water to crops remains popular in the Golden State – and not just for field crops. Less popular in California are sprinkler systems, even though they remain the most widely used irrigation method in the nation.

There’s a reason micro irrigation has taken off. Drip systems, in...