At Southwest Purdue Ag Center (SWPAC), more than 10 inches of rain fell since July 7; over 8 inches happened since the evening of July 24. Soil water content on the unirrigated tomato/pepper/eggplant bed (12’’ under plastic mulch) increased from 10% (early July) to about 15% after 3 inches of rain on July 7-9. The…Read more about Irrigation Demonstration Update July 27, 2022 Southwest Purdue Ag Center[Read More]
Emerson Luna Espinoza
After planting on May 16, we only received 1.4 inches of rain in June. The early-setting tomatoes on plants grown on the unirrigated bed had more than 40% fruit blossom end rot (BER) (recorded on June 23). It was 3% on plants grown in a bed that received 17 irrigation events in June and 10%…Read more about Irrigation Demonstration Update — SWPAC July 13[Read More]
At Southwest Purdue Ag Center (SWPAC) and Pinney Purdue Ag Center (PPAC), we demonstrate irrigation impacts on several fruiting vegetable crops. Tomato, pepper, eggplant, watermelon, and cantaloupe are planted on plastic-covered beds with drip tapes. They grow on beds side-by-side with and without irrigation. We used two approaches to schedule irrigation, one bed is irrigated based on…Read more about Irrigation Demonstration Update June 25[Read More]
Vegetable growers understand that water deficiency decreases yield, reduces fruit marketability and quality, and, in extreme case, causes plants to die. In Indiana, we are typically not short of precipitation during growing seasons; rainfall is the primary water source. However, concentrated heavy rains and extended dry periods are not desirable for vegetable production. Severe losses…Read more about Irrigation Demonstration Update 1[Read More]