Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/60127
contain enough solids to require filtration. Shacklette, who originally came to Michigan from Colorado and is experi- enced in irrigation systems, thinks this system will work well for food processing plants in any environment anywhere. "The Agricultural Wastewater Disper- sal System can be expanded to many other sites," he said. "It provides a very practical, affordable, and common-sense solution to the previously very difficult problem of how to manage agricultural wastewater and put it to a beneficial use rather than create an environmental problem." Food safety There is also a food safety aspect to drip irrigation. Since no effluent water is sprayed onto foliage or fruit, there are no contamination issues, Shacklette said. Unlike sprinkler application, where water slams the ground, compacting it and causing surface runoff, subsurface irrigation lets the soil act as a huge absorption system and biofilter, he said. Growing plants and trees can benefit from the water and the nutrients it contains. The loading rate needs to be designed to fit the soil type, and the system is com- puter controlled to dispense the correct Diagram shows wastewater disposal layout as it would be installed in a field or orchard. NEW FOR 2012 FirmYield Pollen's IMPROVED Lightweight ATV Pollen Applicator amount of water, Shacklette said. Trees must be able to absorb the nutrients in the water or they can leach down below the root zone. System components The dispersal system includes several components. First are the pretreatment lagoons, where oxygen is added to provide aerobic, odor-free conditions for breakdown of solids in the wastewater. Next are the computer controls and pumps that move the water in a controlled dosing cycle. Filters are very important, Shacklette said, to keep the drip tubes from plugging. The drip system in the field or orchards is divided into zones, to which water entry is controlled by valves. The final part is the underground drip lines that are buried from one to two feet deep. The lines contain pressure- compensating emitters. "One of the biggest advantages to the subsurface drip system is the ability to provide the dose and rest cycles that facil- itate wastewater infiltration into the soil," Shacklette said. "Timed doses allow for the even distribution of the liquid waste throughout the day or night." • CONTROLLED POLLINATION HIGH QUALITY POLLEN and the Means to Apply It! for… • Apples • Pears • Cherries • Apricots • Plums •Increases the rate of pollen germination. •Increases honeybee activity •Effective with ATV pollen application or BeeBoster pollen inserts. WASHINGTON WASHINGTON D&M Chemical Wilson Irrigation Michael Ellingson 509.678.5750 509.453.9983 30 APRIL 1, 2012 GOOD FRUIT GROWER CALIFORNIA Tom Majors Central Valley, CA 559.287.8900 OREGON Tim Polehn The Dalles, OR 541.340.9238 Phone 509/453-4656 • Fax: 509/469-3689 www.firmyieldpollen.com OREGON Blue Mountain Growers Dennis Burkes 541.938.3391 509.520.0686 MICHIGAN Alpers Tree Sales Suttons Bay, MI 231.633.8358 N. EUROPE Fruit Consult Jan Peeters 0031.653.410.921 www.goodfruit.com