Fruit Bites for June 7-9 Water Management

BL: Welcome back to another “Fruit Bites” brought to you by Valent U.S.A. With us again is Valent’s Allison Walston. And this week Allison, we are talking about water management in irrigated crops.

AW: So did the snow in April help our drought situation in eastern OR & WA? Climatologists say a little bit but all PNW states are behind in the normal snowpack amounts. This means less water availability in the summer and fall.

BL: so how does this impact fruit growing areas?

AW: Water resources have been a topic for a while. Many fruit growers have switched to drip or micro-sprinklers for more efficient irrigation methods. But looking to the future, I asked Valent’s precision ag manager, Chris Read, what upcoming technology is the single largest advantage to growers? He said, efficient water management through technology driven tactics. That includes remote sensing, aerial imagery, monitoring and modeling. Eventually tailoring water use and efficiency to the plant.

BL: Well, thanks Allison. Join us again next time for Fruit Bites, brought to you by Valent. Until then, I’m Bob Larson.