water management


Down with overhead irrigation


Drip systems popular among blueberry growers, but others slow to convert. By Judie Steeves


S


ave money, conserve water and apply both water and fertilizer most efficiently for healthy plants and maximum yields — all by converting to drip irrigation for your berry fields, advises irrigation specialist Bruce Naka. He expects more growers will be interested in water conservation measures as different sections of the province’s new Water Sustainability Act come into effect. That will include the annual fees for non-domestic use of groundwater, effective at the end of last February.


With this in mind, Naka advises that not only should all berry growers be using drip irrigation, they should consider using sub-surface drip irrigation, so no water is wasted and all goes directly into the root zone where it will be used most efficiently.


He notes that fertigation also ensures that fertilizers go right to the spot they’re needed, without leaching into the aquifer because too much water is applied to soak them into the soil around the plant.


Today’s drip irrigation systems are more efficient and better designed to prevent such issues as clogged emitters, he notes. Drip systems allow growers to control how much water each plant receives and when, depending on rainfall, season and the stage the plant is at in its life cycle.


He notes that most blueberry growers use a system of double-row drip irrigation to ensure the whole plant is watered each time the system goes on.


Of the total 7,800 irrigated hectares of blueberries in the Lower Mainland now, Naka says 94 per cent already use drip or sub-surface drip irrigation, where there’s no evaporation and minimal fertilizer loss and waste of chemicals. With sub- surface irrigation, the entire system is designed and installed when the plants are put in, and the whole system is underneath the ground.


This makes it easier for the farmer too, because the whole field doesn’t get wet when it’s irrigated, allowing people and machinery to go in at any time.


On the other hand, he says most strawberry growers are still using travelling gun irrigation systems that soak the whole field. In total, of the 90.6 ha of irrigated strawberries, 81 ha are watered using guns, or 90 per cent; while only 7.1 per cent use drip irrigation.


Of the 1,300 ha of irrigated raspberries, 64 per cent use drip irrigation, while 12 per cent use travelling gun irrigation systems and 24 per cent still use solid-set sprinklers. Naka believes many growers feel drip irrigation is high- maintenance, but he says if a system is designed and installed properly, it’s actually much more efficient, saving water and enhancing productivity.


JUDIE STEEVES


Irrigation specialist Bruce Naka considers overhead sprinklers to be a lot less efficient than drip systems.


British Columbia Berry Grower • Spring 2017 11


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