don mcmoran agriculture and natural resources extension educator wsu skagit county extension...
Post on 05-Jan-2016
215 Views
Preview:
TRANSCRIPT
Don McMoranAgriculture and Natural Resources
Extension EducatorWSU Skagit County Extension
Irrigation to combat silver scurf in Potatoes
Skagit Valley Agriculture
• 113,821 acres farmable– Small plots of land
• Climate– Maritime– 32 inches of rainfall
• Major crops– Potatoes– Seed Crops– Small Fruit Crops– Flower bulbs and nursery
Acreage
• 1968- 537 acres of potatoes in Skagit County.
• 2007- 13,250 acres of potatoes in Skagit County
Irrigation need
Crop Water Use in Northwestern Washington
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Rai
n a
nd
ET
(in
ches
) Potato Crop Water Use
Precipitation
Irrigation of Potatoes
• Irrigation has increased from 0 to ~15,000 acres in Skagit County alone.
• Reel Big Gun
Big Gun Evaluation- Farmer A
Farmer B
Farmer C
Farmer D
du rep1 du rep 2 avg du
Farmer A 0.143628 0.035256 0.089442
Farmer B 0.191481 0.135309 0.163395
Farmer C 0.776256 0.728672 0.752464
Farmer D 0.802552 0.802552
Average 0.478479 0.381968 0.430224
Boom Type Carts
Energy Comparisons
Big-gun Boom Big-gun BoomFuel Cost/Season 2,585$ 723$ 9,435$ 2,462$
Cost/acre-in 2.59$ 1.02$ 9.44$ 3.49$
Electric Diesel
WSU NWREC – Drip Irrigation in Potatoes Trial- Incubating Silver Scurf in Storage
Silver Scurf seed ranking
30 tuber analysis• Silver scurf severity 1.4%• Silver Scurf Incidence 70%• Common scab
Cultivating and Chemigation- 45 DAP
Irrigation Scheduler mobile
Great looking trial
Harvest
WSU NWREC Yield
Non-irrigated Vertisan 45 DAP Vertisan 60 DAP Quadris 45 DAP Quadris 60 DAP Reel Big Gun16
16.5
17
17.5
18
18.5
19
19.5
20
20.5
Avera
ge y
ield
per
plo
t (t
ons)
Washing and preparation for Storage
WSU NWREC results – size categories
Non-ir-rigated
Vertisan 45 DAP
Vertisan 60 DAP
Quadris 45 DAP
Quadris 60 DAP
Reel Big Gun0
5000
10000
15000
20000
25000
30000
A'sB'sC'sNo. 2's
Avera
ge y
ield
per
plo
t
Evaluation
Silver Scurf
Non-irrigated Vertisan 45 DAP Vertisan 60 DAP Quadris 45 DAP Quadris 60 DAP Reel Big Gun0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
Silver
scurf
severi
ty (
% p
ota
to a
ffecte
d)
Conclusion
• Farmers in Skagit County can improve irrigation on big gun irrigation by trying to cover less ground per set and irrigating at night, after daytime winds die down.
• Boom type irrigators do a better job of irrigation and use less energy but are not as convenient to use.
• Drip irrigation uses the least amount of energy and has the highest start up costs. Adding fertigation, chemigation and other practices will be required to encourage farmers to make the switch to energy efficient irrigation practices in western Washington.
Special Thanks
• Washington State Potato Commission• Washington State Department of Agriculture• Western Washington Agriculture Association• Clear Water Supply• Skagit Farmers Supply• WSU NWREC• Viva Farms• Skagit County
Questions/Comments
Don McMoran Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension
Faculty County Director
WSU Skagit County Extension 11768 Westar Lane, Suite A
Burlington, WA (360) 757-7136
dmcmoran@wsu.edu
top related