Department of Applied Environmental Science
December 2013
AWMS/CWSP masters student Gwen Miller works with recent ESTP graduate David Hamblin to weigh and record broccoli harvested as part of irrigation trials conducted in Salinas by CSUMB in collaboration with Tanimura and Antle, the UC Cooperative Extension, USDA, and the NASA SIMS project. Results from the trials conducted over the past two years indicate that scheduling irrigation to match crop evapotranspiration can reduce total applied water by more than 30% relative to standard practice without reducing yields. Initial results also suggest that efficient irrigation practices may have the additional benefit of reducing leaching of nitrate below the root zone.
Story: Forrest Melton