By
Kristin Churchill
Assistant Editor
Growers with higher-return
crops should switch to drip irrigation, an irrigation expert advised.
“There are so many advantages to using drip irrigation,”
said Ron Goldy, a Michigan State University (MSU) Southwest District
vegetable agent. “If you had the option, why use overhead irrigation?”
He said some of the advantages of drip irrigation, an irrigation method
where pipes or tubes slowly drip water onto crops, include a more
efficient use of water and fertilizer.
“You only water what you want watered. You feed the plants as
they need it,” he said.
Goldy said drip is a low-pressure method of irrigation. That low pressure
comes from a pressure-reducing protective valve. He urged growers
who have already paid for irrigation expenses to switch to drip, saying
“the only yearly cost is the dripline.”
Goldy predicted more and more growers will switch to drip irrigation
because of its advantages. He said the market also is starting to
demand it.
“Drip irrigation is driven not by growers but by brokers’
demands,” he said, adding drip irrigation is a necessity for
crops grown on plastic. “For example, brokers want a Steak tomato
grown on plastic. You have to use drip.”
Goldy said growers are happy with drip irrigation once they’ve
made the switch.
“It’s an easy system to use,” he said. “I
don’t see a problem switching to it all at once.”
Goldy said besides peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, cantaloupe and other
higher-return crops, pumpkins also benefit from drip irrigation.
“You don’t see it often, but it works well,” he
said. “Pumpkins have powdery mildew problems and it keeps the
leaves from getting wet.”
However, Goldy said it might not make sense to use drip irrigation
on some crops. He said it’s not economically sound to use drip
on crops such as beans and corn “because of narrow rows, larger
acreage and lesser returns.”
He said drip irrigation also might be difficult to use on “anything
you have to dig,” such as potatoes, carrots and onions.
Growers can learn more about drip irrigation at sessions during the
Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable and Farm Market EXPO held Dec. 7-9 in
Grand Rapids, Mich.
The tomato session, which begins at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Dec.7, features
“Irrigation and Fertigation of Fresh Market Tomatoes”
by Dorota Haman, of the University of Florida. The session also features
“Can You Reduce Irrigation Water Inputs While Maintaining High
Yield and Quality?” by Mathieu Ngouajio, of MSU.
Haman also will present “Irrigation and Fertigation in Plasticulture
Production” during the plasticulture session, which starts at
2 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 8.
Two irrigation workshops will be held during the EXPO: Irrigation
Workshop I from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and Irrigation Workshop II from
1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 9.
For more information on the sessions or the EXPO, visit www.glexpo.com
