CIT Water Conservation and Scheduling

Question 1

What does ET stand for in irrigation scheduling?

Accepted Answer

Evapotranspiration

Answer

ET stands for evapotranspiration, the combined water loss from soil evaporation and plant transpiration.

Question 2

Which controller type uses local weather data to automatically adjust irrigation run times?

Accepted Answer

ET-based (SMART) controller

Answer

ET-based SMART controllers use real-time weather data to calculate evapotranspiration and automatically adjust schedules.

Question 3

What is a 'water budget' in irrigation controller programming?

Accepted Answer

A seasonal percentage adjustment to run times based on ET

Answer

A water budget is a percentage adjustment applied to controller run times to match seasonal evapotranspiration needs.

Question 4

What is 'cycle and soak' programming designed to prevent?

Accepted Answer

Runoff on slopes or clay soils with slow infiltration

Answer

Cycle and soak applies multiple short irrigation cycles with rest periods to prevent runoff where soil infiltration is slow.

Question 5

Which metric measures how uniformly an irrigation system applies water across a zone?

Accepted Answer

Distribution uniformity (DU)

Answer

Distribution uniformity (DU) measures how evenly water is applied across an irrigation zone, calculated from catch-can data.

CIT - Certified Irrigation Technician Practice Test