109-10

See more from this Division: C05 Turfgrass Science
See more from this Session: Ecology, Water, Soil, Cultural and Pest Management: Student Oral Competition

Monday, November 4, 2013: 3:30 PM
Tampa Convention Center, Room 21

ABSTRACT WITHDRAWN

Abstract:
Athletic fields, golf courses, and recreational areas often require excessive amounts of irrigation water to maintain adequate turfgrass playability and aesthetic quality, because most irrigation systems are outdated, improperly installed, and/or infrequently checked for water application uniformity. Efficient irrigation system design and scheduling necessitates timely and accurate site-specific information. The concept of site-specific irrigation involves the application of water to areas where needed, when needed, and at the amount needed. This results in irrigation management at a smaller scale (down to a single irrigation head or less) and is dependent on detailed site-specific information obtained through intensive site assessment to account for spatial variability. The Toro Precision™ Sense 6000 is a mobile data acquisition unit that involves multiple-sensors for the collection of soil volumetric water content (VWC, 10 cm depth) on a high density sampling grid (2.5 x 2.5 m). Geo-referenced data collected with this device is used to create maps that determine the degree of geographic spatial variability of soil attributes within a given area. Irrigation water audits have been conducted by researchers at the University of Georgia under dry soil conditions to assess head to head application uniformity, while mapping under soil saturation was conducted to determine soil texture and improve irrigation scheduling. Efficient irrigation scheduling has implications for enhancing nutrient-use efficiency by limiting the potential for leaching or runoff losses. When problem heads were identified, field investigation was conducted to determine the cause: incorrect scheduling (too wet or too dry), incipient localized dry spot (hydrophobic), poor head alignment, non-operational head, improper head spacing (too few heads), wrong nozzle sizing, sprinkler wear, nozzle wear, mismatched sprinklers, mismatched nozzles, etc. Maps were generated following adjustments in the irrigation system to determine whether improvements increased irrigation system efficiency.

See more from this Division: C05 Turfgrass Science
See more from this Session: Ecology, Water, Soil, Cultural and Pest Management: Student Oral Competition