AgNet DEMO

Category: Irrigation

  • Long Drought Leads to Water Restrictions in One Florida County

    By Clint Thompson

    A water restriction has been placed on one Florida county because of the long drought. Gene McAvoy would not be surprised if more restrictions will follow.

    On Friday, the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) and Lee County announced mandatory irrigation restrictions. According to the press release, the restrictions were to address low aquifer levels. They went into place on Saturday.

     “On the coast, they rely a lot more on wells, well fields. Water levels in the aquifer has dropped to extreme levels. That’s why they started with Lee County,” said McAvoy, UF/IFAS Extension agent emeritus. “I haven’t seen anything like this (drought) since 2008.”

    Long Period of Dry Weather

    The most recent map of the U.S. Drought Monitor shows Florida either in abnormally dry, moderately dry or severely dry conditions. Lee County, whose county seat is Fort Myers, is experiencing a moderate drought and severe drought in different parts of its county.

    “We did have a little bit of rain in Southwest Florida (Sunday) night, but it was really (just) enough to settle the dust in most places,” McAvoy said.

    According to the press release, Florida’s southwest coast received only 14.72 inches of rain from September 2019 to March 2020. That’s a deficit of minus-7.64 inches. In March, the southwest coast recorded only 0.27 inches of rain, only 12% of average.

    Due to the extended drought and record heat, Florida agriculture has been negatively impacted.

    “I’m actually in a (citrus) grove right now. Because of drought stress and the record heat we’ve been enduring the past few months, the trees are shedding fruit,” McAvoy said. “Farmers are not able to harvest them quite as fast as the fruit is falling off the tree. (We) probably got two boxes per tree on the ground right now in the grove I’m in right now.”

    The current rainfall deficit, extreme heat and decreasing surface and groundwater levels are expected to continue throughout the remainder of the dry season. It typically ends around the end of May.

    In a previous VSCNews story, climatologists fear that the drought will get worse before it gets better.

  • Irrigation and Nitrogen Fertility Rate Strategies to Reduce Leaching

    By Ashley Robinson

    Irrigation in a corn field.

    Excessive nutrients in waterbodies, such as nitrate-nitrogen (N), have been one of the major issues in unconfined regions underneath the Upper Florida aquifer. This can be attributed to farmers applying excessive N fertilizer with the hope of obtaining higher yields. Therefore, the implementation of Best Management Practices (BMPs) such as proper irrigation and N management is required to avoid N leaching from soil profiles.

    RESEARCH RECOMMENDATIONS

    A field experiment was conducted in Live Oak, Florida to evaluate different irrigation strategies and N fertilizers in corn production. The goal was to improve strategies that could reduce N leaching from fields.

    Scheduling can increase irrigation efficiency by decreasing runoff, deep percolation and soil evaporation losses. It also manages soil water content to reduce evapotranspiration during crop stages that require less water. According to Maria I. Zamora-Re, a Post-Doctoral Associate at the University of Florida, soil moisture sensors and soil water balance sheets are recommended methods of irrigation scheduling.

    “The soil water balance sheet is a very easy spreadsheet that growers can put their inputs into, and the spreadsheet will allow them to know when irrigation is required in their fields,” says Zamora-Re.

    In addition to reducing the amount of nutrients leaving the fields, irrigation scheduling tools can save growers input costs by applying less irrigation and fertilizer while potentially increasing crop yields.

    “The data may be seen as overwhelming by some growers, and just one added to-do thing to their list. So we’re hoping to provide the tools and teach them that these technologies can be a very simple and cost-effective adaption. Another concern some growers share is the cost of soil moisture sensors. However, cost-share programs are now available through the grower’s water management district, which would provide them with a great opportunity to try this technology,” Zamora-Re says.

  • High Rainfall Probabilities Look Promising for Florida Agriculture

    By Ashley Robinson

    There may be light at the end of a dark and dry tunnel for Florida farmers with increased chances of rainfall over the upcoming week.

    According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, the majority of Florida is classified as moderately dry.

    According to Gary England, RSA/Director for the Hastings Ag Extension Center in Hastings, Florida, the same weather system currently ushering severe weather into the Southeast will elevate rainfall chances in the Hastings area beginning today.

    “The one system moving through right now is supposed to go stationary, meaning it will hang around, keeping things mixed up. So, we’ll have a pretty good chance of rain from that through Wednesday.”

    The front is expected to move south down the peninsula Thursday and stall once again, somewhere near the Big Lake, thus keeping a chance of some showers in northeast Florida through Friday. In addition, a second front is expected to pass through the region on Saturday, stalling in central Florida. This will keep rainfall chances moderate to high through the weekend. 

    According to the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center, the Hastings area can expect to see 1.0 to 2.0 inches of rainfall through next Monday.

    “It seems like the regions who are experiencing the worst of the drought are in the areas we’re expecting some rainfall,” England says. “However, that still has to materialize. These stationary fronts may be predicted to be in one place but could remain 50 miles south or north. Rain chances can dramatically change so we’ll have to see how it plays out over the next week.”

    Lack of rainfall for the months of March and April have caused concerns for Florida farmers.

    According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, the state of Florida is experiencing abnormally dry or moderate drought conditions. Most of Wakulla County, Florida and parts of Liberty and Franklin County, Florida are deemed ‘D2’ status which is a severe drought.

    GROWERS CONCERNS

    Florida’s growers are no strangers to dry spells and having to utilize irrigation systems during periods of less than average rainfall. However, applying more irrigation than normal can create additional issues for growers on top of the high costs to operate the irrigation systems. 

    “Generally, we’re pumping water out of the Florida Aquifer. The chemistry of the water in the Hastings area tends to be a little more saline. So, with extended periods of irrigation you could see some harmful effects from that,” England says.

    In addition, increasing temperatures could be troublesome for growers.

    “It’s not always uncommon for March or April to be fairly dry. However, what we’re seeing in this situation is very warm temperatures,” England says. “We’ve had dry March’s and April’s, but the high temperatures were in the 70’s and low 80’s. These warm temperatures that we’re seeing during this dry period can move the crop ahead, possibly maturing a week or so ahead of time.”