Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/155925
ogy (CIT), and has also been used effectively in avocado groves in Southern California. Here's how the device works, according to Matz. The EcoFlow water conditioners change the molecules in the water so that the water and the elements dissolved in it will penetrate the soil more quickly, decreasing soil clumping and salt retention – even decreasing soil salinity over time. The device makes it possible to grow the same crop with water savings of 15% or more, and to decrease chloride buildup in the root zone. It has been used for golf courses in Nevada, he said, where the conditioner is subsidized by the Nevada government to the tune of $50,000 in rebates for installation. The California metropolitan authorities between Los Angeles and San Diego are also issuing credits to homeowners who use the products, making them essentially free to install. solved salts percolate more easily through the soil without clumping or standing in the root zone. The result is that you can use relatively hard water to leach the soil where it would otherwise build up. The company said it can produce the desired effect in water pipes up to 16 inches in diameter, with no flow loss. The technology, Matz said, is based on a patent assigned to Morrill (for a more elaborate explanation of how the device works, see www.ecoflow.co). The agricultural benefits alleging water savings and salinity amelioration are relatively new claims, based on studies conducted at the "Bird Gard kept the birds out all the way through harvest... and probably paid for themselves the first week they were installed" Jim Bernau, Founder/Winegrower Willamette Valley Vineyards, Turner, OR THE SCIENCE The science behind the water conditioners is, by some accounts, murky (see sidebar on page 50). There are many kinds of water conditioners in the marketplace, from old-school salt water softeners, to devices based on magnets and electrified water chargers. Most were designed primarily to decrease scale buildup in pipes, hoses and boilers, an obvious issue of concern in irrigation lines. Morrill's website claims that unlike some competing products, its conditioners require no additional input of electricity and are carefree, meaning they may eventually break down, but they don't contain material that needs to be replenished, as in the case of a salt water softener. Its units pass incoming water through round, marble-like "ceramic media," which "encourage and enhance the exchange of ions." The water that comes out, according to Morrill and EcoFlow, contains particles that are all likecharged, so that they don't attract or clump together. The resulting water and disw w w. v w m media.com We GUARANTEE Bird Gard will keep birds out of your vineyard or we will refund every cent of your purchase price. Bird Gard uses bird distress calls combined with the sounds of their natural predators to drive the birds out. New random technology continually alters the timing, order and pitch of the sounds to prevent habituation. Birds leave and don't come back! Complete bird control starts at less than $120 /acre. ONE TIME COST The World Leader in Electronic Bird Control 888-332-2328 www.BirdGard.com S e p t - O c t 2 0 13 | V I N E YA R D & W I N E RY M A N A G E M E N T 49