TRICKLE-L: 199508XX

is the compilation of discussion during Aug 95

via AB4EL Web Digests @ SunSITE

AGROMOMY Homepage @ SunSITE


>From root@crcnis1.unl.edu Wed Aug 16 16:36 EDT 1995
Date: Wed, 16 Aug 1995 15:22:44 -0500
Message-Id: <199508162022.AA17089@crcnis1.unl.edu>
Subject: TRICKLE-L digest 270

Contents:
looking for models (Masoud Meshkat <mmeshkat@groucho.bae.uky.edu>)
Re: Crop Factors and FAO 24 (pdspyke@gate.net (Peter Spyke))
Re: Crop Factors and FAO 24 (fsz@gnv.ifas.ufl.edu (Fedro Zazueta))
      Re: FAO 24, "Crop Water Requirements" ("Joachim Mueller" <MUELLER@495-simon.agrartech.uni-hohenheim.de>)
 (gideon oron <gidi@bgumail.bgu.ac.il>)



Date: Tue, 15 Aug 1995 17:43:43 -0400 (EDT) From: Masoud Meshkat <mmeshkat@groucho.bae.uky.edu> Subject: looking for models Hello to all I am running a lab. experiment to evaluate evaporation from bare soil surface under point source surface/subsurface drip irrigation. I am heating the soil surface to 55 (centigrade), no wind. I am looking for numerical (preferably ,finite element), variably saturated , two dimensional models , to predict the moisture distribution as well as calculating evaporation, given potential evaporation. I would like to try both type of models isothermal and those that handles heat transfer to predict moisture movement. Also should any of you out there know of research performed on determination of evaporation from localized wetting of soil surface under hot climate condition ,please inform me of the source. To my surprise ,I could only find one article on this subject. Thanks in advance for your cooperation and time. Masoud Masoud Meshkat 128 Agricultural Engineering Building University of Kentucky Lexington Ky, 40546-0276 E-mail: mmeshkat@bae.uky.edu Fax: (606)257-5671 Tel: (606)257-3000 Ext. (280)
Date: Tue, 15 Aug 1995 19:49:20 -0400 From: pdspyke@gate.net (Peter Spyke) Subject: Re: Crop Factors and FAO 24 >Pete, the FAO is the Food and Agricultural Organization (hope I'm close) of >the United Nations. Try United Nations in New York first. Sorry, I don't >have a telephone number or address handy, but someone will. Maybe they are >on the WWW. Let me know if you get anything good. Also, let me know if you >are going to the Citrus Expo in Ft. Myers in October. Dale > I'm not planning on attending the Expo, but I expect that Mr. Monty Myers, our pest management specialist, will attend. Will you have a booth, or is there a way Monty could touch base with you? Let me know. Thanks for the information on CROPWAT. Actually, Fedro Zazueta had already E-Mailed a response that the Ag Engineering people at IFAS had just finished a windows version of their scheduling program that was more appropriate for FLorida, so I'll probably take a look at that first. See Fedro for more details. Thanks again. Pete Spyke
Date: Tue, 15 Aug 1995 22:09:41 -0500 (EST) From: fsz@gnv.ifas.ufl.edu (Fedro Zazueta) Subject: Re: Crop Factors and FAO 24 Pete, There are other models that are interesting that are not so well known. One of them is SICODE, which was done in Mexico by TecTra and the Instituto Mexicano de Tecnologia del Agua. SICODE is a full-scale irrigation district management system that integrates database, data aquisition, modeling, GIS and expert systems. It manages from --crop, water and planting permits-- to real time water allocations. The modeling component is based on a Penman water balance and real time data from automated weather stations. The mexican government is training specialits to use this system in the major irrigation districts. So far it has been tested in 15,000 Ha with over 500 users. The SICODE databases are very comprehensive and contain user, soils, crop, agronomic reccomendation, and other data. There is also some work going on with expert systems that you may be interested in. One is a realtime expert system that controls irrigation, chemigation and frost protection in spray irrigated citrus. This system uses a coupled modeling and soil moisture sensor readings approach. The RTES was developed as the dissertation of Jiannong Xin, who just graduated last saturday. It was impletemented and tested at the CONSERV 2 project in Orlando, Florida. The expert system took 4 years to developed and used as subject matter experts many of the IFAS specialists you personally know. Other recent work is CITPATH, a citrus pathogen related expert system that Jim Ferguson and myself just completed and was the basis for a comprehensive citrus production expert system that Howard Beck did shortly after. These will be available through the IFAS software support office. Fedro S. Zazueta Voice: 904 392 7260 FAX: 904 392 4092
Date: Wed, 16 Aug 1995 08:24:01 +0200 From: "Joachim Mueller" <MUELLER@495-simon.agrartech.uni-hohenheim.de> Subject: Re: FAO 24, "Crop Water Requirements" > I believe that when one >purchases FAO 24, CROPWAT comes with it. FAO 24 is sold in major college >bookstores; I know it's available at UCD. No, it doesn't. CROPWAT is sold as FAO 46 there is also a climatic data base available, named CLIMWAT for CROPWAT, sold as FAO 49 ___________________________________________________ Dr. Joachim Mueller Hohenheim University Institute of Agricultural Engineering in the Tropics and Subtropics Garbenstrasse 9 D-70599 Stuttgart Germany Voice: xx49 711 459 3106 Fax: xx49 711 459 3298 ____________________________________________________
Date: Wed, 16 Aug 1995 09:54:52 +0300 (IDT) From: gideon oron <gidi@bgumail.bgu.ac.il> Subject: Dear Dr. Shackel I will be delighted if you could do me a small favour. One of our senior researchers arrived a week ago to the Dept of Civil Eng in UC Davis, working with Prof. Schroder (?). Can you please conatct him and ask him to contact me via my E-Mail or to provide me with Fax/E-Mail address and Tel #. I guess that we will see you on the AGRITECH exhibition in Israel on may 1996. Thank you for your help Sincerely Gideon Oron
End of Digest
>From root@crcnis1.unl.edu Thu Aug 17 20:36 EST 1995
Date: Thu, 17 Aug 1995 15:22:49 -0500
Message-Id: <199508172022.AA05409@crcnis1.unl.edu>
Subject: TRICKLE-L digest 271

Contents:
New IFAS Scheduling Software / FAO Publications (Merriott@aol.com)
Water re-use (tim@iafrica.com (Tim Jackson))
Re: PC-based controller (sjordan@seldon.terminus.com (Steve Jordan))
Re: Abstract #3: Drip line pl... (Tje666@aol.com)



Date: Wed, 16 Aug 1995 23:50:19 -0400 From: Merriott@aol.com Subject: New IFAS Scheduling Software / FAO Publications Does the new IFAS scheduling software take into account upflux from shallow water tables in Florida flatwoods soils? This is something I've never known how to calculate. Is there now a model available for this? Thanks, Randall Vero Beach, FL P.S. I believe the number for FAO pubs is 1-212-963-6036
Date: Thu, 17 Aug 1995 12:19:34 +0200 From: tim@iafrica.com (Tim Jackson) Subject: Water re-use Please forgive me if this is off-topic but I have to give it a try. I am wanting to establish a water re-use system at my home. I had envisaged accumulating waste water from the bath and shower in a 500litre (100gallon) tank under ground and then pumping that out again on demand to feed an irrigation system in my garden. My primary concern is that of filtration. What would I need to do to the ensure that I could use it on my garden on an ongoing basis without dmaging the garden. I have been warned that the body oils and soap residue in the bath and shower water will eventually accumulate in the soil to the extent that it will bcome infertile. Any comments would be welcome. Tim.
Date: Thu, 17 Aug 1995 07:04:47 -0700 From: sjordan@seldon.terminus.com (Steve Jordan) Subject: Re: PC-based controller >The most impressive PC-based controller system I have seen is made by: GAL I just bought two Motorola. The deciding points: service, local experience, and (perceived) irrigation system compatibility. Let me explain the last point. The Motorola has programmable delays in starting various motors and is gentler than the GAL. Maybe the GAL saleman didn't know, but he admitted the other. I like turning on the well pump, wait for the lines to fill before turning on the booster. The Motorola is actually rather dumb. If you have multiple blocks in a single program, it accumulates all the quantity applied into the first block. It does not report average flow rate. (big time grumble). The centralized computer is expensive 20K or so. I think the local guys do not understand it. They never sold one. Motorola can only directly control one fertilizer. It can only control one pump system without a little trickery. It does accumulate fertilizer applied. It does control backflow. Motorola does not sell the box around the computer and we have to drill holes in this nice box to plug in the key board. Our electrician did it right, but the supplier of the electrical connector miswired the recepticle (sp?). He burned up both keyboards. We called Motorola for a fix and they said the technician was on vacation. I said I need water _now_. Them well the only other technician is on vacation too. (ridiculous). I complained and they got him to fix a keyboard. Computerization with daily water and fertilizier application with any size is a necessity. (sorry for the long post). Anyone know of a good potash through tape? Steve Jordan @ Second Foundation
Date: Thu, 17 Aug 1995 13:08:59 -0400 From: Tje666@aol.com Subject: Re: Abstract #3: Drip line pl... UNSUBSCRIBE, UNSUBSCRIBE
End of Digest
>From root@crcnis1.unl.edu Fri Aug 18 16:32 EDT 1995
Date: Fri, 18 Aug 1995 15:23:40 -0500
Message-Id: <199508182023.AA22939@crcnis1.unl.edu>
Subject: TRICKLE-L digest 272

Contents:
Re: New IFAS Scheduling Software / FAO Publications (pdspyke@gate.net (Peter Spyke))
Placement of surface drip (edmartin@ag.Arizona.EDU)
Re: Water re-use (Ecodesign2@aol.com)
Announcement IRRISOFT (stein@wiz.uni-kassel.de (Thomas Stein))



Date: Thu, 17 Aug 1995 16:32:04 -0400 From: pdspyke@gate.net (Peter Spyke) Subject: Re: New IFAS Scheduling Software / FAO Publications >Does the new IFAS scheduling software take into account upflux from shallow >water tables in Florida flatwoods soils? This is something I've never known >how to calculate. Is there now a model available for this? I don't know -- haven't seen it yet. I suspect that it does not. There are some models for upflux resident in the Natural Resources and Conservation Service, but I'm not aware of any public releases. You raise a good point, I'll have to check into it. By the way, I didn't make it to Tampa. Things came up. See ya. Pete. > >Thanks, Randall >Vero Beach, FL > >P.S. I believe the number for FAO pubs is 1-212-963-6036 > >
Date: Thu, 17 Aug 1995 17:49:45 -0700 From: edmartin@ag.Arizona.EDU Subject: Placement of surface drip Trickle enthusiasts, I have a client who has come up with some interesting designs of vegetable beds and is looking for help in placement of a surface drip lines. I don't have all the particulars on the drip lines, except that they are in line emitters. The soil type is clay (about 40% clay). The two bed designs he has come up with are: 1. An 82" bed consisting of three seperate beds, like a pyramid. There are two outside beds, and one center bed, that sits about 5" above the other two beds. Kind of like this: | o | | o | / *********** \ | o | *********** *********** He's now planning on putting two rows of veggies (|) on each bed with one drip line (o) per bed, placed in the center. Any ideas on depth (he can bury the drip line a couple of inches) and an alternative placement?? 2. The second design is an 82" bed shaped like a quarter moon. I can't really draw this one, it's like the diagram below but with a smooth curve in the center. The ends of the bed are 5" high and it is 8" high in the center. Again, he wants to put 6 rows of veggies with three drip lines (one between each set of two veggies). At the top of the bed, I would assume we would put one line in the center. But for the two rows on either side???? If we put the drip line in the center between the two rows on the side, won't the bottom row get more water? Should we place the drip line closer to the up row?? How close?? ______|____o_____|______ | = plant |/ \| o = drip line o/ \o |/ \| / \ The reason for these designs is an attempt to increase yield by minimizing furrow space. The raising of the bed in the center is to aviod plant shading, which would occur in the center two rows if we planted six rows on the same bed, same elevation. So, if anyone has any ideas or knows of a good reference for placement of surface drip lines on a slope, please let me know. Ed Martin University of Arizona/ Coop Extension edmartin@ag.arizona.edu
Date: Fri, 18 Aug 1995 08:18:54 -0400 From: Ecodesign2@aol.com Subject: Re: Water re-use Tim, Foward Thinking! If you incorporate at least three aquatic ecologies between your waste water and garden you will have a highly refined nutrient solution. For example, if you have a small settling tank, a constructed wetland system complete with plants, and a lagoon with fish, preceeding the garden you will have an advanced ecologicallly designed wastewater system known as a "Living Machine". For more information, write to me personally at ecodesign2@aol.com. Thank you for future thinking, JIM KEANE
Date: Fri, 18 Aug 1995 15:30:21 +0200 (MES) From: stein@wiz.uni-kassel.de (Thomas Stein) Subject: Announcement IRRISOFT Announcement: I R R I S O F T the Department of Rural Engineering and Natural Resource Protection at the University of Kassel is glad to announce the following service: At the moment we are establishing I R R I S O F T . IRRISOFT is a WWW-Database which provides LINKS and INFORMATION to SERVERS and SITES holding information about computer software relevant to IRRIGATION and HYDROLOGY. The URL of IRRISOFT is http://fserv.wiz.uni-kassel.de/kww/irrisoft/irrisoft_i.html The objectives of IRRISOFT are to o give an overview on existing irrigation and hydrological programs, o provide more detailed and structured information on the different irrigation and hydrological software packages, o facilitate the software and information retrieval by o adding links to the servers containing more detailed information, o opening up email order or contact forms, o providing download facilities which have been made available through the provider. In order to build up IRRISOFT we are preparing "Software Decription Pages" on different IRRIGATION and HYDROLOGICAL packages which then will be linked to IRRISOFT. We would greatly appreciate any information, discussion or suggestions about the information provided. If you have no access to the WWW we will be pleased to mail you the "Standard Software Description Page " on request. In addition we may also provide you with the information by regular mail or by fax. To contribute information please contact: Thomas-M. Stein Department of Rural Engineering and Natural Resource Protection University of Kassel Nordbahnhofstr. 1a D-37213 Witzenhausen Germany Tel. : GERMANY 05542 98-1632 -1613 (Secretary) Fax : GERMANY 05542 98-1520 Email: stein@wiz.uni-kassel.de ______________________________________________________________________________ Thomas-M. Stein University of Kassel (FB11) Phone : (+49)-5542-98-1632 Dep. of Rural Engineering and Fax : (+49)-5542-98-1588 Natural Resource Protection Email : stein@wiz.uni-kassel.de Nordbahnhofstr. 1a WWW : http://www.wiz.uni-kassel.de/kww D-37213 Witzenhausen (FRG) List owner: IRRIGATION-L at LISTSERV@vm.gmd.de ______________________________________________________________________________
End of Digest
>From root@crcnis1.unl.edu Sat Aug 19 16:32 EDT 1995
Date: Sat, 19 Aug 1995 15:23:45 -0500
Message-Id: <199508192023.AA05794@crcnis1.unl.edu>
Subject: TRICKLE-L digest 273

Contents:
Chemigation Equipment (Lefty.B@eworld.com)



Date: Fri, 18 Aug 1995 16:08:22 -0700 From: Lefty.B@eworld.com Subject: Chemigation Equipment Here is one for the producers and equipment dealers. I am looking for a quality line of fertilizer/chemical injectors to supply to my customers. I am a fan of the Mazzei venturi injectors due to their simplicity. However there are many times when I just can't afford to lose 25% of my system pressure. Here on the South Plains of Texas the majority of irrigation on cotton has been flood irrigation. Therefore most of the pumps in our wells are designed to supply volume rather than pressure. Due to the limited acreage that is being drip irrigated(usually 10 - 50 ac. plots as an experimental trial) it is sometimes hard to justify the added expense of installing new pumps. So tell me guys, which product gives you the most bang for the buck! I am currently looking at LMI, Pulsafeeder, Agri-inject, just to name a few. I would be very interested in getting some feedback from producers and suppliers on the equipment that they have been most impressed with. All opinions, good, bad, and ugly will be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your help, D.B. McNutt Lefty.B@eWorld.com
End of Digest
>From root@crcnis1.unl.edu Sun Aug 20 16:32 EDT 1995
Date: Sun, 20 Aug 1995 15:24:07 -0500
Message-Id: <199508202024.AA17312@crcnis1.unl.edu>
Subject: TRICKLE-L digest 274

Contents:
Re: Placement of surface drip (MEAD2513@aol.com)
Grey Water Questions (Warwick Rowell <warwick@bettong.eepo.dialix.oz.au>)
Re: Water re-use (geoflowr@halcyon.com (Rodney Ruskin))
IRRISOFT Server Problems (stein@wiz.uni-kassel.de (Thomas Stein))



Date: Sat, 19 Aug 1995 22:13:05 -0400 From: MEAD2513@aol.com Subject: Re: Placement of surface drip I would like to combine a response to Ed Martin's query about bed design with recent soil salinity findings by University of California researchers Blaine Hanson and Warren Bendixen*. Hanson and Bendixen did some extensive soil sampling in a period of a year in the Santa Maria valley of California. They chose subsurface drip fields with clay loam and find sand. The clay loam had lettuce and the find sand had cauliflower. Irrigation water at both sites was above 2 dS/m. Depth of drip tape was 5 in. (13 cm) with bed and lateral spacing of 38 in (96 cm). The lettuce crop was planted using two rows per bed while the cauliflower had one row per bed. In brief, their findings were: 1) Low salinity portions of the bed occurred near the drip tape. 2) The areas between laterals and in the furrow zone had high salinity levels. 3) High salinity also occurred above the drip tape. My own take on #3 is that this provides a challenge to farmers as to where the drip tape should be placed. Too shallow will bring water (evaporative loss) and precipitated salts to the surface. Hanson/Bendixen mentioned that placing the drip lines too deep will eventually require more leaching through rain/sprinkling to push salts past the drip line for the subsequent crop. This got me thinking about Ed Martin's posting. He mentioned: ->The soil type is clay (about 40% clay)< >The two bed designs he has come up with are:< >1. An 82" bed consisting of three separate beds, like a pyramid. There are two outside beds, and one center bed, that sits about 5" above the other two beds. Kind of like this:< | o | | o | / *********** \ | o | *********** *********** >He's now planning on putting two rows of veggies (|) on each bed with one drip line (o) per bed, placed in the center. Any ideas on depth (he can bury the drip line a couple of inches) and an alternative placement??< Based on what I've learned from Hanson and Bendixen, salts accumulate at the end of vectors originating from the emitter source. If we were to bury the drip line 4 to 6 in. (10-15 cm) as shown below: I I I I / *********** \ I I #[see comment below] *********** <---o----> *********** <---- o -----> <--- -o ----> ^ ^ ^ ^ the salts would accumulate where I placed the ^ marker. Hopefully these markings come out (going left to right) in the right furrow of the first bed and the left furrow of the third bed. The placement of the veggies would be appropriate since Hanson and Bendixen mentioned that studies of root distrubution show little root growth goes beyond 6 to 9 in (15-20 cm) from the drip line. I'm wondering what will happen when the two vectors from opposing sides (----> <-----) meet, get saturated enough to possibly create some downward leaching OR would this create a big salinity zone if saturation does not occur? This probably would depend on how the system is managed. Ed's second bed shape idea (quarter moon) would probably have the same salinity consequence. Now, my questions back to Ed: 1) How does the farmer shape this pyramid bed? Special implements? 2) Would the rows be North/South or East/West? Seems like in mid-winter in Arizona, the crops in the middle bed of the East/West orientation would over shadow the northern most bed area plants. Then of course, I could be dead wrong...it would'nt be the first time. I would appreciate it if both Ed Martin and Blaine Hanson (members of Trickle-L) correct me on any potential errors I might have made above. Richard Mead Trickle-L owner/manager *B.R. Hanson is an Irrigation and Drainage Specialist with U.C. Davis and W.E. Bendixen is a farm advisor with U.C. Coop. Extension. Their report can be found in the July-August '95 issue of California Agriculture (p.19-23). #Doing these drawings by this typewriter method is a bit awkward. This reminds me that there is a software product called "Lotus Notes" by IBM which can be used by individuals who use a network. The software permits all network users to send and receive email mixed with pictures, spreadsheets and diagrams. I guess we at Trickle-L will have to put this on our wish list for future uses of the Internet. Would'nt it be GREAT??!!
Date: Sun, 20 Aug 1995 10:23:41 WST From: Warwick Rowell <warwick@bettong.eepo.dialix.oz.au> Subject: Grey Water Questions At last a topic on which I think I can contribute something! Much of the discussion here is outside my scale of operations. Tim asked about: "water re-use system at my home...waste water from the bath and shower .. then pumping that out to .. irrigation system .. concern is filtration." "What would I need to do to the ensure that I could use it on my garden on an ongoing basis without damaging the garden." "I have been warned that the body oils and soap residue in the bath and shower water will eventually accumulate in the soil to the extent that it will become infertile." One strategy that we have used for two years now, and it has been used in slight variations for many years, is to rotate the outlet point, so the plants/microbes/fungi have a chance to catch up with their processing. The classic use here is three citrus trees, each getting the washing machine's output in turn. They thrive on it. Another is to feed the output to something that is very hungry, such as comfrey or bananas or kikuyu, and harvest the output for green manure elsewhere, if you are really worried about pathogens. As I hear water engineers, the major hassle they seem to be concerned about is reticulation clogging; one strategy is to use large pipes; another (more permaculturish) is not to reticulate at all! So the system I would prefer would have the outlets feeding into the plant system with comfrey, and then harvest the comfrey for mulch. compost, feed, or green manure. Now convincing the bureaucrats that this won't kill me and then the rest of the neighbourhood is another matter! Hope this helps Warwick ______________________________________________________________ | warwick.rowell@eepo.com.au | | 20 Onslow Rd Shenton Pk 6008 Western Australia | | Partner, Permaculture Applications Consultancy & Education | | | | Management Consultant Permaculture Designer | |___"Helping Managers Learn"___"Helping Land Managers Learn"___|
Date: Sat, 19 Aug 1995 20:24:59 -0700 From: geoflowr@halcyon.com (Rodney Ruskin) Subject: Re: Water re-use At 5:15 AM 8/17/95 -0500, Tim Jackson wrote: .> >I am wanting to establish a water re-use system at my home. >I had envisaged accumulating waste water from the bath and shower in a >500litre (100gallon) tank under ground and then pumping that out again on >demand to feed an irrigation system in my garden. >etc. Greywater re-use with subsurface drip irrigation has been approved in California and is quite frequently applied. Geoflow has a literature package which I will gladly send to you if you let me have your snail-mail address. Over the five years that we have been selling dripline for this application I have had no experience with clogging of soils due to soaps and oils - over the long term this is possible. It is advisable to use biodegradable soaps. Rodney.
Date: Sat, 19 Aug 1995 17:16:28 +0100 (MES) From: stein@wiz.uni-kassel.de (Thomas Stein) Subject: IRRISOFT Server Problems I apologise for the problems some people had to reach the I R R I S O F T pages. The server had been disconnected a few times from outside due to line works. The URL of IRRISOFT is correct: http://fserv.wiz.uni-kassel.de/kww/irrisoft/irrisoft_i.html Regards, Thomas-M. Stein
End of Digest
>From root@crcnis1.unl.edu Mon Aug 21 19:24 EDT 1995
Date: Mon, 21 Aug 1995 18:14:59 -0500
Message-Id: <199508212314.AA05927@crcnis1.unl.edu>
Subject: TRICKLE-L digest 275

Contents:
Re: Placement of surface drip (edmartin@ag.Arizona.EDU)



Date: Mon, 21 Aug 1995 16:16:44 -0700 From: edmartin@ag.Arizona.EDU Subject: Re: Placement of surface drip In response to Richard's questions concerning alternative bed shapes: >Now, my questions back to Ed: >1) How does the farmer shape this pyramid bed? Special implements? >2) Would the rows be North/South or East/West? Seems like in mid-winter in > Arizona, the crops in the middle bed of the East/West orientation would over >shadow the northern most bed area plants. >Then of course, I could be dead wrong...it would'nt be the first time. 1. Both the pyramid/wedding cake bed and the quarter-moon bed are shaped with special bed shaping implements the growers has built. They already exist and have been field tested - so far, so good. 2. The rows would run North-South to prevent shading. Thanks for the input. Anyone else?? Ed Martin edmartin@ag.arizona.edu
End of Digest
>From root@crcnis1.unl.edu Tue Aug 22 19:23 EDT 1995
Date: Tue, 22 Aug 1995 18:15:42 -0500
Message-Id: <199508222315.AA13201@crcnis1.unl.edu>
Subject: TRICKLE-L digest 276

Contents:
Re: Water re-use (Emmett Shields <eshields@grfn.ORG>)
Re: Chemigation Equipment (Emmett Shields <eshields@grfn.ORG>)



Date: Tue, 22 Aug 1995 16:31:17 -0400 (EDT) From: Emmett Shields <eshields@grfn.ORG> Subject: Re: Water re-use contact WWI, waste water inc. in Atlanta , Ga. They have systems available off the shelf. On Thu, 17 Aug 1995, Tim Jackson wrote: > Please forgive me if this is off-topic but I have to give it a try. > > I am wanting to establish a water re-use system at my home. > > I had envisaged accumulating waste water from the bath and shower in a > 500litre (100gallon) tank under ground and then pumping that out again on > demand to feed an irrigation system in my garden. > > My primary concern is that of filtration. What would I need to do to the > ensure that I could use it on my garden on an ongoing basis without dmaging > the garden. > > I have been warned that the body oils and soap residue in the bath and > shower water will eventually accumulate in the soil to the extent that it > will bcome infertile. > > Any comments would be welcome. > > Tim. > >
Date: Tue, 22 Aug 1995 16:40:04 -0400 (EDT) From: Emmett Shields <eshields@grfn.ORG> Subject: Re: Chemigation Equipment We build our own injectors using the Mazzei injector. Simply consists of a centrifugal pump in combo with the injector. This unit contains filtration for nutrient solutions, etc., as well as pressure regulators where needed. We use this unit on any type of system from drip to center pivots and high pressure travelers. Any further questions please contact me on e-mail eshields@grfn.org. On Fri, 18 Aug 1995 Lefty.B@eworld.com wrote: > Here is one for the producers and equipment dealers. > > I am looking for a quality line of fertilizer/chemical injectors to supply to > my customers. I am a fan of the Mazzei venturi injectors due to their > simplicity. However there are many times when I just can't afford to lose 25% > of my system pressure. Here on the South Plains of Texas the majority of > irrigation on cotton has been flood irrigation. Therefore most of the pumps > in our wells are designed to supply volume rather than pressure. Due to the > limited acreage that is being drip irrigated(usually 10 - 50 ac. plots as an > experimental trial) it is sometimes hard to justify the added expense of > installing new pumps. > > So tell me guys, which product gives you the most bang for the buck! > I am currently looking at LMI, Pulsafeeder, Agri-inject, just to name a few. > I would be very interested in getting some feedback from producers and > suppliers on the equipment that they have been most impressed with. All > opinions, good, bad, and ugly will be greatly appreciated. > > Thanks for your help, > > D.B. McNutt > Lefty.B@eWorld.com >
End of Digest
>From root@crcnis1.unl.edu Thu Aug 24 01:24 EDT 1995
Date: Wed, 23 Aug 1995 18:16:38 -0500
Message-Id: <199508232316.AA06009@crcnis1.unl.edu>
Subject: TRICKLE-L digest 277

Contents:
Conference on Computers In Agriculture (fsz@gnv.ifas.ufl.edu (Fedro Zazueta))
Re: unsubscribe (Stbx@aol.com)



Date: Tue, 22 Aug 1995 21:00:49 -0500 (EST) From: fsz@gnv.ifas.ufl.edu (Fedro Zazueta) Subject: Conference on Computers In Agriculture The 6TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON COMPUTERS IN AGRICULTURE will be held in Cancun, Mexico from June 11 through June 14, 1996 With the interest in modeling irrigation requirements and software for irrigation scheduling, I would like to have a session on these topics. For more information on the conference see www.agen.ufl.edu/~fzazueta/ This conference provides a forum for agriculture related professionals to exchange information on applications and developments in the use of computers in agriculture. Individuals involved in production, service, consulting, research, education and extension are invited to attend. Those wishing to participate, please see the world wide web page above, return this e-mail or send a fax to the contact person below. Paper proposals must be received by September 30, 1995 to be considered for inclusion on the program. Contact Person: Dr. Fedro S. Zazueta E-MAIL: FSZ@GNV.UFL.EDU Phone: (904) 392-7260 FAX: (904) 392 4092 Fedro S. Zazueta Voice: 904 392 7260 FAX: 904 392 4092
Date: Wed, 23 Aug 1995 07:47:03 -0400 From: Stbx@aol.com Subject: Re: unsubscribe Please unsubscribe
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>From root@crcnis1.unl.edu Thu Aug 24 22:28 EDT 1995
Date: Thu, 24 Aug 1995 21:19:27 -0500
Message-Id: <199508250219.AA00830@crcnis1.unl.edu>
Subject: TRICKLE-L digest 278

Contents:
Re: Chemigation Equipment (TxGator@aol.com)



Date: Thu, 24 Aug 1995 22:21:34 -0400 From: TxGator@aol.com Subject: Re: Chemigation Equipment Venturi's from Netafim are often used in conjunction with a small electric or engine driven booster pump to provide the differential pressure required to provide pressure differential for the injection pump. This practice avoids having to change the entire pumping system in the well. If you would like some data with flow curves and HP requirements, please e-mail or call. Jim Brigham 512-261-3007
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>From root@crcnis1.unl.edu Fri Aug 25 22:27 EDT 1995
Date: Fri, 25 Aug 1995 21:19:32 -0500
Message-Id: <199508260219.AA23176@crcnis1.unl.edu>
Subject: TRICKLE-L digest 279

Contents:
Re: Chemigation Equipment (GrapeGrowr@aol.com)
Re: Grey Water Questions (Dripigate@aol.com)
Re: Grey Water Questions (Robert Morden <rem@windy.blwtl.uwo.ca>)



Date: Fri, 25 Aug 1995 11:39:58 -0400 From: GrapeGrowr@aol.com Subject: Re: Chemigation Equipment I would like some info on the venturis for chem injection at my well sites. Please mail to Robert Carian Enterpriese PO Box 1088Coachella, CA 92236
Date: Fri, 25 Aug 1995 13:52:35 -0400 From: Dripigate@aol.com Subject: Re: Grey Water Questions The fact that the food supply for some 60% of the worlds population is fertilized entirely with human waste is beyond beauracratic comprehension!
Date: Fri, 25 Aug 1995 14:38:21 -0400 (EDT) From: Robert Morden <rem@windy.blwtl.uwo.ca> Subject: Re: Grey Water Questions On Fri, 25 Aug 1995 Dripigate@aol.com wrote: > The fact that the food supply for some 60% of the worlds population is > fertilized entirely with human waste is beyond beauracratic comprehension! It seems to be beyond the comprehension of a lot of agriculturalists too. Truly sustainable agriculture requires the complete recirculation of nutrients -- impossible without the use of human waste. Anyone who suggests that agriculture can be sustainable given the present waste "disposal" systems is attempting to delude their audience. Just my $.02 worth. It is an issue that I get excited about occasionally. ob trickle: some years ago (more then 10 anyway) "Organic Gardening" magazine had an article on recycling grey water in for gardening. At the time they suggested (this is from memory) filtering the water through a progressive filter constructed in a dry well. The filter began at the top with wood ash and ended at the bottom with coarse stone. I think that this is probably excessively involved as I have known of a number of homes where the waste water from clothes washing just went out a pipe onto the lawn and I don't recall ever seeing any damage to the vegetation. It is surprising how robust ecosystems are if the parameters are changed slowly enough. The resulting system may not that closely resemble the original but will in time become accepted as the normal or natural state. Cheers, REM
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>From root@crcnis1.unl.edu Sat Aug 26 22:28 EDT 1995
Date: Sat, 26 Aug 1995 21:20:08 -0500
Message-Id: <199508270220.AA07604@crcnis1.unl.edu>
Subject: TRICKLE-L digest 280

Contents:
Re: Placement of surface drip (Dripigate@aol.com)
Re: Chemigation Equipment (Dripigate@aol.com)
Re: Chemigation Equipment (JImB1331@aol.com)
Re: Chemigation Equipment (sjordan@seldon.terminus.com (Steve Jordan))



Date: Sat, 26 Aug 1995 14:10:37 -0400 From: Dripigate@aol.com Subject: Re: Placement of surface drip Care needs to be taken in the removal of salts in this format. I would suggest at least a flushing cycle every third or fourth irrigation to reduce accumulation.Steep sloping "Yuma " type beds are an alternative particularly earlier in the season.
Date: Sat, 26 Aug 1995 14:15:26 -0400 From: Dripigate@aol.com Subject: Re: Chemigation Equipment Most venturi injectors ( Maezzi, Netafim ) with the addition of a booster pump are far better than mechanical injectors in terms of cost, simplicity and maintainance. Used in conjunction with a "batch" tank all the accuracy required can be attained. Sizing to create a Delta P of 30 to 40% is best. Usually resulting booster is no larger than 3 HP max.
Date: Sat, 26 Aug 1995 16:25:11 -0400 From: JImB1331@aol.com Subject: Re: Chemigation Equipment DB, Sorry it took so long to throw my 2c worth in, but I haven't checked my mail lately. The type of feed equipment you decide to use will of course depend on a wide variety of factors, cost and application being the two main ones. Where I work, Stranco, we build custom chemical feed equipment from a single LMI pump on a portable skid to very sophisticated systems. Please call me and I would be happy to suggest some to you. Jim Beshears Engineering Director Stranco Engineering Services JimB1331@aol.com
Date: Sat, 26 Aug 1995 18:29:12 -0700 From: sjordan@seldon.terminus.com (Steve Jordan) Subject: Re: Chemigation Equipment >Most venturi injectors ( Maezzi, Netafim ) with the addition of a booster >pump are far better than mechanical injectors in terms of cost, simplicity >and maintainance. Used in conjunction with a "batch" tank all the accuracy >required can be attained. Sizing to create a Delta P of 30 to 40% is best. >Usually resulting booster is no larger than 3 HP max. > Some disadvantages... The amount injected with a powered Maezzi may be influenced by the temperature of the fertilizer (viscosity) and the pressure of the receiving water. Also, it is easier to vary the amount of fertilizer with a piston pump... Steve Jordan @ Second Foundation
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>From root@crcnis1.unl.edu Sun Aug 27 22:30 EDT 1995
Date: Sun, 27 Aug 1995 21:20:23 -0500
Message-Id: <199508280220.AA20108@crcnis1.unl.edu>
Subject: TRICKLE-L digest 281

Contents:
Abstract #4 (MEAD2513@aol.com)



Date: Sun, 27 Aug 1995 19:51:31 -0400 From: MEAD2513@aol.com Subject: Abstract #4 Due to some discussion in the past (8/25) week concerning the use of wastewater or grey water in irrigation, I thought it would be appropriate that I chose the following abstract for our "Abstract of the week" series. We have had previous discussions relating to the topic of wastewater use (filtragation) on Trickle-L. I would appreciate it if those individuals involved in this technology would delineate between the use of wastewater for nutrient/water recycling and that of disposing the water and using the soil and soil microbes as a filter. Potential of Subsurface Drip Irrigation for Management of Nitrate in Wastewater C. J. Phene and R. Ruskin Annual increases of food demand forecasts for various regions of the world range from 2.3% (East and South Asia) to 3.8% (West Asia and North Africa). Even when taking into account the potential production of rain-fed agriculture, the irrigated agricultural production sector will need to increase its productivity by 3 to 4% per annum. Secondary and tertiary treated domestic wastewaters (WW) are being used more and more for irrigation of field crops, landscape, groundwater recharge and other applications. However, the use of treated WW for irrigation is subject to major concerns because of the potential nitrate contamination of domestic water supplies possibly resulting in the occurrence of methemoglobinemia. In California, only 18% of the 5 billion cubic meters of generated WW is treated and returned to the state's fresh water system for incidental uses but only about 7% of it is used intentionally. The Water Management Research Laboratory (USDA-ARS-Fresno) developed a practical water and fertilizer efficient irrigation and management method which minimizes and sometimes even eliminates the downward movement of soluble nitrate-N below the root zone of field crops. The method known as deep high frequency subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) achieved minimum leaching when four conditions were satisfied: (1) irrigation events are short and frequent and designed to replace crop water uptake as closely as possible (no leaching fraction); (2) nitrogen is applied with the water through the SDI system at a rate equivalent to the uptake rate of the crop less the amount mineralized from the soil; (3) the crop is deep rooted; and (4) the shallow water table is at least 2.0 m from the soil surface. Results obtained for a ten year period with irrigated field crops demonstrate the potential of the SDI method for minimizing non-point source agricultural pollution with NO3-N. The SCI method also shows some unique and economical potential for safely irrigating field crops with treated WW. In addition to the controlled movement of NO3-N to the ground water, the mere fact that the treated WW does not come to the soil surface adds another safety dimension to the handling of a potentially hazardous material. In locations where year around cropping is possible, continuous disposal could be carried out without requiring major storage facilities. However, during the winter months when evapotranspiration (ET) is low, some reservoir might be required to store the excess WW not evapotranspired by the crop. The objectives of this paper are to present and discuss the design and operation of SDI systems, their physical characteristics, and research results defining soil water, nitrate-N and deep rootzone profiles obtained when deep SDI systems are used. The authors will relate how this method can be adapted for irrigation with treated WW. Keywords: Reuse, Water use, Leaching, Treated Water Abstract taken from paper found on pages 155 to 167 in Proceedings of 5th International Microirrigation Congress, April 2-6, 1995, Orlando, Florida. American Society of Agricultural Engineers, 2950 Niles Road, St. Joseph, Michigan 49085-9659, USA. Phone: 616-429-0300 FAX: 616-429-3852 EMAIL: HQ@ASAE.ORG
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>From root@crcnis1.unl.edu Mon Aug 28 22:29 EDT 1995
Date: Mon, 28 Aug 1995 21:20:59 -0500
Message-Id: <199508290220.AA15788@crcnis1.unl.edu>
Subject: TRICKLE-L digest 282

Contents:
Re: Chemigation Equipment (Dripigate@aol.com)
Re: Grey Water Questions (Dripigate@aol.com)
unsubscribe (DRTFRM@aol.com)



Date: Mon, 28 Aug 1995 00:20:07 -0400 From: Dripigate@aol.com Subject: Re: Chemigation Equipment Irrigation time usually exceeds fertilizer time, Batch tank can be used to adjust timing and concentrations.P
Date: Mon, 28 Aug 1995 00:27:17 -0400 From: Dripigate@aol.com Subject: Re: Grey Water Questions Bravo Bravo. Simple pond construction with even simpler aeration can do miricals. Merced County California are about to choke on their own S------. Not much better elsewhere.
Date: Mon, 28 Aug 1995 21:20:41 -0400 From: DRTFRM@aol.com Subject: unsubscribe .........Unsubscribe Russell Shlagel
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>From root@crcnis1.unl.edu Tue Aug 29 22:29 EDT 1995
Date: Tue, 29 Aug 1995 21:21:11 -0500
Message-Id: <199508300221.AA08951@crcnis1.unl.edu>
Subject: TRICKLE-L digest 283

Contents:
unsubscribe (Maycotte@utxvms.cc.utexas.edu (Higinio Maycotte))



Date: Tue, 29 Aug 1995 13:04:55 -0500 From: Maycotte@utxvms.cc.utexas.edu (Higinio Maycotte) Subject: unsubscribe .........Unsubscribe Higinio Maycotte E-mail: maycotte@utxvms.cc.utexas.edu maycotte@eco.utexas.edu Home Phone: 512-794-5805 Fax: 512-794-0506 BBBBBB-------OOOOOO-------SSSS-------SSSS----- ---------------------- BB---BB-----OO----OO-----SS--SS-----SS--SS---- --222--55555--1---000- BB----B-----OO----OO-----SS---------SS-------- -2---2-5-----11--0---0 BBBBBB------OO----OO-------SS---------SS------ ----2--5555---1--0---0 BB----B-----OO----OO---------SS---------SS---- ---2-------5--1--0---0 BB---BB-----OO----OO-----SS--SS-----SS--SS---- --2--------5--1--0---0 BBBBBB---@---OOOOOO---@---SSSS---@---SSSS---@- -22222-5555--111--000-
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>From root@crcnis1.unl.edu Wed Aug 30 22:37 EDT 1995
Date: Wed, 30 Aug 1995 21:22:10 -0500
Message-Id: <199508310222.AA03726@crcnis1.unl.edu>
Subject: TRICKLE-L digest 284

Contents:
Re: unsubscribe (Tje666@aol.com)
New subscribers (MEAD2513@aol.com)
Re: unsubscribe (MEAD2513@aol.com)
Open House invitation (rmead@asrr.arsusda.gov)



Date: Wed, 30 Aug 1995 01:15:35 -0400 From: Tje666@aol.com Subject: Re: unsubscribe Please assist, I have made several attempts to UNSUBSCRIBE, with no success. Could you please delete me from your list of subscribers.Thank you for your kind attention.
Date: Wed, 30 Aug 1995 09:50:59 -0400 From: MEAD2513@aol.com Subject: New subscribers The following are two responses from new subscribers to Trickle-L. Tim Wilson writes: Thank you for your wecome letter. I will attempt to answer your first question. >Briefly, what is your affiliation with trickle irrigation?< I am the Education Director of the Irrigation Association (I.A.) . My interest in drip centers around educational programs for both the agricultural as well as the landscape market. If anyone has any info (class material, slides, overheads, or manuals) that they would like to recommend or donate to the cause of industry education, I would be most appreciative. In exchange I would be happy to keep you updated on what the I.A. is working on in regards to Drip/micro. We presently have a Drip in the Landscape class, a Drip\Micro for Ag class and we are working on a chemigation class at this moment. I look forward to participating in this forum. Thanks again! Tim Wilson TIM1UTAH@AOL.COM R. Mead's comments: Tim, I suggest you dive into the archives of Trickle-L for text information. This material could be educational, albeit subjective in nature. Also, does the I.A. have a Web home page? If so, our laboratory (Water Management Research Lab) has one you could link to and vice versa. If the I.A. does not have a Web page, consider our offer in the future for information exchange. ***************************************************************** Nhpjr@aol.com writes: >1) Briefly, what is your affiliation with trickle irrigation?< I have a two fold affiliation with drip irrigation. I am a Products Research and Development Manager for Entek Corporation which manufactures a new nematicide/soil insecticide/soil fungicide called ENZONE (trademark protected) used on grapes and citrus. It is applied through irrigation water and is most effective through drip irrigation systems. My second affiliation is as a farmer who has both apricots and apples grown on drip irrigation. >2) What crops or plants do you use drip irrigation on?< apples, apricots, grapes, and citrus. >3) If using subsurface drip irrigation, what is the average depth of placement of the drip line? < N/A >What problems have you encountered with subsurface drip?< Drip irrigation requires a high level of maintainance with poor quality water. Also, we must treat on a regular basis with N-pHURIC to keep the irrigation lines from plugging up. For other interested parties, outside of the US, Canada and Mexico, a similar product named N-pHLO (trademark protected) is available through my company, Entek Corporation. Both products are very effective line cleaners, are easy to handle compared to strong acids, and are economical. >Fertigation is a real advantage of drip irrigation. What form of N, P and K have you been trying and to what success?< I have used both N and K fertilization on a regular basis for years. > Have you experienced a reduction in fertilizer and water use?< Yes, I have experienced a reduction in fertilizer use rates. > Do you have water quality problems? If so, how do you tackle the situation?< We have serious water quality problems due to high bicarbonate in our well water. >How frequent do you irrigate? Many times a day or just one long session per day or several days?< We irrigate our orchards 2-3 times per week for 24-48 hours each time. During the spring and fall when conditions are optimum for disease problems like Phytophthora root rot we reduce the irrigation run to 24 hours. Our emitters are 0.5 gal/hr. emitters though so there is almost never free water around the emitters. >Do you have rodent damage? If so, how do you tackle the problem?< We do not have rodent damage. But we are aggressive about controlling weeds in the tree row. In one of the apple orchards, we have fought a clover problem for years but we are able to keep it under control. >Are you pleased with the uniformity of your system or systems? Were they designed correctly?< We are pleased with the uniformity of our systems. The systems were designed correctly. >How did you hear about Trickle-L?< I found out about your mailing list by entering "agriculture" when searching the Internet mailing lists. Neil P. User Nhpjr@aol.com
Date: Wed, 30 Aug 1995 10:00:40 -0400 From: MEAD2513@aol.com Subject: Re: unsubscribe For those of you who are just so darn anxious to unsubscribe, please refer to your welcome message that have the instructions for unsubscribing OR let me know personally at my e-mail address and DO NOT post to Trickle-L !! Thank you for your cooperation and hang in there remaining loyal Trickle-L subscribers. Richard Mead List owner/manager
Date: Wed, 30 Aug 1995 14:23:04 -0400 (EDT) From: rmead@asrr.arsusda.gov Subject: Open House invitation Dear Trickle-L subscriber, I would like to personally invite you to the Water Management Research Laboratory's Open House of our new "Twin Lysimeter facility" in Parlier, California on September 14. Tours will begin at 1 P.M. and end at 4 P.M. You will see the latest in high-tech water management research using cutting edge technology. There is no other lysimeter system of its kind in the world. We would enjoy seeing you there. Let me know if you plan to attend by September 11. For those who can not make this special occasion, we will have pictures and descriptions of the Open House activities on our Web homepage after September 14. Richard Mead Soil Scientist Phone: (209) 453-3100 p.s. A map to the Open House can be provided if you let me know your fax number.
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>From root@crcnis1.unl.edu Thu Aug 31 22:31 EDT 1995
Date: Thu, 31 Aug 1995 21:22:41 -0500
Message-Id: <199509010222.AA27273@crcnis1.unl.edu>
Subject: TRICKLE-L digest 285

Contents:
Re: unsubscribe (Armando Tasistro <tasistro@profmexis.dgsca.unam.mx>)
Re: PC-based controller (JImB1331@aol.com)
Re: PC-based controller (sjordan@seldon.terminus.com (Steve Jordan))



Date: Wed, 30 Aug 1995 21:42:13 -0600 (CST) From: Armando Tasistro <tasistro@profmexis.dgsca.unam.mx> Subject: Re: unsubscribe Don't worry about unsuscribe messages being posted in Trickle-L. Those who are interested will remain subscribed and those who aren't won't. That simple! Keep it up! Armando Tasistro On Wed, 30 Aug 1995 MEAD2513@aol.com wrote: > For those of you who are just so darn anxious to unsubscribe, please refer to > your welcome message that have the instructions for unsubscribing OR let me > know personally at my e-mail address and DO NOT post to Trickle-L !! > > Thank you for your cooperation and hang in there remaining loyal Trickle-L > subscribers. > > Richard Mead > List owner/manager >
Date: Thu, 31 Aug 1995 18:10:58 -0400 From: JImB1331@aol.com Subject: Re: PC-based controller We build custom feed equipment for any application, and introduce industrial control technology to the agricultural world. PC based control systems are the norm in our world, and we would love the chance to apply them to the varied applications in irrigation. Please call for info. Jim Beshears Engineering Director Stranco Engineering Services 800 882-6466 JimB1331@aol.com
Date: Thu, 31 Aug 1995 19:21:51 -0700 From: sjordan@seldon.terminus.com (Steve Jordan) Subject: Re: PC-based controller >We build custom feed equipment for any application, and introduce industrial >control technology to the agricultural world. PC based control systems are >the norm in our world, and we would love the chance to apply them to the >varied applications in irrigation. > Custom feed equipment... As in computers to operate? As in fertigation systems? How about measurement systems? For some crazy (actually not crazy) reason I want to read and log water levels in wells. I know the manual way is best, but probably not in this instance. Steve Jordan @ Second Foundation
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