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two purposes "One important requirement was that the disposal system be able to operate year round," Shacklette said. "A sub - surface drip irrigation system was chosen as the best delivery system to move lagoon discharge water to adjacent fruit orchards where the trees can benefit from the nutrients in the water as well as receiving beneficial irrigation water." Irrigation Beau Shacklette Allen Steimel, the plant general man- ager for Leelanau Fruit Company near Suttons Bay, about 20 miles north of Tra- verse City, said his company installed a four-acre system a year ago as an expan- sion for their on-land sprinkler irrigation disposal system. Maraschino cherries "We process brined cherries for maraschinos," he said, "so we work year around using stored cherries. We needed a way to dispose of water during the winter time." The water is only marginally dirty since it's used to move cherries that contain some residual brine solution. The actual spent brine is disposed of by injection into deep wells. In the summer, water used in the pit- ting operation contains more nutrients, and that is spray irrigated since frozen ground is not an issue. The company needs to dispose of about 22 million gallons of water a year, and most of that is sprinkler irrigated onto land that grows hay for horses, Steimel said. Other systems Shacklette has installed vary in size from 5 to 16 acres. When installed in existing orchards, he said, usually three lines are run down each alley. Lines run on both sides of a tree row, about 30 inches from the trees, and one down the center of the alley. In the fruit area in northwest Michigan, www.DelegateInsecticide.com 800-258-3033 ®Trademark of Dow AgroSciences LLC ©2010 Dow AgroSciences LLC. Always read and follow label directions. M38-359-001 (11/10) BR 010-42145 DAAGDELE0054 soil is often sandy to gravelly, and trees, especially young trees, benefit greatly from irrigation, and many growers use trickle irrigation in young orchards. To make the drip irrigation disposal system work, water has to be relatively free from solids or the emitters will clog. In the processing plant systems he designs, Shacklette likes to have two lagoons, linked in series, that serve as set- tling ponds that remove much of the organic matter. Then the water is pumped through filters before getting into the drip lines. Water from cooling pads does not www.goodfruit.com GOOD FRUIT GROWER APRIL 1, 2012 29