Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/60127
Underground drip irrigation serves Dispose of wastewater and irrigate trees. by Richard Lehnert W ater is plentiful in the fruit-growing area along Lake Michigan's eastern shore, so it's not scarcity that's an issue. The prob- lem is with some water that's been made slightly dirty but is perfectly useful if handled right. That's led some fruit growers and fruit processors to make double use of waste- water through subsurface trickle irrigation systems installed in fruit orchards. The system uses water that would otherwise be wasted, to irrigate. As Beau Shacklette tells it, a fruit- processing company approached the company he works for, Trickl-Eez Com- pany in St. Joseph, Michigan, wanting an "One important requirement was that the disposal system be able to operate year round." —Beau Shacklette onsite system for disposal of wastewater from their processing plant. Trickl-Eez, working with an environmental engineer- ing company, developed the Agricultural Wastewater Dispersal System that Trickl- Eez now sells and installs. Shacklette, the regional sales manager for Trickl-Eez in Traverse City, Michigan, has installed systems at four fruit- processing companies and for a few grow- ers since getting state Department of Natural Resources approval for the system four years ago. The fruit-processing companies need to get rid of wastewater they have used to cool, wash, or handle fruit or vegetables, Shacklette said. The water contains low levels of soluble solids and nutrients. The companies are located away from munic- ipal sewage disposal systems and needed either to install their own waste treatment plants or come up with methods acceptable to the state. On-land disposal of such water through irrigation is legal, but in north- west Michigan there is a long winter sea- son when the land is frozen and won't accept surface-applied water. Putting the water into the ground below the frost layer solves that problem. The orchardists, mostly growers of tart cherries, use cold well water to cool fruit during harvest in July. While this water is not considered a waste requiring treat- ment, there is a lot of it leaving cooling pads and trying to find its way some- where. "Growers know it's just a matter of time until they have to contain and dispose of the water that runs off their cooling pads," Shacklette said. Trickle irrigation is growing as a prac- tice, especially in young cherry orchards, so the water has a use. 28 APRIL 1, 2012 GOOD FRUIT GROWER www.goodfruit.com The system Trickl-Eez developed is a grid of underground drip irrigation tubing that runs down the rows and alleys of fruit orchards. Some of the processing compa- nies are growers themselves, so they have their own orchards, or there are orchards close by they can access. In some cases, they've installed the systems in open fields devoted to production of hay. What's good for the orchard is bad for the family tree. Delegate® WG insecticide from Dow AgroSciences uses an innovative mode of action to deliver fast knockdown and long-lasting control of codling moths — along with leafrollers and a broad spectrum of other insects — before they damage pome fruit. With Delegate, there won't be any pest reunions in the orchard this season. Just high-quality apples. Science. Yield. Success.™