Q: What are Phreatophytes and what can producers do to manage or control their impact at the farm level?
A: Phreatophytes are plants such as Russian Olive, tamarisk, willows and cottonwood, that obtain water from the water table or the unsaturated zone just above it. Often found along water supply canals, phreatophytes can consume significant quantities of water through evapotranspiration, reducing the availability of water to a cropping system and its users. Producers usually engage in management of phreatophytes to preserve water reserves for crop intake. Methods of control include mechanical, chemical, and biological treatments or a combination of all three in order to remove, reduce, or manipulate unwanted communities.  Populations of phreatophytes are more common in areas where precipitation or water availability is not a limiting factor.