We know you’re busy and hard at work. It’s tough to get away – even for an hour – and attend a live webinar. Luckily with the help of our partner, the Grange Network, we have TONS of recorded webinars on all kinds of drip irrigation and agriculture-related topics. So you can log-on on your own schedule.
Drip Irrigation Webinar Archive
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.
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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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.
Continue readingThe Irrigation Association recently hosted a webinar titled, “Mitigating Effects of Drought — Visions for Sustainable Irrigation” as part of its “Smart Irrigation Month: Bringing Water to Life” webinar series. IA government affairs director John Farner hosted the event and provided a brief overview of drought stricken areas of the United States, and explained how efficient irrigation can help.
Then featured speaker, Dr. Puneet Srivastava of Auburn University, made a compelling case for irrigation of non-irrigated crops in Alabama and Georgia. The southeast boasts prime, rainfed cropland, but farmed acres have steadily declined for decades due to poor yields in comparison with irrigated cropland in other states. This economic downturn could be reversed by irrigating from on-farm reservoirs filled by winter rains, and boosting yields considerably.
Continue readingDaniele Zaccaria, assistant cooperative Extension specialist in the Department of Land, Air and Water Resources at the University of California-Davis, offers some tips to help you get the most from your irrigation water:
1. Consult with farm advisers in your area. They are usually a good source of information for irrigation management practices.
2. Plan for crop planting timing strategically, as early or late planting may help growers avoid the highest water-demanding periods, or reduce the length of the crop cycle, thus requiring less water to achieve profitable yields.
Continue readingAs the 2014 Oahe Farm and Ranch Show nears, Milt Morris and Tom Tveit laid out a new irrigation system they hope will improve local farming on Thursday. That’s when the two men watched as a crew of workers installed the tape for a drip irrigation system in a three acre plot next to the Oahe Speedway.
Using a tractor owned by Tveit, a local farm manager and crop consultant who has worked closely with Morris over the years, workers laid strips of drip tape, which is made of polyethylene, 30 inches apart from each other. The tape will be permanently buried 16 inches deep, allowing it to be at or below the roots of the corn Morris said will be planted on the plot.
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Water is a precious commodity. Just ask California growers trying to navigate through a drought that is said to be one of the worst since the 1500s.
In March, the California Farm Water Coalition upgraded its estimate of acres growers will leave idle this year to 800,000, up from 500,000, because of a lack of water. According to USDA’s Drought Monitor, the drought in 95% of the state is being called “Severe” to “Exceptional.”
What can California and growers in the West do? Unfortunately, options are limited. Conservation is an obvious solution — and most growers in the West are already well down that road. During the last couple of decades, many have turned their attention to drip irrigation, which is considered to be the most efficient way to water crops.
Continue readingToro has announced two easy-to-use “how-to” guides on subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) and mint production. The SDI guide helps producers adopt systems for field crops such as corn, cotton, soybeans, sugarcane, alfalfa and mint. The mint guide profiles Idaho mint producer and President of the Mint Association, Bob McKellip, and reveals the success he achieved by using SDI through two harvests*. Both brochures are available in English and Spanish in our drip irrigation literature archive.
Click here to download the SDI guide (for Spanish, click here).
Click here to download the Mint guide (for Spanish, click here).
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