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Posts Tagged: Water
Hands-on learning, training make irrigation best practices accessible
UCCE advisors provide free training to nursery and greenhouse staff
Working as an irrigator seems straightforward at first: if you're not watering plants by hand, you're building and managing systems that can do the watering. What could be complex about a job like this?
University of California Cooperative Extension advisors Bruno Pitton and Gerardo “Gerry” Spinelli can tell you – or better yet, show you.
Pitton and Spinelli, members of the UC Nursery and Floriculture Alliance, offer a one-day technical training in irrigation best-management practices for irrigators working with containerized nursery plants. The comprehensive curriculum – developed with input from two focus groups of California nursery and greenhouse managers – aims to improve irrigation efficiency, reduce water consumption and improve plant health.
Thanks to funding from the California Department of Food and Agriculture, nursery and greenhouse managers in California can request this training for free and advisors like Pitton and Spinelli will travel to conduct the training on-site.
The complexities of irrigation incorporate concepts like evapotranspiration, salinity, irrigation uniformity, capillarity, pressure and flow rate. Spinelli, UCCE production horticulture advisor for San Diego County, said that irrigators have a critical role in the industry because of all the things they must consider to do their job well.
“Our goal is to support irrigators and help them become more confident decision-makers and experts in the field,” said Pitton, UCCE environmental horticulture advisor for Placer and Nevada counties.
Interactive sessions reveal nuances of irrigation
The training consists of a presentation on fundamental concepts for managing irrigation in container plant production and hands-on demonstrations. “In the nursery industry, where precise irrigation is crucial for the health and productivity of our crops, having access to expert knowledge is invaluable,” said Mauricio de Almeida, general manager of Burchell Nursery in Fresno County. “The training's practical demonstrations and real-world examples made the concepts easy to grasp, allowing our team to implement the strategies immediately.”
For one of the demonstrations, the advisors used sponges to model soil saturation when water is applied. Ana, an irrigator at Burchell Nursery, appreciated the step-by-step explanations, which helped her better understand how water pressure differs in drip irrigation, sprinklers and watering by hand. Doing this out in the field, as an example of how irrigation audits occur, was extremely helpful for attendees.
Francisco “Frank” Anguiano, production manager of Boething Treeland Farms in Ventura County, observed his team of irrigators as they learned how to measure distribution uniformity with water collected from sprinklers. “This training isn't just about irrigation and plant management. It's also about savings, both water and costs. Who doesn't want to save money and use less water?” Anguiano said.
Reducing the barriers to learning
Many of the irrigators attending these trainings gained their skills and knowledge from life experience rather than a college education, explained Peter van Horenbeeck, vice president of Boething Treeland Farms. “It's important that my irrigators learn from external experts, but it's more important that they can relate to them. And that's what Gerry was able to do,” van Horenbeeck added.
Regarding content and delivery, and referencing what he learned from the focus groups, Pitton wanted the trainings to be easy to understand and engaging. For example, scientists use the term “matric potential” to describe how soil particles hold water against gravity, which is the same as capillary rise. “We demonstrate this concept with a paper towel held vertically and dipped into a beaker of dyed water that it absorbs,” said Pitton.
Many of the irrigators in attendance agreed that hands-on activities and visual aids were instrumental to their learning. Charli, another irrigator at Burchell Nursery, shared that the in-field examples and hosting the training in Spanish kept them engaged.To address language barriers, Spinelli has been conducting trainings in Spanish – a common request from many nurseries with eager participants.
Maintaining state regulations and partnerships
Although the technical aspects of irrigation management are key elements of the training, regulatory compliance is also addressed. Recognizing the finite availability of water and the environmental impact of pollution, the advisors highlight irrigation and fertilizer management and runoff prevention as critical components of compliance.
Under Ag Order 4.0 administered by California's Water Resources Control Board, growers must comply with stricter policies regulating nitrogen use. As irrigators learn from the training, better control of irrigation can certainly make a difference.
Deanna van Klaveren, chief operating officer and co-owner of Generation Growers in Stanislaus County, said the most valuable aspect of the training was learning on-site and completing an audit on her own systems. “It is so much more impactful to have trainings like this on-site where our staff can learn and then go out into the nursery and actually put it into practice while the presenters/experts are there,” van Klaveren said.
Pitton and Spinelli described the partnership between UC Cooperative Extension and CDFA as “symbiotic” given the technical and educational capacity of UCCE advisors who conduct research and extension.
“It's a great example of how the two institutions can collaborate successfully. Californians are the ones who win because they get a service for free,” added Spinelli. “And it's rewarding for us to see so much interest in what we, as advisors, do.”
If you are a nursery or greenhouse operator and would like to request the Irrigation Best Management Practices training, please contact the UCCE advisor assigned to the region that corresponds with your nursery location below.
Northern California
- Jessie Godfrey, UCCE environmental horticulture and water resources management advisor, jmgodfrey@ucanr.edu
Central Coast (Santa Cruz County to Ventura County)
- Emma Volk, UCCE production horticulture advisor, evolk@ucanr.edu
San Joaquin Valley
- Chris Shogren, UCCE environmental horticulture advisor, cjshogren@ucanr.edu
Southern California
- Grant Johnson, UCCE urban agriculture technology advisor, gejohnson@ucanr.edu
Spanish Trainings Only
- Gerry Spinelli, UCCE production horticulture advisor, gspinelli@ucanr.edu
Names in the News
Wheeler-Dykes returns to roots with tree crops, weeds
“I was born and raised on a small prune and walnut farm in Gridley, in nearby Butte County, and am very excited to be putting down roots close to family,” said Wheeler-Dykes, who started in this role on June 1.
Covering olives, prunes, walnuts and almonds, with an emphasis on weed management research in those cropping systems, Wheeler-Dykes is spending her first months on the job getting to know the region's growers and broader agricultural community.
“I hope to really form great relationships with the clientele in my counties, providing a resource that they can trust and rely on,” she said. “I want to serve as an advocate for our region in developing research and finding answers for the unique systems we have here. My interests are alternative weed management in orchard systems and canopy management, but I look forward to hearing what other areas need to be addressed.”
After earning both a bachelor's in crop science and business management and a master's in entomology (with a focus on integrated pest management in tree crops) from UC Davis, Wheeler-Dykes has conducted extensive agricultural research.
“I'm excited to bring those experiences to the Sac Valley as the newest advisor,” she said, encouraging growers and producers in the region to contact her with the challenges they are facing.
Based at the UCCE Glenn County office in Orland, Wheeler-Dykes can be reached at bawheeler@ucanr.edu and (530) 884-9313.
Castiaux expands role with Small Farms and Specialty Crops Program
Aiming to build capacity to address growing challenges across California agriculture, she is excited to continue with the Small Farms and Specialty Crops Program in Fresno, where she has been working for the last 3½ years as a project manager for the Healthy Soils Program.
Castiaux earned a Master of Science in conservation leadership from Colorado State University and a bachelor's degree in ecology and evolutionary biology from University of California, Santa Cruz. She has eight years of practical cross-cultural experience in agriculture, teaching and implementing climate-smart agricultural practices and summarizing complex topics in a more simplified form to various diverse audiences.
Fluent in Spanish, Castiaux was a bilingual lead educator for community-based participatory climate change resiliency programs for sugar cane farmers in Paraguay and coffee farmers in Mexico. She also worked with the California Strawberry Commission as a grower education specialist for three years teaching farmworkers and growers food safety, practices and research.
Castiaux is based in Fresno County and is best reached by email at mjcastiaux@ucanr.edu.
Angeles brings weed expertise to San Joaquin Valley
“I was born and raised in Tulare County and have been working in agriculture my entire life,” he said.
After receiving his bachelor's degree in plant science from Fresno State, Angeles conducted pesticide efficacy trials at the DuPont Research Farm in Madera. He later earned a master's in plant science from Fresno State, writing his thesis under the supervision of weed science professor Anil Shrestha and retired UCCE advisor Kurt Hembree.
An employee of UCCE for the past six years, Angeles worked with a pair of emeritus UCCE academics, Steve Wright and Bob Hutmacher.
Currently, Angeles is talking with growers, pest control advisers and other farm advisors on the pressing weed management issues across the region.
“One of my main goals is to find alternative control methods for some of the herbicide-resistant and invasive weeds that are a problem in different agricultural crops,” he said.
Based in Tulare, Angeles can be reached at jaangeles@ucanr.edu and (559) 684-3300.
Johnson joins UC ANR as urban ag tech advisor
Johnson provides unbiased, research-driven information to people working in urban agriculture, with a focus on controlled environments such as greenhouses. His clientele is interested in adopting technologies that can improve plant production, ranging from nurseries and commercial growers to community members managing local gardens.
In his newly created role, Johnson's efforts will influence the scope of work for urban agricultural technology advisors to come. One of the challenges that he anticipates is “focusing knowledge” or choosing a specific problem to prioritize.
“I'm really interested in irrigation, soil and plant culture. There's a lot to consider and there's a lot that can be done,” said Johnson.
Before he was hired as an advisor, Johnson worked as a staff research associate for five years at the South Coast Research and Extension Center in Irvine under Darren Haver, director of UC ANR's Research and Extension Center system.
“I learned a lot while I was an SRA, but there was only so much that I could do. I wanted more freedom to explore as a researcher, so I decided I wanted to become an advisor,” Johnson said, adding that his career goal inspired him to return to school.
Johnson earned a master's degree in horticulture and agronomy from UC Davis, as well as a bachelor's degree in biology from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
One of the exciting aspects of the job, according to Johnson, is the ability to get creative and explore new territory. “I have some fun research interests, like how to grow wasabi or maximize saffron production using hydroponics,” Johnson explained.
“I'm interested in the kind of things that might be culturally important or significant to certain communities, and how they can be made more affordable and accessible,” he added.
Johnson is based out of the South Coast Research and Extension Center and can be reached at gejohnson@ucanr.edu.
Cohen joins UCCE as entomology advisor in Ventura County
Cohen earned her Ph.D. from UC Santa Cruz, where she studied how to develop agricultural practices to promote a diversity of beneficial insects and ecosystem services. She then conducted postdoctoral research at UC Riverside, where she studied pollinator health in Yolo County sunflowers.
Her research has been presented at national and international conferences, published in more than 14 peer-reviewed publications, and shared through blogs, factsheets and field days with her local grower community.
Prior to joining UC ANR, Cohen worked as a commercial horticulture agent with the Institute for Food and Agricultural Sciences at the University of Florida. This summer she will work with industry and university partners across Ventura County to evaluate the needs of the local growers and design an applied research and extension program.
Cohen is excited to address a myriad of issues related to pest management, including identification and monitoring, pest biology and phenology, crop loss assessment, pesticide resistance prevention, and evaluation of integrated pest management methods with an emphasis on biological and cultural controls. She is eager to conduct this work in regional crops such as berries, avocado, citrus and more.
“Ventura County is an important place to advance agricultural practices that reduce economic damage from pests while minimizing impacts on the environment, farmworkers and consumers,” said Cohen.
Cohen is based out of the UCCE office in Ventura and can be reached at hcohen@ucanr.edu. You can also follow her on Instagram @beescientista.
Tang joins UCCE in Napa County to work on water issues
Tang will be developing water resiliency strategies for stakeholders and diverse ecosystems across Napa County. In addition, he will design and implement creative research, acquire and share technical knowledge, and promote stewardship of surface and groundwater resources to meet the needs of competing users and natural systems.
This summer, Tang will collaborate with growers, UC Davis researchers and UC ANR colleagues to measure the crop coefficient of Napa grape vineyards.
“This work aims to support groundwater sustainability planning with water budget calculations and to provide crucial information for irrigation management,” he said.
Prior to joining UC ANR, Tang earned a Ph.D. in soil science from Pennsylvania State University, where his work focused on the ecohydrology of oak-maple forest. Fluent in Mandarin, he also holds a bachelor's degree in hydrogeology from Nanjing University in China. Tang took a one-year training at North Carolina State University as a postdoctoral scholar working on large-scale nutrient modeling.
He is looking forward to applying his experience and learning new skills in his new role.
“I am very excited about this new journey,” said Tang. “Water problems are pressing, important and interesting.”
Tang is based at the UCCE office in Napa and can be reached at qictang@ucanr.edu, LinkedIn and Twitter @qicheng_tang.
Water Talk podcast wins Conservation Innovation Award
The Water Talk Podcast Team received the 2023 Conservation Innovation Award by the Soil and Water Conservation Society, an international organization based in Ankeny, Iowa.
Water Talk is hosted by Faith Kearns, California Institute for Water Resources academic coordinator, and UC Cooperative Extension water specialists Mallika Nocco and Samuel Sandoval Solis, with production support from UC Davis students Victoria Roberts and Paloma Herrera-Thomas.
The goal of Water Talk is to bring communities across California together to talk about water issues, including climate change, scarcity and access.
The podcast's fourth season just wrapped, and the hosts have interviewed a wide range of guests. They have talked with UCCE colleagues Leslie Roche and Dan Macon about livestock water use, Angel Fernandez-Bou and Jose Pablo Ortiz Partida of the Union of Concerned Scientists about water equity, journalist Ian James of the Los Angeles Times about reporting on contentious water issues and Laurel Firestone of the State Water Resources Control Board discussing water governance, leadership and policy implementation and many others.
The award will officially be presented to the team at the SWCS International Annual Conference in Des Moines, Iowa, on Aug. 8.
Water resources research proposals due Feb. 28
The California Institute for Water Resources is pleased to announce its 2023-25 Request for Proposals for junior investigators.
Funded projects are slated to begin Sept. 1. Please note that the funding period may fluctuate and is based on budget appropriations.
The deadline for submission is Feb. 28 at 5 p.m.
Visit the CIWR website to download the RFP (ciwr.ucanr.edu/Request_for_Proposals/), including budget request and justification forms.
Doug Parker retires from bicoastal career of water research
Working to solve California water challenges, Doug Parker coordinates water-related research, extension and education efforts across the University of California system, other academic institutions and government agencies. Since 2011, Parker has served as director of the California Institute for Water Resources for UC Agriculture and Natural Resources.
From 2011 to 2018, he also led UC ANR's Strategic Initiative on Water Quantity, Quality and Security. After more than 30 years solving agricultural water-related issues in California and Maryland, Parker will retire July 1.
“Doug has been instrumental in the implementation of some of California's new state programs for those who produce our food,” said Amrith Gunasekara, director of science and research for the California Farm Bureau Federation's California Bountiful Foundation.
“He has handled multiple contracts with the state totaling several million dollars, which brought existing and new technologies to farmers and ranchers and helped the state in meeting some of its climate change goals. He put together a boots-on-the-ground, climate-smart agriculture team and served as a subject-matter expert for many years on a scientific advisory body at the state,” said Gunasekara, former director of the Office of Environmental Farming & Innovation for the California Department of Food and Agriculture.
CDFA partnered with Parker and UC ANR to help farmers use the State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program, Healthy Soils Program, Dairy Digester Research and Development Program and Climate-Smart Agriculture Technical Assistance through UCCE.
Over his career, Parker has overseen water research and education projects totaling over $42 million. Connecting people has been the part of the job that he has most enjoyed “to help bring science to bear on California water solutions.”
“When I first got here in October of 2011, I spent my first six months researching who was working on water across the state, mostly at the UC system, but elsewhere as well, then going and visiting them, finding out what they were working on and basically building a database,” Parker said. “Having that knowledge allowed me to go to work with CDFA and the Department of Water Resources and say, ‘Oh you're having a problem with this? I know somebody at UC San Diego. Let me connect you two and let you work on this problem together.' That has always been the most rewarding part of this job, making those connections.”
In 2019, through a collaboration between the Strategic Growth Council, CDFA and UC ANR, Parker assembled a team of 10 community educators to provide technical assistance and outreach to promote climate-smart agriculture incentive programs. The climate-smart projects have reduced greenhouse gases equivalent to removing roughly 7,000 gasoline-powered cars from the road.
With his affable personality and ability to simply explain California's complex water issues, Parker has frequently been interviewed by news reporters. He has authored more than 100 articles, reports, books or book chapters and delivered over 230 presentations.
“I've always been interested in water,” said Parker, noting he wrote his bachelor's thesis on New Melones Dam. He earned his bachelor's degrees in economics and environmental studies at UC Santa Barbara and Ph.D. in agricultural and resource economics at UC Berkeley, then began his career at University of Maryland's Center for Public Issues in Biotechnology in 1990 studying the economic benefits of innovation in the burgeoning agricultural biotechnology industry before focusing on water issues.
Parker, who grew up in the Bay Area and San Diego area, returned to the West Coast from 1993 to 1997 to work as a UC Cooperative Extension economist at UC Berkeley studying approaches to dealing with drought and water supply shortages.
His analysis of the California Irrigation Management Information System, or CIMIS, showed that growers using the system run by the state Department of Water Resources reduced agricultural water use by 100,000 acre-feet per year and generated almost $65 million per year in statewide benefits. As a result of the study, the CIMIS program was expanded across the state. A recent study found that CIMIS enables growers to reduce water use by 20% annually and generates $150 million to $422 million in benefits per year.
In addition to his university service, Parker served on the board of the national Universities Council on Water Resources from 2014 to 2021. As UCOWR president in 2016-17, he initiated a strategic planning process. When Parker received the “Friend of UCOWR Award” at the council's annual conference held June 14–16 in Greenville, South Carolina, the presenter noted, “Doug's extraordinary leadership, cooperative spirit and sense of humor helped his cohort and successive UCOWR Board members and staff to accomplish major Strategic Plan goals.”
“Doug was incredibly easy to work with – a wealth of knowledge and walking science dictionary, and tireless problem solver, someone who brought people together with a vision and a great leader,” Gunasekara said. “He will be surely missed and have big boots to fill.”
Even as he enters retirement, Parker is launching a project with Khaled Bali, UC Cooperative Extension specialist, to help growers prevent nitrogen from leaching into groundwater. He plans to spend a year helping the UC Cooperative Extension specialists, advisors and six staff research assistants who will work with growers across the state. With funds from the project, growers will be able to buy equipment such as flow meters to improve management and efficiency of their irrigation and fertilization systems.
Strategic Initiative Brief: Dahlke named Water Strategic Initiative leader
Following an open call, Helen Dahlke has agreed to take on the role of leader for the Strategic Initiative for Water Quality, Quantity and Security.
Dahlke is associate professor in integrated hydrologic sciences in the UC Davis Department of Land, Air and Water Resources. She brings a rich history of experience having completed her undergraduate and master's degrees in her native Germany before earning her Ph.D. at Cornell University. After her Ph.D., she did postdoctoral work at Stockholm University in Sweden before joining UC Davis in 2013.
Dahlke's current research interests include surface water – groundwater interaction, water resources management, vadose zone transport processes, and applications of DNA nanotechnology in hydrology. She comes with a broad appreciation of the multiple roles for addressing issues facing water across the state from the mountains to the sea. One of her main research efforts focuses on testing the feasibility of using agricultural fields as recharge sites for groundwater replenishment.
“We welcome and thank Helen for adding this new role to her ongoing activities,” said Mark Bell, vice provost for strategic initiatives and statewide programs. “The SI leaders are the champions for the broad umbrellas of work across the organization.”
The Strategic Initiatives help people connect while helping unify, communicate and advocate for UC ANR's work across the state. The SI leaders are part of Program Council, which provides input for programmatic policy and direction for the organization.
