There’s an old saying that goes, “you can’t manage what you don’t measure,” and in almond growing, good management can make all the difference.
For irrigation, effective management of resources has led to major advancements for the entire industry. Through efficient water use practices like microirrigation and demand-based irrigation, California almond growers have reduced the amount of water needed to grow a pound of almonds by 33%.[1] It’s a powerful example of the industry’s commitment to improvement, and it’s a journey that always continues.
Real-time irrigation monitoring is only a touch away.
Spencer Cooper, senior manager, Irrigation and Water Efficiency, Almond Board of California, knows the time it takes to fuel progress and encourages growers to leverage available resources.
“Growers shouldn’t worry about needing to reinvent the wheel,” said Cooper. “I’ve spent a lot of time working with growers on their irrigation plans, and there are steps we can take to make the path easier.”
Cooper guides growers through the Almond Irrigation Improvement Continuum, a comprehensive manual of irrigation management and scheduling practices that meets growers at every stage of irrigation management.
“The Continuum is broken up into three management levels — 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0,” said Cooper. “We start at the fundamentals of irrigation scheduling and then move into the more advanced technical aspects of irrigation management and almond production.”
It’s into those later stages that detailed measurement becomes key, as you go from capturing the information by hand to looking at near real-time information and measurements captured by sensors and other technology.
The Continuum covers the following irrigation concepts and how to execute and effectively integrate them:
- Orchard Water Requirements
- Irrigation System Performance
- Applied Water
- Soil Moisture
- Plant Water Status
“The number one tool to invest in before anything else is a flow meter,” said Cooper. “The next best investment is in real-time irrigation monitoring, which allows you to see how much water was applied and the application’s actual run time.”
Cooper notes when investing in irrigation technology, it’s less of using one technology over another and more of using one technology and then the other. The better growers can capture information throughout the growing season, the easier it is to make adjustments on the go and continue to improve year after year.
For growers just beginning their irrigation journey, Cooper helps them identify where they are on the Continuum and where they want to be. From there, the two develop a plan to progress through the Continuum.
“The Irrigation Continuum helps make the big job of improving water efficiency practices much more manageable,” said Cooper.
Growers can get started on the Irrigation Continuum at Almonds.com/Irrigation.
[1] University of California, 2010. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2012. Almond Board of California, 1990–94, 2000–14
