May 1, 2020

Specialty crop irrigation an alternative to educational meetings

Southwest Michigan and northwest Indiana share over a million acres of irrigated land that are mostly used for field crops and processing vegetable production. Irrigation for 20 acres or less of specialty crops or vegetable production can be established in most areas of Indiana or Michigan with good planning and proper design.

Purdue University and Michigan State University Extension, with the support of Trickl-Eez Irrigation Inc., has put together a “Specialty Crop Irrigation” video as an alternative to group meetings. Following is the list of content covered in the video.

Water rights/rules and irrigation implications – Lyndon Kelley, MSU Extension/Purdue Extension irrigation educator

• Riparian doctrine, water rights and conflicts.
• Determining water volume needed for irrigation.
• Registration and reporting system required for withdrawals greater than 70 gallons per minute.

Irrigation scheduling with aid of soil moisture monitoring – Younsuk Dong, MSU Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Irrigation

• Irrigation goal and why it differs between crop location and growth stage.
• Irrigation scheduling and soil moisture monitoring for specialty crops.
• Tools, service and simplified watering tips.

Irrigation design process example – Phil Ausra, Trickl-Eez Irrigation

• Irrigation design process: From initial consultation to site design/proper engineering to installation and what to expect.
• System components: There’s what you thought you needed, and then there’s everything else.

Water sources for irrigation – Lyndon Kelley, MSU Extension/Purdue Extension irrigation educator

• Available water resource varies greatly, use of well, suction/horizontal well, ponds, river/streams/ditches as specialty crop irrigation water sources are discussed.
• Irrigation for germination and incorporating chemicals and fertilizer.

The Specialty Crop Irrigation video, along with supporting resource materials, is available on the following locations:

• MSU Biosystems & Agricultural Engineering – Irrigation
• MSU Extension Irrigation
• Purdue Agricultural & Biological Engineering – Irrigation

– Lyndon Kelley, Michigan State University Extension