WA CITRUS irrigation management

DURING the day the group learned about:

• How much water can the soil old that’s available to the crop?

• How efficient is the irrigation system and what’s the application rate?

• How much water does the crop use each day, and

• What are the irrigation scheduling options?

Starting in the shed, presentations covered some of the principles of soil and water that affect irrigation.

The first practical session assessed the texture of soils from each grower’s properties. Then, heading into the paddock measuring the rootzone via a soil pit showed two plantings had slightly different rootzone depths — important to know when you’re planning your irrigation scheduling. More fun crawling around under the trees for some, was assessing the uniformity of distribution for the sprinklers and the flow rate. Back in the shade of the shed, the numbers collected from the field were put into the formulas for each step , under the careful guidance of Helen and Paul.

Getting the irrigation right sets the crop up for good performance.

If you or your staff are interested in any aspect of irrigation training please let Bronwyn know she has a waiting list for those that couldn’t make it to this event. Contact me on 0400 873 875 or at industrymanager@wacitrus.com.au.

Michael from Sandgroper Fruit with his team laying out the catch-cups grid.

Kyle from Moora Citrus reads out the amount of water in the catchcups as part of measuring uniformity.