Precision irrigation Regenerative agriculture Optimized irrigation Water Talk Podcast
UNIVERSITY of WISCONSIN–MADISON
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Optimized irrigation

Innovative irrigation application and soil moisture control can maximize crop quality, nutrition, and yield while minimizing input costs, pests, and disease pressure.

We conduct interdisciplinary research and offer decision support to guide thoughtful irrigation that benefits the whole agroecological system. Optimizing irrigation is more than just applying water to meet or exceed evaporative demand. Smart irrigation management leverages water to control oxygen, nutrients, salinity, beneficial microbes, pathogens, and pests in the root zone. Controlling water stress at certain phenological stages can also manipulate carbon assimilation and allocation to different pools (e.g. root, shoot, fruit) for specific outcomes. This type of nuanced irrigation management requires tools—soil moisture probes, evapotranspiration stations, and pressure chambers. These tools can provide useful information, but also can introduce additional complexity without decision support.

Current explorations in Optimized Irrigation:

Optimizing yield and brix in Westside processing tomatoes

We are partnering with Scott Schmidt of Farming ‘D’ Ranch (Five Points, CA), University of California Cooperative Extension Advisor Tom Turini, Dr. Cristina Lazcano, Dr. Rad Schmidt, Dr. Kate Scow, and Dr. Amelie Gaudin to try to optimize irrigation strategies that will save up to 4” in annual irrigation, improve tomato flavor+nutrition, alleviate salinity, improve soil quality, and maintain high yields. Graduate Student Researcher Courtney Emerson is leading soil biogeochemistry and ecological efforts. Doctoral Fulbright recipient Halima Malal is leading a salinity incubation experiment and Graduate Student Researcher Logan Ebert is leading remote sensing and hydrological efforts. This project is funded by the CA Tomato Research Institute, CDFA, and CA League of Food Processors.

How can we save energy by optimizing irrigation management?

Pumping for groundwater irrigation is the largest use of energy for agriculture in CA and increases during drought. Dr. Gaurav Jha and Dawson Diaz are leading assessment of different irrigation decision support systems to conserve both water and energy as a part of the California Energy Product Evaluation (Cal-EPE) Hub project to evaluate different commercially available distributed energy resource technologies. As part of the Hub, we are evaluating a variety of approaches using soil sensors, canopy sensors, satellite, and aerial imaging to inform and support irrigation decision making. We also seek and receive feedback from an Irrigation Decision Support Advisory group consisting of growers, decision support providers, and policy makers.

2021 IDSS Field Day

Different heatwave irrigation strategies in Cabernet Sauvignon

Wine grape growers have about a week of notice when a heatwave is coming and we know that heatwaves are going to keep getting more intense under a changing climate. So, how much to irrigate in advance of a heatwave? We are partnering with Drs. Beth Forrestel and Andrew McElrone to assess Cab Sav responses to different irrigation strategies in advance of heatwaves. Junior Specialist Andrew Gal is leading remote sensing missions and energy budget analyses using high-resolution evapotranspiration models. Andy recently presented initial results at the 2021 AGU Fall Meeting. Learn more about heatwave irrigation impacts to grapevine physiology and berry chemistry in Lodi, CA from Martina Galeano’s webinar below!

Watch the webinar!

Best practices for optimizing irrigation:

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01.


Delay irrigation onset for stronger roots (almond, pistachio, walnut)

Irrigating too much too soon may impede root growth and exploration, especially in orchards. Keeping track of winter soil moisture storage can help decide when to start irrigating and how much to irrigate. It is also useful to measure midday stem water potential in the beginning of the season and initiate irrigation when you are 2 bars below the well-watered baseline. Check out an article on the topic by University of California Cooperative Extension Advisors Allan Fulton and Luke Milliron! Photo by UCCE advisor Franz Neiderholzer.

Read the article!
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02.


Soil moisture can drive the pathosystem (universal)

Better management of soil moisture may also diminish disease pressure, especially in annual vegetable systems. We are collaborating with the Swett Lab at UC Davis to examine irrigation-soil moisture-pathogen relationships in a project led by doctoral student Justine Beaulieu. She is investigating deficit, typical, and excessive irrigation (subsurface drip) impacts on crop health. Photo of Fusarium oxysporum.

Learn More!

03.


Control flavor and nutrition during ripening

Careful management of water during fruit ripening can increase vitamin and brix content in fruits like tomatoes, strawberries, and grapes. For example, grape berries may require different irrigation strategies before, during, and after ripening to balance brix, volume, and hydration. Learn more about these relationships and the Goldilocks Principle of late season drip irrigation in wine grapes from Dr. Yun Zhang (Ste. Michelle Wine Estates) and Melissa Hansen (Washington State University)!

Grape Water Myths, Debunked