WATER DAY: Recommendations for Improving Irrigation Water Use Efficiency
February 27, 2023
More InfoThis session has held as part of Water Day: Managing Irrigation and Water during the 2023 MI Ag Ideas to Grow With virtual conference. This virtual conference held February 27-March 10, 2023, is a two-week program encompassing many aspects of the agricultural industry and offering a full array of educational sessions for farmers and homeowners interested in food production and other agricultural endeavors. Sessions were recorded and can be found online at https://www.canr.msu.edu/miagideas/
Video Transcript
Well! Please remember Michigan State University is an affirmative action. Equal opportunity, employer, and that the services we provide, the education we provide is open to all. So we try to strive to work towards making the opportunities and the education that Msu provides to be accessible by all. There's a statement, the bottom of the flyer for water day that helps explain that. And if you have any questions, there's contact also there, get a couple minutes here yet before we get started. Weather, event! So it's a little easier to talk about drainage than it is to talk about irrigation. But next up is Dr. Yungsak, down from Msu a biosystem zag engineer. No, I said so. He's been hearing involved in around Michigan agriculture for for quite a while. He's gonna be talking to us about recommendations for improving water use efficiency. There's a lot of discussion going on in Michigan. About accessing water for irrigation purposes and whether that's a benefit to everyone, and one of the things that Dr. Dog has been working at is trying to improve and quantify the efficiencies and the returns that we get from irrigation. I'll let him take it from there and yam suck. What do we do? What are we talking about? Yeah, well, thank you. Linda. And yeah, so I can mention, I wire in high school in Michigan. And I went through all the programming. Msu. So I meant live in Michigan for quite number of years. And I'm so glad that they can continue working on working on supporting Michigan agreement. So one particular, the the thing that we are, Linda and I are working on is the irrigation. So the goal of what we are doing is how we can improve water efficiency. So how we can how we can grow more cloud per drop, that we apply to the soil. So those more crop per job is is our on there. We hope that we can. We can help followers to, you know, grow more crab, and every irrigation drop. They they are flying. So today, I'm gonna talk about recommendation for improving irrigation water efficiency. So instead of the background, the weather so earlier, Asan, Dr. Gany mentioned about the some of climate change that Michigan are experiencing. The last year the September second time, 2022. There's an article came from Detroit Free Press talks about how climate change has a fractured Michigan weather condition couple thing they are mentioning. The one is increased temperature, and the second is more. We're we're getting more precipitation than used to be. But I'm sure that to jabber and do some joining this afternoon, talk about some of weather trends. But. Yes, we are getting more rainfall, but it will be more irradic, and that's where the obligation can can be beneficiaries to maintain optimal sorry motion. Content, you know, throughout the growing season. So we can maximize the crop growth. One of thing based on the Usd status could not assist. Data. It shows that the irrigated acres has been increased last 20 years. So we were little over 400,000 in 2,003, and back in 2,018. It was. It was over 800,000 acres. We expect this number will be increased next 5, 10 years because of what we are just hearing from some of some of colleagues and some of the farmer. That we work with. And they're sharing about some of the climate change. And you know some weeks they just don't get any presentation, and if that happened during the critical stage of the crop, the growth, then it can impact the yield, and it can impact the the quality. So we expect if you're experienced more erratic presentation, you know your next couple of years, 5, 10 years, we expect to see 80 acres will be continued to be increased just a little background of irrigate acres by crop type. Most of irregular acres in Michigan grows a corn in Soybean, and there are some girls winter read, and and there we have good amount of evacuations. Potato we are number, I think, in national, leading, potato producers for twoip processing. So we have, we. We have good amount of acres. They grow us the potato for chip processing. We have some vegetables and fruits, and and I think one good example for it is about 80% of brutal grade production machin are under irrigations and and the fruit and vegetable are very sensitive to water. Right? Irrigation water. So irrigation is is needed, and if they have contract with some food company they may be in the contract. Irrigation should be should be there just in case if there is any drop or or or you know, can be irrigation can be used as supplement, or for crocodiles. According to Eagle 2017 data, agriculture, irrigation, contribute about 40% of total Michigan consenting water use. So can something while you use basically what it means is the portion of a water ritual. And that is now return locally due to evaporation or incorporate into the product, or a transport out to the Great Lake Basin, so that's what the consumptive water use. But agriculture is the primary sector in this consumption. Water use, and according to the Md. 2021 report, agriculture, water we draw in 2020 was 1 25, didn't get us water, so there's there's good amount of water. Are use for the agriculture, obligation. So, because some of the concern about what they're used, and you know, as farming farmer standpoint, or relax to do a good job of using our resource efficiently. So today, I'm gonna talk about 2 2 things that maybe we can that they can help to improve a while. They each efficiency, the one will be the immigration system you need for me, which focus can make sure we our irrigation system applies water equally. So I'm gonna talk about that. The second topic will be the irrigation scheduling. So it's basically tracking the moisture or the event transcription data to make sure to make sure we have optical voicemail in soil for maxite crop production. But also, you know, make sure we don't overrigate. So over irrigation is, is not a good thing, because you're you can leach some of nutrient below the roots on which could go into the groundwater or some other waterways. You know, over irrigation also means we are not using water efficiently. So so I'm gonna talk about the obligation scheduling as well. So, why we care about irrigation system, uniformity. So the pro per distribution can reach at the end, over or and under irrigate underwater. Yeah. So the bottom, the chart illustrate what the good distribution unit means. It. Basically, the water applies and the all field they get the same amount water right? And the right chart, the first one is there is little area that is underwater, so means some area does not. Did not get enough water, or what you schedule for what you said. It for then it means this, those area, the crops may may be impact. There, quality, divorce? How about if you put water? Some area were over, irrigated over water means your. The area got more water than you know. What you said it, or what you scheduled for, means the water resource are basically, you know, through the route zone means you're not using water efficiently. When the early I mentioned about when we see the leaching of water, there's high chance of nitrate, because nitrate is mobile. When when it is in set, and when the soil is in such a condition. So that there is high risk of Nike could leach with water below the root zone. So for invariance standpoint. We don't wanna at least nitrate groundwater for farmers. Standpoint. We like to keep the all the nitrate nitritrogens on the nutrient that you apply in the root zone so that you know so that the input your input make sure you know that goes to the crop not wasting. So how? How can we evaluate the irrigation system? Uniformly. There is number of method on. There's some number of steps. One is we have to know. Pressure and the water of flow. So that's one first thing we suggest to do the second will be the catch ken, which is checking the uniformity of your irrigation system. The third method. They just something we've been. We've been exploring with the Dr. Eric Anderson from from extension, that, using the Uab a manary vehicle to to monitor the sanctuary system, to see if there's any any sprinkler are having some trouble with during those. So can I talk about each method in next couple of slide. The first, the flow, measurement, the flow, is very important, and the flow can be changed over time. So, if you haven't done, measure the flow Ray your rerigation system, we highly suggest to do it, and you know the flow measurement is also is needed before you replace buying or replacing sprinkle package. So I know there's not most of the irrigation dealers have this type of flow meter on this doppler, or just signing up for the flow meter which you just mount on the the irrigation pipe to measure the flow the some of thing that you have to keep in mind when you use this, that for the flow meter is, make sure you have enough length. So one me one. The good example is you don't wanna put it. You don't wanna install this sensor next to the 9 degree elbow right? We're 90 available where it could create some air bubble. If you have an eye, air, bubble, and when when you're using this type of sensor, it will output a faulty value. So there is some general recommendation, as you see, on the right button the figure this actually, I just took photo from the manual. It. They recommend the distance should be 10 times of diameter from the 90 degree. So if you're gonna put the install this dialer sensors we're close to ninetyk Arable and make sure you have 10 times of diameter. So if you have, like 4 inch PVC. Then make sure you have 40 inch the length from the 9 degree to the sensor. Also there is, when you install the sensor and the vertical pipe, make sure the pipe water is spreading from the bottom to top. You know. Make sure the water flowing. Direction is upward, not the downward, so that we have constant. The water flow rate. So there is something that you need to. You should keep mind when you use this type of sensor. The water pressure is also very important to do it, so the uniformity, or this, all the sprinkle package have their their own. The range of recommended water pressure. So if you bought the sprinkler package that runs like 50 to 70, for some reason you got that well, you're irrigation system runs a 30 psi. Then then the speaker package that you bought probably not gonna function. Well, right? And probably not gonna output. What is supposed to be so. Pressure measurement is very important. There you can install the pressure gauge, and you can manually review recorded. I haven't seen. There's there are some water pressure logging device you can buy, and you can see how it pressure change over time as you're showing the bottom. The graph. And if you got 3 irrigation system, you know you can mount this. The press case at the end of the row. See what the pressure on you know, what the pressure water pressure and each line. So the pressure measuring pressure is also very important. Here's some the photo of kitchen testing that that we have done. Number of them, and the standard system. This is basically putting a catch. Kin, every every 10 feet from the center to all 2, all the way to the edge. I know far end of the that pivots linked, and the this require putting the cups 3 feet from the ground. And basically, you, you put it the stick, and with the cups if you run the irrigation system and and see how much water you collect on each cups each can, and compare that. So we have done number of them. I'm gonna share some of these data that we collect from last year. Oh, here's another photo of the kitchen test captured, took from the Uav. So this is just ongoing the water collection. The Lyndon put a really nice. The fact sheet that is published, and the Mse. Extension website, talks about how you can build your own catch, can. So you can use 32 ounce disposal. Soda cup, or you can use somewhat similar size of cup, but make sure you have. Wide open, and the tab, and what you need to do is you can buy half inch. Pv. 5. Cut it 4 inch section and drew it a quarter inch from the end, and uses it. Tie, go through the whole, and then tight it, and and make sure that you can set the cup and the top up the zip type. And and here the recommendation is using the still fence post. I think we have tried a couple plastic ones, so plastic is a lot lighter than still defense post. But it's more a chance to break over time. So still the transports is some recommendation also. You need the graduate cylinder. So once you once you collect the data, collect the water volume on, then you need to measure how much you know how much the water is in each. Can. The right cable is just showing what it means. So of the volume of water. So let's say you, you your catch can collect about 100 millilitre, which equals to 1.3 of application. When you convert to inch, it's half inch close to half inch application. So this the table just shows shows just, you know. Just make easy for you to understand what 100 million dollars means to millimeter applications or into application. And this this is just converted. We have a mitigation system, evaluation tool, that is, he's also unloaded on the Msu extension website. I haven't seen. There's some of it. Soil and water conservation district use this. This program, or excel spreadsheet that that you once you collect all the kitchen data on you type in, and it will output a system unit for me. Quick question. So for this example system, year coefficient 79, which is 4% under the expectation, general recommendation, we or and we hope to see, is the irrigation system uniformly coefficient, is equal or greater than 85 so if it's below 85. Then we need to do a further evaluation to make it more more efficient. Here's some data that we collect from last year. The the top graph y-axis, showing the volume. So those are, the points are the each catch can. How much volume we collect from each catch can, and X X are the distance from the center. Sorry. This is a meter so, but but that is distance from the center, as you see what we wanna see from here is, you know, what's the volume change change as we go further from the center the top graph, shows pretty good fluctuation is for as we go further, and the coefficient the uniformity was 73. So it's well below the 85 that we are hoping to see. But this field has about a sprinkler has about the 7 years old, and the owner of this center pivot system irrigation system. He he was gonna change the spring to the package, and he did it, and we did. Another evaluation, after he replaced sprinkle package and the bottom graph is the We. After he replaced sprinkle package. And now it's bread uniform on cost, Costa. The system so the coefficient uniform is now 91. So if you have order, irrigation, system, or irrigation speaker, the package, you know anything greater than maybe 7 years. Then you may consider replacing, or or maybe check the catching test. Do the catching test and see what the uniformity coefficient of your system is. I'm gonna talk about some of the incentive programs you can apply for later in this presentation. So just another background a bit. What the quick piece of uniformly means. It just coefficient uniformly is, it's just to look evaluating the evaluating the whole irrigation. The length, and see what the uniformity. Okay, and distribution you need for me. It's a little different. The distribution uniformity is focusing on the lowest one quarter of that that in the catch can so distribution for me, focusing on make sure there is no area is dry. So and the scheduling coefficient is the run. Time multiplier. That shows amount of extra water. That needs to be applied to get the dry area of the field wet. So the distribution, you for me is scheduling for efficient are more focusing on the drive. Make sure you don't have any dry area. So maybe some area might be might be over water. But this, these 2 terms are more focused on. Make sure you have all the fields, get at least certain amount of water. We did some economic analysisability. Really, you know, backup and the envelope calculation from one of the study that we did last year. The scheduling, coefficient was reduced from 1.3 to 1.1. So sketching coefficient is just runtime, multiplier. So the because they had a bad or poor unique distribution. So they have to multiply by 1.3 to get them. Make sure they have all area, get the at least, at least you know the minimum amount that you set up. You know. So one example is, let's say you wanna apply one inch application. If you have a scheduling, coefficient it's 1.3 means you have to apply 1.3 inch application to ensure all area of your field. Got it minimum of one inch application. So if this schedule, coefficient, reduced from 1.3 to 1.1 means, now you, you can apply 1.1 inch to to the field makes, and that will ensure all of your feel receive a list of one inch application. So we just reduced the scheduling coefficient for 1.3 to 1.1 is really good and water saving for each inch in one inject applied. Do to improve water. Uniform is point to inch. So we did assume the annual average irrigation application. In coordinating production is 6 inches. So the total youigration saving per year is about 1.2. We have a range of irrigation. Power costs in Michigan, you know, goes from the $3 16 to 7 out of 50 per acre per inch. So, and we picked the mid number. So $5 33 inch per acre per inch, you know. That will times. We assume we're gonna run. We have a 100 acre size fuel, and then the saving of water is 1.2 which came out of about 6, 6 $40 per year. And total of sprinkle package cost was $3,000, and the pay period is is 4.7 years. This is just based on, based on the energy savings potential energy savings. When I talk, when we, when Linda and I talked to couple the collaborative farmers, and they also talk about some of labor that they have to go out and turn the aviation. So you can also save water, save water and energy, and maybe the labor costs as well. And you know other benefit also also includes some of nitrate, or the, you know, wasting resource. Nitr, leaching, minimizing. You can also do that. Do the system evaluation with the drip education system. We have this summer photo that we done it at the blueberry field over West Alepp. We we just use the voage. PP, sc. Put underneath the drip emitter to catch how much it buying your volume is coming from the drip tape, and we also measured the water pressure at the end of the line. If you got some sprinkler system, small sprinkler system for the old chart, you know. Maybe use for the protection. Or maybe you're using the overheads for applying irrigation. Yeah, to to the trees, or a small fruit trees. You can also set the same catch can test, you know, and spread it. Spit out to your. You know your field to capture. See how much water are actually 3 apply, and and how it's evenly distributed. Here's some of the the data we collect from one of the the blueberry. The few that you know the green means is basically it's less than I think it agrees. It's great in the 80%. And if the red means is poor uniformity, basically what what it tells we found there's 2 location that was not applying water, as it's supposed to be, and one location was putting just too much water. And we have found there's some leak around the area, and there's some clogging issue, too. So doing uniformity. They also can help you to check. Make sure you don't have any funding issue on your field, or make sure you all of your trees or the bushes, get enough water so that you, so that you don't have any. Water stress issue. And those trees. If you're if the unit for me, are we irrigation support? Here's here are some of the things that you can check. First one was ensure your education system runs at the correct water pressure. So you know all the product that you buy. There's a manual, there's specification. It tells you what the what the optimal, the range of water pressure. You should run with their product. So please check, check and make sure you use the recommended. You know, one regulator, or or the correct correct water pressure for those products. If also, if you got, you know, micro sprinkler or the overhead irrigation system, or they were sent a pivot any overhead, they could system, you know, check the insect, or it insect or any chemical that builds up over time, you know. We haven't seen. There's some of the emitter was clogged because of the chemically departed or or the chemical reaction. You know, or the insect got, you know, stuck there. The sprinkler, so they won't. They won't spray water as supposed to be so yeah, so check the check. The spring for the package or the overhead education system regularly to make sure there's nothing that there is blocking the water to to apply. Check for equipment wear. So you know, the over time, the equipment, you know, the regulator or the pump can wear out. So so make sure you check it once in a while, and if you make any placement on this, another part of your application system, make sure you log it so. The logging is really, really, really we. What we are suggesting. So that so that what? So that you know what things has been changed and and based on the information. You know the future. Maybe you can. That will help on some of the the things that that you may expect to be placed in, maybe more regularly than the other. So it helps. You help you, help you end upon, you know, being smitten standpoint. So some of things, whether some of things keep going out. Then then you might wanna you know, have some budgets for replacing some of those part, too. So, we'll check for leak. So the order, if you have missing sprinkler. That's pretty obvious, or the pipe can correct. You know, if you didn't, you know. Drain the water during before the winter? So the winter adjacent. I think it Lima and I publish a article Msc. Extension, article last winter. Talk about how the importance of win 3 adjacent and what are the things that you can do with that? So you can check Msc extension article to see the every steps. What and why you need to do it. So here is one, the photo from in the middle. It shows there's crack in the pipe. So once you have it. Crack! It's sometimes it's easy to replace. And but not at times. It's more hard. It's difficult to replace it or sell it, or put the party around it. So, so it's always better to to do the right thing, you know, before, before there's, you know, actually, the problem or the things that happen. So pretty, checked the leak, and make sure you properly manage your education system. Here's some of the photos they we took using the Uav. We are trying to understand how we can use Uav on drones to to detect the problematic sprinkler packet sprinkler system or sprinkler packages and the right photo. It shows the first, the top in bottoms are spinning, are which we we see. This normal, the in the middle, the the sprinkler is not spinning it, and we have as problematic sprinkler which need which require us to check and make sure. That is, add your problem. But the drone was able to kind of detect the problematic sprinkler of the irrigation system. So you know, Flying Drone, you know, probably takes, you know, depending on the situation, but can take 5, 10 min, and and first the kitchen test setup and actually doing it. It can take, maybe. Yeah, 5, 10 h, depending on the situation. So, and the size of field. So so it's ketch ken is more dercted. Measurement. We we know that works of what we are trying to do is because I know it takes time we're trying to explore other matters, to better detect, to detect, or it can be used for for detecting problems. Stick. The problematic sprinklers. We also seen the Uav it from the Uav image. It, it estimate the area of the end gun on coverage, so you can see there's wedding area from the left button photo. That that shows how far the angle is storing on the water out. So that that was pretty neat to share. Next part is the irrigation scheduling. So in general there are 2 type reviewations scheduling. One is using the weather data on whether based immigration, scheduling. The second is sensor based irrigation, scheduling. Basically using the so whether basically you guys and scheduling is mainly driven by the event training inspiration, the sensor basically begins scheduling is mainly invite the sorry voice shared content. So really brief about evaporation. There are 4 major things I contributing this evaporation, you know, solar radiation, air, temperature and relation, medium and wind speed, and evaporation basically combined combined of the ebapuation from the source surface and transpiration from the leaf right in humid climate. On this the solar radiation and air temperature are the major major contributor to the Et on daily basis. So lot of weather weather service website. And we have really nice Msc environment weather, which has Ms. Nbara has over over, under Weather Station, across Michigan. I know they've been expanding their weather system to Wisconsin Wisconsin area as well, but that you can get the Rp T, which is reference potentially vector transpation values from this weather website or Ms, environment whether what what you need to do is you have to use the reference et multiply by the crap. Coefficient, so the crop coefficient is just multiplier. It changed, depending on the the Crrop type, and depending on the stage stage of the crop. So one example, the bottom charge shows the crap coefficient change over time as soybean grows so when the sawy was young, the crab coefficient is point 2, as soy means that close to mature, whereas at the mature stage and reproduct stage the crab coefficients is about 1.1 Kc, so so when you multiply by this Casec crab coefficient times, rp, t, they you can get actual copy by for transpation and reference, it, why do you need to multiply it coefficient so I should mention this before, but reference it based on the 46, and we don't grab. We don't grow grass right? We grow the crops. So that's why we have to multiply by crop coefficient. The Rpt. Based on the 4 integrs we're drained soil. We're watered. So so that is just reference. And it's fairly, I think, fairly. It is standard. And what research and and what we are you, how we are using, based on the reference. It is multiplying this crab coefficient to get the extra copy evaporation here's some other example of crop coefficient for potatoes, potato crop, grey fishing is that the yeah. 1.2 at the, you know, close to Tuber barking, and the material early stage of a mature mature maturity stage, and and when, if you're growing, the blue blueberries, the crab coefficient is equal to one, when you see it first. Blue fruit a. It stays on, you know, close to one on through the dormancy, and this crap, coefficient graphs really help you. Good idea, determine the critical stage of irrigation, and water needs for your crop. So when the crash is increased means there is demand. More water demand from your crops trees, or vegetables, so. So here's some example of how we're using, how we're calculating actor, crabby T. So you can get a the reference et from the national weather. Reps website, or you can also get it. Get the number from referencing from the Ms environment. Whether the typical way, how I use with Ms. Seen by whether he is. I actually signed up for getting the rpt every day from number of weather station. So once you sign up on then you get you get every morning you can get through text, or you can get it through email about what was the last 4 days of et for transpation. And what will be the next. You know, 7 days of transcription. So so what you, what you can do is use that reference. It times the Casec. So in this example, let's say by Soybean is at the B 3 stage, which means the crab court fish is 0 point 6. So what if I'm interesting, knowing about what is actual? Crabby tls, my soybean today, you know, as of July seventh, you know 2021. Then you need to calculate. You need to multiply by multiply point 6 by point 1 7, which is 2 days of reference. E, t, which equals point one so at, although the reference cities is point 1 7, because and because crab coefficient, actual, actor, the soybeans, the eve of transparency is equal to 1 point. One. So it's not point 1 7. It is point 1. So you can also summit last year it is point one. So you can also summit last. You know we also use accumulate et. Your last weeks of evaporation multip. How much you know you don't have to do daily, but you can also do the weekly calculation as well. So we have. Msc, we get to schedule a program that is available through our website. It's free. You can download it. You can use it. It's it's based on the Microsoft Excel. We hope that we can. We can take this to the next platform. But currently we are in the process, in the process of doing it. But right now you can download this mse using scheduler program through our website. One of the things really need about scheduler program is they help you understand what the moisture content of your field, you know fit of. And each day. So there is the purple and the pink points are each day what the moisture content the goal of this scheduler program is. Make sure your points are between the blue and the brown, so blue is the full water hoarding night. So, if the point, the pink point is above the water, the blue line, it may. The water is leached. It was, and it was. It was while the summer water moved through the root zone. If the points is below the brown line on the bottom. Here in the brown is the working point and maximum allowing or without reading, point, maximum level depletion so means, if the point is below the ground, it means on them your crumb might under water stress so so the goal, is make sure the pinks are. The points are between the brown and the blue. On the right, the figure it shows, you know. It shows kind of 7 days of the report, no more than 7 days of report. Yeah, I think what the unique part of this the bright figure is showing. What is the projective? You know the water status of your field? So, for example, as showing this the report looks like I have my line. I don't wanna be my wallet water through the capacity below 40%. It looks like it. Maybe the fourth day will be below the 40%. It kind of helped me to think about. If my sent a pivot, you know it takes 3 days to apply, you know, 3 quarters inch application. Maybe. I got started irrigation today. So the projected, you know, feed the capacity. The values is, is really good to to schedule, to plan for your irrigation practice, and this the report is also. It also part of the Ms d. Vacation scheduled program. So pretty straightforward to play scheduled programming. If you have any question about the scheduled program, please contact me or Lyndon about that, too. The second scheduling method will be the sensor based irrigation, scheduling. Gonna talk about really basic some of important parameter irrigation, scheduling the sensor base that we can scheduling. The first is saturation, the saturation basically means the also a poor space are created. One field capacity is the most important parameter that that I can think about, for when I do the scheduling that capacity means the maximum amount of water that story can hold after drainage. So if you're moisture level or is above pretty, capacity means the water will move downward by gravity, and so the feed capacity is something we are. It's most important parameter. So, for the scheduling the waiting point. Means basically, it's a sorry motion level where there is no available water for the the right grab shows the the the field capacity on levels and waiting point levels for a different type of soil and the area the gaps between the blue and red are the available water holding capacity. So, as you see, the sand, the gaps are really small means send, you know. Course, texture, soil like sand does. Now for a lot of water as you go to the right. The gnome soil. The gaps are much bigger right? So means the long story can hold much more water than sand. The soil. Sorry type is very important information when you use sensor base. Sorry voice, sensor, base. If you get scheduling the best method is taking service sample and sent to the lab to to find out what the story type is. If you don't, if if you don't, you know, have resource or are ways to take sorry sample, you can also go to Usd Web Survey website. 2. Find out what the sort type of your field you can go. You can, you know, draw the line of your field. It will tell you what the what the sorry type of your feels. So in this example, the most well, pretty much all this, the soy type in this field is. Asked Thomas Sandelom Soil. Here's another thing. Example, it shows about most of the field is as time of sandelone soil, for looks like it looks like the right tab Corner is spinning, so it has different type of the soil, you know, just lower the corner of this field. Well, London has really nicely put the what the astana soil can hold water versus pink soil, so as Tom as soil is is more fine, architecture soil, so when you look at 24 tab, 24 inch while the recording capacity is 3 point 3 8 versus pink soil is more coarse. Texture soil. Now we are looking at 2.1 7, so it that speaks to a horizontal less than a but oh, the key point here is, if you know what the soil name of your field you can calculate the available water holding capacity well, soy voice. Sensors. There are so many other, so many types, in shape of sorry, more sensors, that there but a lot of soy Moor sensor works very similar, and so so pretty straightforward to try the sorting voice sensors to to money, to moisture. Content. We will feel. And I'm gonna really, briefly talk about story tension. The watermark sensors which measure the soil, soil, tension. So this Walmart are acting in the difference. So it measures. You know how much the plan needs to work hard to pull water from the soil, so what it means. The high end. As number gets increased higher number. What the sorry this Walmart sensory outputting means. The soil is drying, so means the higher number means the plan has to work hard to pull water from soil. The lower number means is, there's not a water so that lot of water so the plan does to have to work hard to pull water from soil. So lower number of this Walmart sensor means the there's enough water saturation. The higher number means that there's the last water, you know, we have a general recommendation of, and what it means of the sensors to the depletion of what everything capacity. It's in our extension bulletin. So please feel free to check our extension. Bulletin. Another type is frequency, domain, reflect, metric, sensor. It measures the volume of water content. So basically per volume, how much voice content, I'm sorry moisture is in it. We have, we also have it, general recommendation of irrigation. Trigger Point for different sorry time, and which also included in in one of our extensions. There's some ways to use sorry voice sensors, and one of thing that we are. You could also use 3 more sensors to detect over irrigation. So you can put it to sensor at different depth to understand your app, how much your application is really impact on what? That you know this example, we install the sensors in the cone, feel. And the cobra system typically goes up to 36. And as you see, after you begin to trigger the green line, which is 36 in depth. Sensor also respond means the the the irrigation water went through this 36 inch depth, and that kinda indicate we're we put too much water on this. Some of things to consider when you install sensor. The first is the root that right in general root of thumb, the 70% water extraction is their call, the top 50 over with that of your Dec Crop. So that's something to think about. So one example here the blueberry in this particular field, the most of the routes are the tab, 1218 inch depth. So it means that that you probably wanna put the sensors in. Maybe with the top eighteenth. It's 18 inch. So just some example also, when you install sensor, make sure you put the sensor in represent area. The storage type. Sorry variability within the field is one of the consideration you should take it. Oh, oh, sorry! And the slope too. Sorry if there is heal. You don't wanna put the sensor on the top heel, or you know the lower area. You probably wanna put in the middle area to, you know, to get some average values. Crop type is important. So if you have 2 different crop, then you might wanna put the, you know, one sensor on one type and the other sensor and the other tiger crops installation technique. So when you install the sensor, make sure you have a really good contact between the sensor and the soil. Some of general recommendation for corn. We suggest to water on between the Vt. Tso. Stage up to the our 6 are the critical time for irrigation management, for corn production, for Soybean. We suggest that make sure you irrigate from the R. 3 to our 6 states, based on one of our irrigation study. We have seen the e decrease. If you didn't if there is a moisture water stress between the R. 3 to our sixties. So these are 3 to our 6 for Soybean, our critical time for education, management. I know Linda's gonna talk about some of the irrigation demonstration project. The research this afternoon. So gonna really, briefly touch on it. But we've been doing this if we can try or study last couple of years funded by Usd and Ics, and we have been found really interesting data that you can actually improve water, use efficiency using some of the scheduling the method that we have it. So we're also doing the irrigation study and the rest of production in particular. This example, showing the tomato tomato production. We also been working on the sensors to monitor that just soy moisture, but also environment distribution. One of thing that the Lyndon and I work with a lot of Planck pathologists to to better understanding and better manage the disease in irrigated field. So the goal of this effort is to how we can maximize water, use efficiency, and while minimizing the disease pressure. So it's something we also been working with the pathologist. Really, briefly touch our Nrc equip. We have Nrcs has. Have 441-44-2449. Program 4, 41 is improving. Irrigation system efficiency. Those those of you has micro sprinkler irrigation system 4, 42 program is about improving rigid system efficiency for a sprinkler package sprinkler. The system. 4, 49 is the improving irrigation. Water use, efficiency using irregular scheduling. So there are there are 3 incentive program that the promote improving water efficiency. So please check this program. If you're interested. If you have any questions, it's pretty straightforward contacting me, or about that, too. Wanna use this opportunity to share this Michigan clean desert program? That is the application. Do end up March. And this program focuses on, you know the replacing our promo, the replacing the diesel power, agriculture, equipment to to electric, or besides, they have agriculture, like agriculture equipment. There's other things there they're looking. But this year agriculture equipment is one of thing. I what I heard was they really wanna see more application coming from Ag. Industry. So, if you have the order, these are pump that you're thinking to replacing with the electric motor, please check this Michigan clean. These are program. Here's some website Va irrigation website and Msc extension website that you can check our extension polling about the a little more about this, how you can use so much sensors to improve water efficiency. And send a paper vacation systems. And Linden has really nicely put a a 2 page. The document. Talk about evaluating irregular system, unipormity, and that Rodney time Fernandez from Holy Cruise Department. He has nice extension documents to talk about. How you can test it. The uniformity for nursery or the education system, so much small irrigation systems what like to acknowledge all the students in you know, Vae obligation teams and all those support from commodity and state, and different agencies. So if you have any question about the irrigation, please free to email me, or you can call me, or you can check our website. So thank you. Thank you, youngstuck. We've got 2 questions in the chat. Okay. We got just about enough time to answer them. The first one has to do with mixing and matching different types of sprinklers within the prackage. So the guy. Our question was, what about irrigation owners, observations, and bright ideas to mix sprinkler packages, seen it done many times. Well, I think it will, Linda, smiling. Well, I think our recommendation is probably not mixing. Mixing is not probably not a good thing, but we haven't seen, I think maybe you can answer better than I do. Because you see more folks in the field, but if so, if you have really bad sprinkler, maybe here and there, you know, people are switching it. But if you seem, you know maybe more than like I don't know a dozen of them that you have to replace it. Then we highly suggest, just change the whole thing, because cause the next couple of years. I'm sure there's some other. What are you thinking? Yeah, yeah, okay. Yep. Great answer where you answer one more question, but I'll let Betsy tell us a little bit about the survey that we'd like you to fill out. So that Link is in the chat. If you need it. So there's a question there from James, asking if there are different et reference numbers available for various tillage types. Hmm! Strip. Tell versus full. Tell it is that he's term use. Yeah. Well, good? Question. I guess so, I guess, depending on the how much you because ebay for transpation is combined. Evaporation, transpiration, depending on how the TV are impacting the evaporation. If the most of it is based on the plan, then probably last impact on tillage. Impact on the evaporation rate. Then then maybe there is another adjustment the crab coefficients should should be done, but that I don't know where that at this point. But that is interesting question. Yeah, good. Yeah, we have. We use one number for all corn, and maybe the conservation tillage practices would have a slightly less, a slower growth curve. In the beginning, but they all tend to end up by irrigation. Season at the same full coverage, and using about same amount of water. Yeah. Oh, that'd be the quick answer. We can, if text us or email us, and we can go into it. More. Does anyone use a handheld GPS unit to aify malfunctioning sprinklers instead of a drone? Yeah, I think the reason we started the drawn was the sum of spirit packages is is mounted on the top of center pivot. So you have to see from the top to to figure out the more function. But some of the drop nozzle you might be able to see from your eyes with GPS units I don't need that is asking the handout. GPS units, but but we have not done it, but that could be done for maybe drop nozzle systems. Yeah. Yeah, I think we've used GPS systems when we want to identify a place in the field right? When we've had like a low-yield spot in the field. We looked at at the, at the yield map, got the GPS. Locations, and then went out and looked for those so they wouldn't be helpful in that sense. Yeah, I think Linda and I are still spend a little more time on the youth map data. See what we can withdraw from from the You. Maybe there could be some relationship with the malfunction of the sprinkler, or something. Maybe not. Per union. So good question, yeah. Well, thank you. Dr. Dong, we're gonna roll right into another professor from Msu. Dr. Molly Sears, and they're gonna work on getting the electronics changed over.