WAE irrigation seminars provide variety of topics

The irrigation seminars at World Ag Expo will be held Feb. 9 and 11 at the Seminar Center. Here is the schedule of presentations:

Tuesday, Feb. 9

• 9:30 a.m. Actual ET Measurements for Monitoring Water Stress and Simplifying Irrigation; speaker: Tom Shapland, Tule. A recent innovation from the University of California, Davis, has made actual evapotranspiration (ET) measurements for irrigation management available to growers. Growers use actual ET to remotely monitor the crop water status of their fields and receive site-specific irrigation recommendations.
• 10:30 a.m. Soil Moisture Research for Enhanced Irrigation Management; speaker: Will MacHugh, iFarm. iFarm has been working with the Washington State Department of Agriculture for the past year to develop accurate, low-cost and low-maintenance soil moisture sensors with the goal of encouraging optimal irrigation practices for specialty crops. These sensors will have the capability to provide detailed maps of soil water content, which will more accurately inform farmers on soil saturation levels.
• 11:30 a.m. pH Modification in Irrigation Water; speaker: Jim Gregory, Verdegaal Brothers Inc. High bicarbonates and high pH irrigation water can restrict irrigation emitter or micro-jet flow and affect crop productivity. Information will be provided on choices of different acids and systems to lower bicarbonates and pH in irrigation water continuously, during the irrigation season. By adjusting the water pH and modifying the water, quality is improved and bicarbonates are dissolved.

Thursday, Feb. 11

• 10 a.m. Agriculture Activities of the Irrigation Association; speaker: John Farner, UC Agriculture and Natural Resources. This presesentation is hosted by Irrigation Association and Center for Irrigation Technology.
• 10:30 a.m. AirJection Irrigation Increasing Yields and Water Use Efficiency; speaker: John Petrosso, Mazzei Injector Co. AirJection uses patented, high-efficiency injectors that are installed in subsurface irrigation systems. When added to the drip line, the injectors draw in atmospheric air and incorporate it into the drip line along with irrigation water. This optimally blends air and water so the right mixture is delivered to the root zone. With the addition of air into the system, water use and fertilizer efficiency are greatly enhanced.
• 11 a.m. Innovations in Sprinkler Packages for Mechanical Move Irrigation Systems; speaker: Dan Schueler, Senninger Irrigation. Current innovations in mechanical move irrigation systems, including pivot and linear systems; high uniformity sprinklers for increased water infiltration into soil; low pressure variable rate irrigation.
• 11:30 a.m. Increasing Demand Response Participation Rates in Agricultural Customers; speaker: George McFadden, Observant. The energy cost of irrigating is increasing in most areas nationally as growers convert to higher pressure systems and pump more groundwater from greater depths. In California, farmers spend billions of dollars on energy each year. Demand response is a method to shift and lower electrical loads, as well as potentially reduce a farm's electricity costs.
• 12 p.m. Flow-Control Emitters: Optimizing Both Flexibility and Uniformity; speaker: Inge Bisconer, Toro Micro-Irrigation. Drip irrigation emitters are categorized by their flow exponents, which describe their ability to regulate flow in relation to pressure. This presentation will describe the end-user benefits of using flow-control emitters.
• 12:30 p.m. Reversing Yield Loss through Restoration of Irrigation Efficiency; speaker: Kiah Tiftick, Meras Engineering. Irrigation efficiency is defined in terms of the irrigation system performance, uniformity of the water application and response of the crop to irrigation. Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, Fresno State and UC Davis have all published independent studies connecting decreased water distribution uniformity numbers with yield losses and increased water usage. To optimize the micro-irrigation systems growers have installed to improve yield, it is important to monitor their efficiency.
• 1 p.m. Understanding Soil Moisture Sensor Data; speaker: Diganta Adhikari, Irrometer. Global drought conditions, along with overdraft of groundwater, have put a strain on irrigated agriculture. The irrigation business has brought many new products and technologies to the marketplace, including soil moisture sensors, one of the more popular options used by growers to manage and maintain moisture levels in their fields.
• 1:30 p.m. Utilizing Soil Moisture Monitoring to Schedule Irrigation; speaker: Christopher Sullivan, Jain Irrigation. To better manage water use, it is important that growers optimize their crop inputs. By using soil moisture and weather monitoring technology, irrigation managers can effectively monitor the available water in the field and schedule irrigation when the field reaches maximum allowable depletion, and then only schedule sufficient irrigation hours to not exceed field capacity.
• 2 p.m. Use of a Cloud-Based Data Management Utility with a Portable Soil Moisture Probe; speaker: Doug Kieffer, Spectrum Technologies. Portable soil moisture probes have proved to be an invaluable tool for assessing irrigation needs, especially for intensively managed areas such as turf grass and small-scale fruit and vegetable production.
• 2:30 p.m. Keys to Constructing Efficient Groundwater Production Wells; speaker: Kevin McGillicuddy, Roscoe Moss Co. This presentation will highlight the critical components of the well construction process: material selection, formation sampling, gravel pack selection, screen slot size selection and well development.