As California faces a historic drought, many farmers are relying on groundwater reserves to carry them through the dry season. Pumping groundwater is currently unregulated in California (that could soon change), and drawing on reserves now could cause shortages in the future. Sustainability-minded farmers are looking ahead and using an arsenal of ways to save water. Here are just a few:
South Texas farmers, crop consultants, technicians and anybody involved in crop irrigation are invited to a workshop to help brainstorm ideas on how to generate incentives for water conservation, according to experts at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Weslaco.
The free program, Rio Grande Valley Agricultural Conservation Workshop, will be held from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Wednesday at the center, located at 2415 E. U.S. Highway 83 in Weslaco.
Among things discussed will be a test plot of drip irrigation on onions and watermelons in which water use was cut in half and yields were double. According to Dr. Juan Anciso, a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service fruit and vegetable specialist at the Weslaco center, “using a [drip irrigation] system can pay off for growers.”
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Drip Irrigation has typically been used in high-value fruit, nut, and vegetable crops. Recently, it has become popular in field crop applications, including corn/soybean rotations and alfalfa, cotton, and processing tomatoes. USDA’s recent Farm and Ranch Irrigation Survey reported 3.76 million acres in the U.S. are under drip. This acreage is expected to be significantly higher in the 2013 report, which will be released this fall.
Drip is gaining in popularity because the systems are flexible and can accommodate diverse cropping and application demands.
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With drought gripping much of the Great Plains and western states, and with groundwater reserves declining and water regulations increasing, growers and their CCAs are finding ways to get more crop per drop with precision irrigation.
Starting in 1993, CCA Bill Cox, agricultural consultant at CoxCo Ag Services in Las Cruces, NM, has helped his clients convert thousands of acres of center-pivot irrigation to the more water-efficient subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) systems, in which buried drip lines below the soil surface deliver water and nutrients directly to the plant’s root zone with minimal losses to surface evaporation or deep percolation.
With SDI, Cox’s growers are able to sharply reduce waste compared with other irrigation systems like furrow and center-pivot irrigation. That enables his growers to put more water to use for crop production, he says. But don’t confuse water use efficiency with water conservation, Cox stresses. The goal isn’t necessarily to use less water, but to get more production with the water that you have.
Continue readingThrough drought and wind, hail and rain, for 25 years Kansas State University researchers have studied subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) technology for field crop production. To mark the anniversary, K-State’s Northwest Research-Extension Center at Colby will host a special anniversary SDI Technology Field Day on Wednesday, August 6 at 105 Experiment Farm Road in Colby.
“This is where growers can come to have their questions answered,” said Freddie Lamm, research irrigation engineer with K-State Research and Extension. “We’ve built in plenty of opportunities for this to be an interactive day.”
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Micro-sprinklers have long been used to provide climate control and irrigate fruit, nut and cover crops. Now, micro-sprinklers can be used as part of an integrated pest management (IPM) plan in row crops, as well. By placing a grid of micro-sprinklers above the crop and operating it a few times a week, dust is washed off the leaves and humidity is increased – suppressing harmful pests and encouraging beneficial insects. For example, mites and spider mites favor hot, dusty environments, whereas beneficial predatory insects, such as persimilis, thrive best where humidity levels are between 60 to 90 percent. By applying a light application of water to the crop several times a week, dust, mites and webbing are washed off while the resulting increased humidity encourages beneficial predator species.
Yesterday – July 10, 2014 – The Toro Company celebrated its 100th anniversary as more than 2,000 employees, retirees, channel and business partners, and other valued guests gathered at the company’s headquarters in Bloomington, Minnesota. Joining Michael J. Hoffman, Toro’s chairman and chief executive officer, as he remarked on the company’s rich history and the individuals and innovations that helped shape the company’s success was Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton, who presented the official proclamation declaring “Toro Day” in the State of Minnesota, and Bloomington Mayor Gene Winstead.
“As we celebrate our first 100 years, it was truly gratifying to be surrounded by many of those who played such a significant role in the company’s success,” said Hoffman. “We are honored to have such talented employees around the world and individuals who have served the company throughout our history, along with great channel and business partners, who work every day to serve our customers and help advance our efforts in the industry. And, I especially want to thank Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton and Bloomington Mayor Gene Winstead for joining our centennial celebration and honoring the people of Toro.”
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On Friday, July 25, 2014 at 1:00PM (Pacific Time), the Grange Network will be hosting a 60-minute, FREE webinar to discuss how irrigation uniformity and management affect plant health. Keith Backman, Consultant Manager of Dellavalle Laboratory will lead the discussion.
The use of flood and center pivot irrigation of crops via the waters of the Ogallala Aquifer is as hot a discussion topic as the current drought.
To many who mine the aquifer to make a living, trying to keep a profitable way of life sustainable in a time when the broader public is seeking more conservation of resources yet wanting inexpensive, plentiful and safe food is problematic.
Is subsurface drip irrigation the answer?
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At Toro, we recently added white spider distribution hose to our product line. “White spiders” are multi-outlet devices for use with on-line emitters, such as our pressure-compensating or anit-leak NGE emitters. Along with popular black spiders, white spiders are ideal for greenhouses and nurseries where pot watering and/or hanging basket irrigation systems are used.
White spider tubing is made of flexible PEVA material that allows easier placement of the outlet stakes. Plus, the white tubing potentially reflects sunlight and can lower irrigation water temperature to benefit plant growth, making white spiders preferable to some greenhouses and nurseries.
Both Toro’s black spider and white spider products are available in the same configurations (1, 2, or 4 outlets), and come with standard tubing cut lengths of 18”, 24”, and 32”. To learn more, visit toro.com
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Alfalfa growers may be encouraged to take a fresh look at subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) based on promising work underway at the Burford Ranch in Five Points, Calif.
Francisco Parra, an agronomist and pest control advisor at Burford Ranch, presented preliminary information at an alfalfa pest and crop management meeting held in Dos Palos, Calif. in June on switching the ranch’s Roundup Ready alfalfa acreage to SDI on 60-inch beds to maximize water efficiency.
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We are excited to announce the latest upgrade to our popular AquaFlow drip irrigation design software, AquaFlow 4.0!
To improve user access and convenience, AquaFlow 4.0 can now be used online. The new program format includes expandable panels that automatically adjust to multiple screen and font sizes, and allow instant visibility of design decision results by scrolling. Plus, we added many features that make the program more informative and powerful than ever before.
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