- (Strategic Initiative) Water Quality, Quantity, and Security
- Author: Ali Montazar
UC ANR research helps Southern California farmers conserve water by an average of 15% and encourages others to make region-specific crop management and irrigation decisions, contributing to UC ANR's public value of protecting California's natural resources.
The Issue
Water scarcity will become a more significant concern in the Colorado River Basin due to altered weather patterns and multi-year droughts. Knowledge of the evapotranspiration (ET) of crops produced in Southern California will be critical to better managing limited water resources. Accurate information on crop water use and crop coefficient (Kc) is an immediate need for on-farm water conservation...
- Author: Ali Montazar
UC ANR research on drip irrigation shows potential to reduce downy mildew incidence while improving water quality and resource-use efficiency, contributing to increased water-use efficiency and improved food safety.
The Issue
Spinach is a leafy green quick-maturing, cool-season vegetable crop. Downy mildew on spinach is a widespread and very destructive disease in California. It is the most significant disease in spinach production, causing crop losses in all areas where spinach is produced. Most conventional and organic spinach fields are irrigated by solid-set or hand-move sprinklers. However, overhead irrigation may contribute to the speed and severity of downy mildew...
