Comparison of Alternative Irrigation Systems for Container Nursery Stock Production (original) (raw)
Related papers
Strategic Vision of Container Nursery Irrigation in the Next Ten Years
Journal of Environmental Horticulture, 2004
Visions of the future for container nursery irrigation were collected from twelve nursery irrigation scientists, growers and nursery organization leaders. The amount of water available for nursery irrigation unanimously is forecasted to decline over the next decade. Along with declining availability, the cost of water for irrigation is predicted to increase substantially for most nurseries. Limited availability, higher direct cost, and irrigation runoff issues are projected to compel the container nursery industry to adopt procedures and technology that will increase irrigation water use efficiency. Evidence in support of these prognoses, current solutions and suggested options are discussed.
Survey of Container Nursery Irrigation Practices in Georgia
HortTechnology
ADDITIONAL INDEX WORDS. drip irrigation, best management practices, water, IPM SUMMARY. A 2001 survey of 102 nurseries that were members of the Georgia Green Industry Association was conducted to assess irrigation practices of container ornamental nurseries. Mean nursery size was 64 acres (26 ha) and mean annual revenue was about $3 million. About 50% of the irrigation water was from wells and the other 50% came from surface sources, such as collection basins. Irrigation in smaller containers, including #1, #3, and #5, was applied primarily by overhead methods, while larger containers (#7, #15, #25) made extensive use of direct application methods, such as drip or spray stakes. Frequency of irrigation in the summer growing months was about three times that of the winter season. Georgia nurseries use irrigation practices suggested in Southern Nursery Association best management practices, including collection of runoff water (48%), cyclic irrigation (44%), watering in the morning (92%), and grass strips between the production beds and drainage areas (60%).
Supplementary irrigation at container nursery
Forest Research Papers
For the period from the 1st of May to the 30th of October 2014, the water balance for Scots pine, Norway spruce, Pedunculate oak and European beech seedlings in a plantation setting was analysed. The experiment was conducted at the container nursery in the Rudy Raciborskie Forest District, Poland. Water was supplied by natural rainfall as well as a by small-droplet irrigation system and two automatic weather stations combined with 32 rain collectors were used to monitor rainfall throughout this research. Rain gauges were located 25 cm above the metal pallets and 10 cm below the nursery containers. An average of 987 mm∙m−2 of water reached the plantation, of which 53% were provided by the irrigation system. Most water was supplied to the oak field, whereas least was given to the spruce plantations and the irrigation water amounted to 535 liters and 422 liters per square meter, respectively. The amount of water percolating through the substrate was approximately 50–65%, depending on t...
Journal of Environmental Horticulture, 2010
Water management should be the foundation of container nursery production as it is linked directly to both water use and nutrient uptake efficiency and ultimately, environmental impact. In this study a gravimetric water management technique was used by means of a load cell/computer interface to determine irrigation volume and time of application. Cotoneaster dammeri ‘Skogholm’ was grown in 14 liter (#5) containers with an 8: 1 pine bark: sand mixture. The treatments were: an industry control that was irrigated cyclically at 1200, 1500, and 1800 HR to maintain a 0.2 LF (PM 0.2 LF); and a gravimetric treatment that irrigated when container capacity (CC) dropped below 94% and returned the CC to 98% with percentages lowered over the course of the season, always in a 4% spread, to maintain < 0.15 LF (On Demand). The number of irrigation cycles were similar until the end of the study when On Demand cycled up to seven times a day. PM 0.2 LF had a greater WUEp (gram of dry weight produce...
Use of Routine Leaching Fraction Testing to Guide Irrigation at a Container Nursery
Journal of Environmental Horticulture, 2021
Efficient irrigation during container plant production is difficult to achieve as irrigation is scheduled daily or multiple times per day to maintain an adequate supply of water in the limited substrate volume. Leaching fraction (container drainage/water applied) testing is one strategy to monitor and adjust irrigation to limit excessive container drainage. We compared an automated irrigation schedule based on routine leaching fraction testing and weather (LFI) with a nursery's traditional irrigation practice (TIP). Compared to TIP, LFI reduced water applied in four of five sprinkler-irrigated trials without a notable growth affect; LFI increased water applied in a fifth trial but plant growth was also increased. Compared to TIP, LFI reduced water applied in all three micro-irrigated trials but also reduced growth in one of the trials. LFI reduced water applied by an average of 21% [57.8 vs. 73.1 kL·ha−1· d−1 (15,300 gal/acre/day) or 3,000ha−1yr−1(3,000 ha−1yr−1 (3,000ha−1yr−1(1,200/acre/year) at a pumpi...
Acta horticulturae
Around the town of Pistoia (Tuscany, Italy) there is the most important centre in Europe for the cultivation of landscaping ornamentals, which typically require plenty of nutrients and water. Unfortunately, in these crops water use efficiency (WUE) is low as a consequence of over-irrigation, also due to the practice to place different plant species in the same cultivation plot, which results in the tendency to regulate irrigation on the basis of the most water demanding crop. This paper discusses how to improve WUE in outdoor container crops on the basis of an experiment conducted by simulating the cultivation of different ornamental species (Forsythia intermedia, Photinia × fraseri, Prunus laurocerasus and Viburnum tinus) in the same irrigation plot with the objective of: i) estimating the intra- and inter-specific variability in crop evapotranspiration (ET); ii) assessing water use and runoff in plot with irrigation controlled by a tensiometer placed in a reference plant (Prunus);...
Agricultural Water Management, 2014
Hardy ornamental nursery stocks Nutrient emission Soil moisture sensor Water runoff a b s t r a c t A study was conducted to determine the effects of implementing different irrigation scheduling methods on heterogeneous container hardy ornamental nursery stocks. Four ornamental shrub species were grown in the same irrigation sector during the summer of four consecutive years (2007)(2008)(2009)(2010): Forsythia × intermedia, Photinia × fraseri, Prunus laurocerasus L. and Viburnum tinus L. Automated drip irrigation based on either substrate water status (SW) or calculated crop evapotranspiration (ET; MODEL) was compared with "typical" timer-controlled irrigation (TIMER). In TIMER treatment, containers were irrigated based on grower management. In SW treatment, irrigation was controlled either by a waterfilled tensiometer (2007) or by a dielectric soil moisture sensor (2008-2010) placed in one pot with a Prunus plant, the species with intermediate water need as found in preliminary work. In MODEL treatment, irrigation was controlled on the basis of the species with the greatest ET. Crop ET was calculated multiplying reference ET (ET 0 ) by a species-specific crop coefficient (K C ), which in turn was estimated from plant height. In all treatments, pre-irrigation substrate water deficit was lower than the plant available water in the container. Compared with TIMER treatment, SW and MODEL irrigation scheduling reduced considerably both water use (−21% to −40%) and nutrient emission (−39% to −74%) with no significant effect on plant growth and quality. Water saving resulted from a reduction of irrigation frequency and leaching fraction (water leached/water applied). Wireless sensor network technology and near/remote monitoring techniques can facilitate the application of plant-driven irrigation scheduling in commercial nurseries, where generally hundreds of plant taxa are cultivated in many independent irrigation sectors.
HortTechnology, 2019
The understanding, calculation, and comparison of water footprint (WF) among specialty crop growers are confounded by geography, species, and process. This study builds on published models of representative plant production systems developed using life cycle assessment. These models include container production using recycled water in the mid-Atlantic, southeastern, and Pacific northwestern regions of the United States and greenhouse production implementing rainfall capture and overhead and ebb/flood irrigation strategies. Production systems using recycled water compare favorably in consumptive water use (CWU) with those that do not, regardless of the water source. Production systems in geographic locations with high water availability compare favorably with production systems in locations with high water scarcity in WF, but not necessarily CWU.
The Next Ten Years: Strategic Vision of Water Resources for Nursery Producers
HortTechnology
Nursery and greenhouse producers, research and extension faculty, and representatives from allied fields collaborated to formulate a renewed vision to address water issues affecting growers over the next 10 years. The authors maintained the original container irrigation perspective published in “Strategic vision of container nursery irrigation in the next ten years,” yet broadened the perspective to include additional challenges that face nursery crop producers today and in the future. Water availability, quality, and related issues continue to garner widespread attention. Irrigation practices remain largely unchanged due to existing irrigation system infrastructure and minimal changes in state and federal regulations. Recent concerns over urbanization and population growth, increased climate variability, and advancements in state and federal regulations, including new groundwater withdrawal limitations, have provided an inducement for growers to adopt efficient and innovative pract...
2004, Ottawa, Canada August 1 - 4, 2004, 2004
Techniques are needed to ecologically monitor nursery production practices with proper use of water resource and nutrient management. An experimental system to examine water quality, irrigation efficiency and drainage from pot-in-pot nursery container production was established in a commercial nursery field. The system mainly consisted of a plot containing 50 trees planted in 50 pot-in-pot containers and irrigated with micro spray stakes; 10 drainage water measurement devices; 10 pot media moisture probes; 10 thermocouples; a weather station and a data logger. Preliminary tests indicated the system was feasible to monitor water inputs, drainage water loss, medium moisture content and temperature, leachate of nitrogen, phosphate and potassium in drainage water, rainfall and weather conditions, and tree growth in pot-in-pot nursery production.