ABOUT a third of irrigated land in northwest Victoria has not been watered during the past 12 months.
Most of the unwatered land had been used to grow fruit, including wine grapes, dried fruit, table grapes and citrus, but drought, three years of low water allocations and low commodity prices have made the land unprofitable.
According to research commissioned by the Mallee Catchment Management Authority, Merbein - west of Mildura - had the highest proportion of unwatered blocks with 43 per cent, followed by Nyah, northwest of Swan Hill, (42 per cent) and Mildura (34 per cent).
The only areas where irrigation increased were Wemen and Boundary Bend, which are home to large-scale almond and olive plantations.
Mallee CMA chief executive officer Jennifer Collins said the research had been commissioned to identify recent changes in irrigated horticulture.
"(It) will ensure local irrigators and agencies have reliable information on which to base decisions about their future activities and programs," Ms Collins said.
Ms Collins said the report also highlighted a change in irrigation methods, with drip irrigation increasing from 17 per cent of irrigated crops in 2005-06 to 33 per cent in 2009-10.
"Overall, 70 per cent of crops were irrigated by the more water-efficient methods of drippers or low level sprinklers in 2009-10," she said.
