Survey of Container Nursery Irrigation Practices in Georgia

Garber, Melvin P.; Ruter, John M.; Midcap, James T.; Bondari, K.

doi:10.21273/horttech.12.4.727

Cited by 14 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…Specifically, the frequency of runoff collection doubled (11% to 22%), the recycling of runoff water doubled (6% to 14%) and run-off water-quality monitoring (12% to 17%) and record keeping (8% to 17%) increased. The adoption of runoff management practices was low compared with surveys in Alabama, Georgia and Florida, which found that 75%, 45% and 50% of nurseries, respectively, collected runoff (Fain et al 2000;Garber et al 2002;Schoene et al 2006).…”

Section: Management Practicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Nurseries surveyed in Southern california adopt best practices for water quality

Mangiafico¹,

Newman²,

Mochizuki³

et al. 2008

Cal Ag

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Section: Management Practicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some studies have found considerable adoption of selected management practices by nurseries. For example, surveys of U.S. container production nurseries in Alabama and Georgia found that about half or more captured runoff water, and more than half used vegetative filter strips (Fain et al 2000;Garber et al 2002). Other practices may be less commonly adopted.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Nurseries surveyed in Southern california adopt best practices for water quality

Mangiafico¹,

Newman²,

Mochizuki³

et al. 2008

Cal Ag

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Section: Irrigation Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Growers reported plant needbased watering as a BMP (Garber et al, 2002;Mack et al, 2017). Garber et al (2002) surveyed Georgia growers and found that the frequency of growers that use need-based watering (17%) was equal to that of water recycling as a water conservation practice. Mack et al (2017) found that plant needs-based watering was rated 8.3/10 on a Likert scale of use (least used = 0, most used = 10) among surveyed Virginia growers.…”

Section: Irrigation Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Adoption of BMPs can help growers maintain production efficiency while reducing resource use and preventing potential nutrient runoff from being discharged to protected waters (Bilderback et al, 2013). Survey results show that growers are willing to proactively adopt BMPs to reduce environmental impacts (Fain et al, 2000;Garber et al, 2002;Mack, 2017), particularly if adoption also can be used as a tool for market differentiation. Nursery BMP guides, including Bilderback et al, (2013), outlined BMPs that reduce or prevent nonpoint source pollution or waste from entering surface waters.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Validation of Nursery and Greenhouse Best Management Practices through Scientific Evidence

Mack

Owen

Niemiera

et al. 2019

hortte

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Nursery and greenhouse growers use a variety of practices known as best management practices (BMPs) to reduce sediment, nutrient, and water losses from production beds and to improve efficiency. Although these BMPs are almost universally recommended in guidance manuals, or required by regulation in limited instances, little information is available that links specific BMPs to the scientific literature that supports their use and quantifies their effectiveness. A previous survey identified the most widely used water management, runoff, and fertilizer-related BMPs by Virginia nursery and greenhouse operators. Applicable literature was reviewed herein and assessed for factors that influence the efficacy of selected BMPs and metrics of BMP effectiveness, such as reduced water use and fertilizers to reduce sediment, nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) loads in runoff. BMPs investigated included vegetative zones (VZs), irrigation management strategies, and controlled-release fertilizers (CRFs). Use of vegetative buffers decreased average runoff N 41%, P 67%, and total suspended solids 91%. Nitrogen, P, and sediment removal efficacy increased with vegetative buffer width. Changes in production practices increased water application efficiency >20% and decreased leachate or runoff volume >40%, reducing average N and P loss by 28% and 14%, respectively. By linking BMPs to scientific articles and reports, individual BMPs can be validated and are thus legitimized from the perspective of growers and environmental regulators. With current and impending water use and runoff regulations, validating the use and performance of these BMPs could lead to increased adoption, helping growers to receive credit for actions that have been or will be taken, thus minimizing water use, nutrient loss, and potential pollution from nursery and greenhouse production sites.

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Irrigation return flow and nutrient movement mitigation by irrigation method for container plant production

et al. 2021

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The production of nursery crops demands substantial irrigation, with overhead irrigation the most common method of application; however, this method is inefficient with respect to water used and the precision with which it is applied, resulting in the generation of irrigation return flow and concomitant agrochemical export. Microirrigation systems such as individual container spray stakes provide water directly to crops thus applying water more efficiently than overhead systems but may be more costly in terms of installation (smaller pipes and components; however, a greater quantity of pipes and components) and maintenance. The study was conducted at the Michigan State University Research Nursery, where four ornamental shrub taxa were produced in #3 (11.3 L) containers using a control with 19 mm overhead irrigation per day and a conventional phosphorus fertilizer (Conv) (19-2.16-6.64), compared with four treatments: a static, daily (2 L per container) spray stake irrigation (SS2Lpd) and conventional phosphorus fertilizer; a static daily (2 L per container) spray stake irrigation and low phosphorus fertilizer (LowP) (19-1.62-6.64); spray stake irrigation based on substrate volumetric water content (θ) (up to 2.4 L per container) (SSθ) and conventional fertilizer; and spray stake irrigation based on θ (up to 2.4 L per container) and low phosphorus fertilizer. Spray stakes reduced irrigation by 76-80% compared to the overhead control, and reduced the generation of both surface and subsurface irrigation return flow (IRF), mitigating the movement of both N and P (over 98% reduction in surface IRF). Plant growth index (GI) was measured on 12 June 2017 and 6 October 2017, followed by a destructive harvest to measure shoot dry weight, and shoot nutritional content. For all four taxa, microirrigation systems were capable of producing plants of equivalent GI and shoot nutritional concentration; however, plants receiving the low phosphorus fertilizer produced less shoot biomass. Microirrigation is effective in reducing water use, water lost to IRF (particularly surface IRF), and associated fertilizer movement, while maintaining crop size.

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Survey of Container Nursery Irrigation Practices in Georgia

Cited by 14 publications

References 3 publications

Nurseries surveyed in Southern california adopt best practices for water quality

Nurseries surveyed in Southern california adopt best practices for water quality

Validation of Nursery and Greenhouse Best Management Practices through Scientific Evidence

Irrigation return flow and nutrient movement mitigation by irrigation method for container plant production

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