Grower experience with Grower experience with drip irrigation in Florida
Grower experience with drip irrigation in Florida Peter McClure Bluefield Division Manager Evans Properties, Inc. St. Lucie County
Irrigation is the artificial application pp of water to the soil to assist in ggrowing g crops p
Archaeological evidence shows irrigation was used in Mesopotamia and dE Egypt as ffar b back k as 8 000 years ago 8,000
To grow barley malt
Barley malt is the most common grain used to make beer
Beer is the oldest recorded beverage g in the written history of Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia
Therefore, the original Therefore purpose of irrigation was to increase the availability of:
BEER!!
Egyptian wooden model of beer making in ancient Egypt Rosecrucian Egyptian Museum
Hooray BEER!
About 700 million acres of agricultural land is irrigated around the world
• 68% of irrigated land in Asia • 17% in Americas • 9% in Europe p • 5% in Africa
Drip i Irrigation i i a method that minimizes the use of water and fertilizer by allowing water to drip slowly to the roots off plants l
Drip irrigation has been used since ancient times when buried clay pots were filled with water and the water gradually seeped into the soil
Modern drip irrigation began its development in Germany in 1860 when researchers began using clay pipe to create irrigation systems
IIn 1913 1913, E E.B. B House H att Colorado State University succeeded in applying water to the root zone of plants without raising p g the water table
With the advent of modern plastics during and after World War II, major improvements in drip irrigation became possible
The modern technology gy of dripp irrigation g was invented in Israel by Simcha Blass and his son Yeshayahu.
They had a good idea, instead of releasing water through h h tiny i holes h l that h plugged l d easily il
water was released through larger and longer passageways inside a plastic emitter
Friction and turbulence reduce water velocity, allowing water to “drip” out larger emitter hole
Tortuous path emitter
This allows larger orifice size which reduces pplugging, ugg g, less ess plugging p ugg g with dripp than microjet j
You still need really good filtration
And you need to use line cleaners and flush p periodically y
Our water source iis mainly O i l surface f water t – algae l the th number b one problem bl
Line Cleaners 1. Chlorine – gas or liquid 2. Hydrogen d Peroxide id 3 Copper 3. C in i solution l i
Well Water – dissolved minerals number one problem
1. Sodium hexametaphosphate p p – (NaPO3) dispersant and antiflocculant (Calgon) 2 Acid – muratic, 2. muratic sulfuric, sulfuric citric, phosphoric, etc. 3. Chlorine
The most productive grove I ever managed in the Indian River area was a white grapefruit grove with single beds and
Drip Irrigation
This grove averaged 800 boxes per acre, acre ranged from 600 to 11,000 000 boxes per acre
These were large trees, on Riviera Fine Sand
Soil Surveyy Says y “Available water holding g capacity p y is low in the surface and subsurface layers”
“Permeability Permeability is rapid, rapid natural fertility and organic matter are low low”
Summary Chart of GIS Tree Response Model r^2 Correlations (x=Percent Sand) vs (y=Tree Vigor) Correlation Comparison by Depth Soil CEC and Percent Sand Content vs. Tree Vigor Response
S o il P ro file D e p th
0-3"
0-3”
0.89
0.64
3-6”
0.91
3 6" 3-6"
0.83
6-12”
0.92
6-12"
0.81
cec sand
0.82 0.82
12-18" 18 24" 18-24
0.02
24-30"
0.02
0 27 0.27
12-18” 18-24”
0.24
2 30” 24-30”
0.04 0.04
30-36" 0
02 0.2
04 0.4
06 0.6
08 0.8
Correlation (r^2) to Tree Vigor Response
1
30 36” 30-36”
X Y Z Plot of CEC vs. Sand vs. Tree Vigor Poor Trees Moderate Trees
Strong Trees
N=34 Pits, 70 Acres 238 GPS Soil Samples Ideal 4 Grove Bluefield Division
Pineda & Riviera Soil Types Flatwoods Region
Today T d we have h about b 4 000 acres off D 4,000 Drip i I i ti along Irrigation l with ith 5,000 5 000 acres off microjet i j t
Most of our drip systems are single i l line li tubing bi with ih 1 gal/hr l/h emitter i every 30”
Mostt are 2 Zone M Z systems, t operate t 2 hours h on, 2 hours h off ff
East Coast Root zones in top 12 inches only, pushing water past that is wasteful
Except p when you y need to flush salt accumulation out of the root zone
Irrigation delivers 2 to 3 lbs of salt per week per tree on East Coast groves
Need N d to fl flush h at lleast every other th weekk when h dry. d Our O surface f water t is i often ft over 2 000 PPM TDS 2,000
FAWN 7 Day ET Gallons Per Tree week ending Aug 21 2007 Station Gal/Ac/Day tree/ac FROSTPROOF 4 966 4,966 140 FT PIERCE 5,238 140 IMMOKALEE 4,850 140
gal/tree 35 37 35
We have some 4 Zone drip systems - maximizes cost efficiency, works well
Operate p system y 24 hours to pput out 35 gallons g per p tree. Each zone ON for 2 hours,, then OFF for 6 hours, then on for 2 hours, etc.
Drip tape, tape can cost only 20% to 40% as much as drip tube (above ground costs)
Drip tape = tubing wall thickness between 5 mils and 15 mils – should last 2 – 5 years y
Drip tube = wall thickness between 30 to 50 mils – should h ld last l 10 –15 years
Pressure compensating P ti drip di systems t compensate t for f lots of design problems and greatly reduce clogging
Standard emitter spacings available from 4” to 48” with different flow rates = ability to tailor to tree needs and soil type
Today – better emitters and better controllers available
Drip Line – Wetted strip 2 to 4 ft wide entire length of row
Microjet – wetted area 25 to 50% of area under canopy
Drip Tape system – 5 years old – young trees – has worked well – 3 different brands
Typhoon yp
Roberts
Queen Gill
We have 15 year old drip tube system that has worked well, but now needs to be replaced
Our 5 year old drip tape system has worked well well, now needs to be replaced
Both these groves have HLB what do we do? HLB, Will grove live long enough to justify replacing above ground g ou d irrigation? ga o ?
Drip Irrigation Problems • Psychological – can can’tt see water • Ants – eat out the diaphragms – systems lose pressure • No freeze protection • Can’t physically clean emitters • Won’t W ’t incorporate i t in i Temik T ik or fertilizer
Drip p Irrigation g Benefits
• Less maintenance, less plugging • More efficient - no water loss to evaporation • Pressure P compensating i • Emitters E itt built b ilt in i line, li won’t ’t gett knocked over or pulled out • Usually less expensive
When designing system, system engineer 20% extra capacity into pump, pump engine, engine and underground pipe and valves
• Record flow rate, engine RPM, water pressure for each zone • Monitor over time, this will l t you know let k if you develop d l plugging or leaking problem
htt // http://www.irrigation.org/default.aspx i i ti /d f lt
Drip Irrigation It works! I believe you can grow trees anywhere in Florida with a drip system.
Back to Beer and Irrigation, remember, irrigation is the Artificial application of water to the soil to assist in growing crops
If it is Natural,, it ain’t irrigation!
Irrigation is the artificial application pp of water to the soil to assist in ggrowing g crops p
Archaeological evidence shows irrigation was used in Mesopotamia and dE Egypt as ffar b back k as 8 000 years ago 8,000
To grow barley malt
Barley malt is the most common grain used to make beer
Beer is the oldest recorded beverage g in the written history of Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia
Therefore, the original Therefore purpose of irrigation was to increase the availability of:
BEER!!
Egyptian wooden model of beer making in ancient Egypt Rosecrucian Egyptian Museum
Hooray BEER!
About 700 million acres of agricultural land is irrigated around the world
• 68% of irrigated land in Asia • 17% in Americas • 9% in Europe p • 5% in Africa
Drip i Irrigation i i a method that minimizes the use of water and fertilizer by allowing water to drip slowly to the roots off plants l
Drip irrigation has been used since ancient times when buried clay pots were filled with water and the water gradually seeped into the soil
Modern drip irrigation began its development in Germany in 1860 when researchers began using clay pipe to create irrigation systems
IIn 1913 1913, E E.B. B House H att Colorado State University succeeded in applying water to the root zone of plants without raising p g the water table
With the advent of modern plastics during and after World War II, major improvements in drip irrigation became possible
The modern technology gy of dripp irrigation g was invented in Israel by Simcha Blass and his son Yeshayahu.
They had a good idea, instead of releasing water through h h tiny i holes h l that h plugged l d easily il
water was released through larger and longer passageways inside a plastic emitter
Friction and turbulence reduce water velocity, allowing water to “drip” out larger emitter hole
Tortuous path emitter
This allows larger orifice size which reduces pplugging, ugg g, less ess plugging p ugg g with dripp than microjet j
You still need really good filtration
And you need to use line cleaners and flush p periodically y
Our water source iis mainly O i l surface f water t – algae l the th number b one problem bl
Line Cleaners 1. Chlorine – gas or liquid 2. Hydrogen d Peroxide id 3 Copper 3. C in i solution l i
Well Water – dissolved minerals number one problem
1. Sodium hexametaphosphate p p – (NaPO3) dispersant and antiflocculant (Calgon) 2 Acid – muratic, 2. muratic sulfuric, sulfuric citric, phosphoric, etc. 3. Chlorine
The most productive grove I ever managed in the Indian River area was a white grapefruit grove with single beds and
Drip Irrigation
This grove averaged 800 boxes per acre, acre ranged from 600 to 11,000 000 boxes per acre
These were large trees, on Riviera Fine Sand
Soil Surveyy Says y “Available water holding g capacity p y is low in the surface and subsurface layers”
“Permeability Permeability is rapid, rapid natural fertility and organic matter are low low”
Summary Chart of GIS Tree Response Model r^2 Correlations (x=Percent Sand) vs (y=Tree Vigor) Correlation Comparison by Depth Soil CEC and Percent Sand Content vs. Tree Vigor Response
S o il P ro file D e p th
0-3"
0-3”
0.89
0.64
3-6”
0.91
3 6" 3-6"
0.83
6-12”
0.92
6-12"
0.81
cec sand
0.82 0.82
12-18" 18 24" 18-24
0.02
24-30"
0.02
0 27 0.27
12-18” 18-24”
0.24
2 30” 24-30”
0.04 0.04
30-36" 0
02 0.2
04 0.4
06 0.6
08 0.8
Correlation (r^2) to Tree Vigor Response
1
30 36” 30-36”
X Y Z Plot of CEC vs. Sand vs. Tree Vigor Poor Trees Moderate Trees
Strong Trees
N=34 Pits, 70 Acres 238 GPS Soil Samples Ideal 4 Grove Bluefield Division
Pineda & Riviera Soil Types Flatwoods Region
Today T d we have h about b 4 000 acres off D 4,000 Drip i I i ti along Irrigation l with ith 5,000 5 000 acres off microjet i j t
Most of our drip systems are single i l line li tubing bi with ih 1 gal/hr l/h emitter i every 30”
Mostt are 2 Zone M Z systems, t operate t 2 hours h on, 2 hours h off ff
East Coast Root zones in top 12 inches only, pushing water past that is wasteful
Except p when you y need to flush salt accumulation out of the root zone
Irrigation delivers 2 to 3 lbs of salt per week per tree on East Coast groves
Need N d to fl flush h at lleast every other th weekk when h dry. d Our O surface f water t is i often ft over 2 000 PPM TDS 2,000
FAWN 7 Day ET Gallons Per Tree week ending Aug 21 2007 Station Gal/Ac/Day tree/ac FROSTPROOF 4 966 4,966 140 FT PIERCE 5,238 140 IMMOKALEE 4,850 140
gal/tree 35 37 35
We have some 4 Zone drip systems - maximizes cost efficiency, works well
Operate p system y 24 hours to pput out 35 gallons g per p tree. Each zone ON for 2 hours,, then OFF for 6 hours, then on for 2 hours, etc.
Drip tape, tape can cost only 20% to 40% as much as drip tube (above ground costs)
Drip tape = tubing wall thickness between 5 mils and 15 mils – should last 2 – 5 years y
Drip tube = wall thickness between 30 to 50 mils – should h ld last l 10 –15 years
Pressure compensating P ti drip di systems t compensate t for f lots of design problems and greatly reduce clogging
Standard emitter spacings available from 4” to 48” with different flow rates = ability to tailor to tree needs and soil type
Today – better emitters and better controllers available
Drip Line – Wetted strip 2 to 4 ft wide entire length of row
Microjet – wetted area 25 to 50% of area under canopy
Drip Tape system – 5 years old – young trees – has worked well – 3 different brands
Typhoon yp
Roberts
Queen Gill
We have 15 year old drip tube system that has worked well, but now needs to be replaced
Our 5 year old drip tape system has worked well well, now needs to be replaced
Both these groves have HLB what do we do? HLB, Will grove live long enough to justify replacing above ground g ou d irrigation? ga o ?
Drip Irrigation Problems • Psychological – can can’tt see water • Ants – eat out the diaphragms – systems lose pressure • No freeze protection • Can’t physically clean emitters • Won’t W ’t incorporate i t in i Temik T ik or fertilizer
Drip p Irrigation g Benefits
• Less maintenance, less plugging • More efficient - no water loss to evaporation • Pressure P compensating i • Emitters E itt built b ilt in i line, li won’t ’t gett knocked over or pulled out • Usually less expensive
When designing system, system engineer 20% extra capacity into pump, pump engine, engine and underground pipe and valves
• Record flow rate, engine RPM, water pressure for each zone • Monitor over time, this will l t you know let k if you develop d l plugging or leaking problem
htt // http://www.irrigation.org/default.aspx i i ti /d f lt
Drip Irrigation It works! I believe you can grow trees anywhere in Florida with a drip system.
Back to Beer and Irrigation, remember, irrigation is the Artificial application of water to the soil to assist in growing crops
If it is Natural,, it ain’t irrigation!
