Project Overview
Commodities
- Additional Plants: trees
Practices
- Crop Production: irrigation, water management
- Education and Training: extension, on-farm/ranch research
Proposal abstract:
During the 2023 growing season, Michigan experienced significant drought conditions and erratic precipitation. Growers reported high rates of tree mortality on recently planted trees, especially under non-irrigated conditions. Young trees often have small, poorly developed root systems and are the most vulnerable to drought stress, resulting in tree mortality and poor growth. Irrigation has been shown to improve survivability and increase growth of young trees. However, excess irrigation wastes water resources, increases nutrient leaching and soil erosion, and promotes suitable environments for Phytophthora root rot, a significant pathogen leading to tree mortality. Proper irrigation management is critical to improve the sustainability of the Christmas tree industry amongst a changing climate. Often, growers use personal observations to schedule irrigation events. A commonly accepted viewpoint is irrigation events of 1 inch per week are sufficient in the absence of rainfall. However, there is limited evidence to support this value and determining the actual amounts of irrigation applied can be difficult. The goal of this project is to partner with 4 Christmas tree growers to demonstrate and evaluate the effects of irrigation management tools, including weather-based irrigation scheduling, soil moisture monitoring equipment, and automated irrigation control systems for use in Christmas tree production.
Project objectives from proposal:
Objective 1: Train and familiarize Christmas tree growers with various irrigation tools such as weather-based irrigation scheduling, soil moisture sensor monitoring units, and automated irrigation systems.
Objective 2: Evaluate the effects of irrigation management tools in newly planted Christmas trees on survivability, irrigation water use efficiency, and Phytophthora root rot presence.
Objective 3: Share the results and grower’s experience of irrigation tools and technology with other Christmas tree growers through meetings (panel discussion) and publications.