Microirrigation system research recognised
Published on by Water Network Research, Official research team of The Water Network in Academic
Researchers from 10 universities across the nation, including Oregon State University and University of Idaho, are being honored for their work in Microirrigation for Sustainable Water Use.
These systems, which include drip irrigation and miniature sprinklers, are being used for a variety of fruit and vegetable crops, including cotton and almonds, said Clint Shock, superintendent of OSU's Malheur Experiment Station.
While people may be familiar with drip irrigation in onions and other crops, it is also being used in lettuce, tomatoes and berry crops, particularly on high-value land where producers want to use an entire field, Shock said.
According to the Western Association of Agriculture Experiment Directors website, the University of Idaho demonstrated better crop yields with microirrigation than center pivots. Oregon State researchers focused on calibrating soil water sensors to improve the precision of irrigation scheduling.
That work has been done at the Malheur Experiment Station for several years.
Idaho contributed data on turf, alfalfa and sugar beets. Oregon provided data on onions, poplar trees and potatoes.
The microirrigation project, referred to as W-2128, has been named as the National Excellence in Mulitistate Research Award Winner, by the Association of Public Land-grant Universities.
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