Free Agricultural Workshop to Highlight Drip Irrigation on Onions & Watermelons
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.”
Continue reading
Larry Standage has reaped all the typical benefits of converting to drip irrigation with his onions in Vale, Oregon, including increased yields, reduced runoff, and less use of water, fertilizer, and labor. But the most important benefit is that Standage builds customer loyalty as a result of a higher quality, more uniform crop.
