A26-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 23, 1991
Fertigation Becomes
(Continued from Page A 25)
quick to recover,” he said.
Gault said that many growers
have misconceptions about drip
irrigation. He said that people
believe the tree is pampered and
may go out to a landscape situation
and “suffer.”
Gault said, “In fact, the exact
opposite is true. The tree is
shocked less when it’s trans
planted and it’s got more roots, so
it’s quicker to root out into its new
home and re-establish itself and be
a contender in the landscape.”
Growers can actually save
money over the installation cost,
which Gault estimates to be about
$1 more per tree. But plants can be
brought to market 25 percent to 35
percent eariler, he said. And losses
because of drought stress without
irrigation can range from 7-10 per
cent on an annual basis.
Losing less
“With irrigation, wc’rc losing
less than 1 percent annually,” he
said. “And if you’re lining out
10,000 trees, at SlO a piece, and
you’re saving 10 percent, it’s
quick to pay for itself. And you’re
going to be coming to market not
only in 25 to 35 percent less lime,
but with 25 to 35 percent more pro
duct than with traditional
methods.”
Each station is equipped to first
fertilize and then irrigate. The fer
tilizer is applied a small amount on
a daily basis. Different amounts
can be relegated to different sites,
so each tree can be grown to spe
cific uniformity. “And you don’t
have to depend on Mother Nature
to get it washed into the root zone
or wash it away.”
Gault said that through proper
timing of the fertilizer through the
irrigation system, “you can push
several flushes of growth from
May until July for top growth.
We’ll fertilize, say, the middle of
October till the middle of Novem
ber to get caliper growth, and then
again in February. It’s going to
give you more of the girth of the
tree to ‘balance out’”
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Effective way
“Drip irrigation is the most
effective and efficient way you
could possibly irrigate,” said Jim
Roberts, Roberts Irrigation, San
Marcos, Calif. Roberts spoke
recently at the 1991 Pennsylvania
Vegetable Conference about the
benefits of using drip irrigation.
He cautioned that some of the
legislation pending or already
passed in California (which has
required fruit and vegetable far
mers near him to pay fines that
have forced many of them out of
business) could also happen in
Pennsylvania.
‘Tm telling this to caution
you,” he said. “If the label says
four ounces per acre, don’t put on
six. Because they’ve got ways to
monitor that now and they’ll likely
find out that you didn’t follow the
label. We saw farmers do that in
California and they’re literally out
of business.”
Roberts said, by using drip irri
gation, nutrients are fed through
the system in “very limited
amounts. And if you’re doing it
right, you’re going to monitor the
needs of the plant and you’re going
to adjust the fertilizer
accordingly.”
100 tons of tomatoes
In results of several tests, grow
ers in Roberts’ area achieved 50
tons and, in some cases, up to 100
tons per acre of tomatoes using
drip irrigation.
Also, pesticide and fumigant
applications to the soil offered
more exact results. The nutrients
applied helped greatly extend
some crops.
Roberts recommended that a
media filter be used if the water
used to irrigate may be dirty. Also,
acids to clean the system and to
keep the pores open are necessary.
But the acids (phosphoric and sul
phuric) are also important ele
ments to the plants.
Roberts said that farmers in this
area should keep an eye on Califor
nia, because farmers may face the
same type of legislation in the
future. In once case, farmers in
California are also responsible for
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what they apply. When a chemical
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farmer applies, or farmers face
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Small basis
“You better try the drip method
and try to find out what it will do
for you,” said Roberts. “I would
suggest you try it on a small basis,
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till you find out how to manage the
system.”
Roberts said that “one of the
things I think is extremely impor
tant for all of you today is to realize
your responsibility in this whole
area,” he said. “Read the labels,
leant how to apply these chem
cials, and make sure we do not cre
ate any more problems.”
“We are, in this area, blessed
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RD 2
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with tremendous topsoil and
everything.” said John Gault, of
Gault Nursery Corp. “And the
rainfall has been good.
“There is too much going down
to the Chesapeake Bay through the
watershed area here,” he said.
“We. only have one world here.
We really beat the heck out of it for
a while. But I think we have to get
smart about it”
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301-473-4250
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Intaraaelion of US 48
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304-202-8355