Watering System Research Articles

Pot drip: an efficient low cost watering system

The focus of this article is very much related to Waterlines Vol.17, no.2 (October 1998) where irrigation and the small farmer was the main theme. This article examines watering systems and offers a water saving solution.

Epidemiology of enteric disease in grower.finisher pigs: a postai survey of pig producers in England

A questionnaire was sent to 238 members of local pig discussion groups in the West Midlands region of England to identify farm level fators associated with the occurrence of diarrhoea...

セル成型苗個体群の蒸発散量計測に基づく自動干満潅水システムの開発

Soil-mix moisture in a plug tray with limited-volume can be easily changed by watering and evapotranspiration from a plug sheet consisting of plug seedlings, soil mix and a tray. Thus, timing and amount of watering are most important parts of skills in plug seedling production. An automatic ebb-and-flood watering system for controlling soil-mix moisture in a plug tray was developed and applied to tomato plug sheets. A plug tray with 128 cells (2.8 L/tray volume) was used for the experiment. The plug sheets were placed on a bench with an ebb-and-flood system. A plug sheet located in the center of the bench was weighed with an electric balance by suspending it from a steel frame. When integrated evapotranspiration of the plug sheet, estimated from decrease in weight of the plug sheet, reached over a setpoint of 1 100 g/tray during the daytime, all the plug sheets were watered from below. After the water in the bench drained, the integrated evapotranspiration was reset to zero. In this way, soil-mix moisture in the plug tray was controlled accurately in a proper range for growth of the plug seedlings during the culture period.

Soil N dynamics in a natural calcareous grassland under a changing climate

This paper reports the results from a medium-term field scale investigation into the effects of simulated climate change on soil N mineralisation in a semi-natural calcareous grassland in southern England. The experiment utilised soil warming cables, automatic rainshelters and a watering system to examine two climate change scenarios: warmer winters with summer drought and warmer winters with enhanced summer rainfall. Gross N mineralisation rates in treated plots were determined, using 15N pool dilution techniques, at 6-weekly intervals over a 3-year period. Results from control plots showed a strong seasonality of mineralisation with highest rates in autumn and winter and lowest rates in summer. They suggest that water availability is the main constraint on microbial processes and plant growth. Unexpectedly, additional summer rainfall had no direct effect on N mineralisation at the time of application (summer). The treatment did, however, significantly (<0.05%) reduce rates in subsequent autumn and winter months. In contrast, summer drought significantly increased N mineralisation rates in autumn and winter. Winter warming similarly had no direct effect on N mineralisation in winter but decreased rates in spring. We hypothesise that the observed treatment effects result from changes in organic C and N input, in plant litter, resulting from the direct impact of climatic manipulation on perennial plant growth, death and senescence. This paper compares and contrasts the response to climate manipulation in the grassland system with results from other ecosystem types such as northern forests.

Questionnaire survey of proliferative enteropathy on British pig farms

Risk factors for proliferative enteropathy were investigated by means of a postal questionnaire survey of randomly selected British pig farms. Replies were received from 319 (56 per cent) of the...

Housing of sheep in cold climate

Abstract The various reasons for the housing of sheep and research on types of sheep housing vs. production performance are discussed first. The main conclusion is that sheep sheds need no insulation. Different functions are discussed in more detail: manure storage and handling, types of flooring, feeding and watering systems, space requirements and group sizes, ventilation and lighting, lambing season requirements, and auxiliary needs and rooms. Systems are discussed and an example for design is given both for humid, cool climate, and for cold, dry climate. Lastly, the economy is mentioned briefly. References are given throughout the chapter.

First Report of Phytophthora cinnamomi Root Rot, Stem, and Leaf Blight on Ivy.

Phytophthora cinnamomi was isolated from varieties of Hedera helix pot plants in 1989 in two Danish greenhouse nurseries. The symptoms were brown, rotten roots and stems, and brown areas developing from the base of the leaves. The fungus was isolated directly from roots, stems, leaves, and soil, and by baiting the nutrient solutions of the watering systems with needles of Cedrus deodara. The fungus was isolated on Phytophthora selective agar medium containing hymexazol and identified with the keys of Kröber (1) and Stamps et al. (2). The fungus was characterized by coralloid hyphal swellings, chlamydospores, lack of oogonia in single culture, and production of numerous, ovoid sporangia with a nonpapillate, wide pore. The sporangia produced many zoospores after 2 days flooding with autoclaved pond water on V8 juice agar, followed by internal proliferation. The fungus was also isolated in Norway in 1993 from ivy pot plants. The fungus was widespread in Danish and Norwegian pot plant nurseries in 1997 and caused losses in most varieties, especially at temperatures above 23°C. Effective fungicides are not available for use in Denmark and the disease is easily spread with cuttings, and through the watering system with recirculation of the nutrient solution. A Danish isolate of P. cinnamomi originating from roots of H. helix was used in a pathogenicity test. Five-week-old cuttings were inoculated by adding zoospores (5 per ml) to the recirculating nutrient solution. Control plants were on a separate bench with nutrient solution without the fungus. After 1 week, symptoms of root rot were observed, and 2 weeks after inoculation, 75% of plants expressed severe symptoms on roots, stems, and leaves. P. cinnamomi was reisolated from roots, stems, and leaves of diseased plants, but was not isolated from the control plants. The reisolate was morphologically identical to the original isolate. This is the first report of P. cinnamomi from ivy in Europe.

Detection and identification of bacterial contaminants from strawberry runner explants

Microbial contaminants were detected in surface-sterilized strawberry runner explants partially submerged in half-strength liquid Murashige and Skoog medium. From June to August, 1994, 45 of 70 strawberry genotypes were found to be contaminated, whereas from June to August, 1995, 53 of 72 contained contaminants. There were more bacterial than fungal contaminants. Bacterial contaminants from 22 strawberry genotypes were isolated, purified, and identified to genus by standard biochemical tests such as Gram’s stain, motility, oxidase, and gelatinase, and carbon source utilization (Biolog Microplates, Biolog, Inc., Hayward, CA). Among the 30 isolates identified with the Biology system, the majority were fluorescent pseudomonads including Pseudomonas fluorescens types A, F, and G. P. corrugata, P. tolaasii, P. paucimobilis, Xanthomonas campestris, Xanthomonas spp., and Enterobacter cloacae were also identified. Five Gram-negative and two Gram-positive contaminants could not be identified by the Biology test. Biochemical tests were used to characterize the bacteria and to confirm Biolog test results. Bacteria identified in this study were soil, water, and plant related, indicating that efforts to reduce explant contaminant levels should be centered on the care of stock plants or the sterility of the watering system.

Modeling the water transport and nitrogen dynamics in irrigated salad crops

The use of N fertilizers in agriculture is crucial, and agricultural techniques need to be implemented that improve significantly N fertilizer management by reducing downward movements of solutes through the soil. To achieve this, it is essential to develop and test models against experimental conditions in order to improve them and to make sure that they can be applied to a broad range of soil and climatic conditions. A field experiment was carried out in the French department of Gard. The soil was a clay loam (26.7% clay, 44.7% fine and coarse silt, and 28.6% fine and coarse sand). Salad vegetables (Cichorium endivia, Lactuca sativa) were cultivated during two consecutive periods (spring and summer crops). The crops were planted on punched and permeable plastic mulching bands. The field was irrigated with a sprinkler watering system. Local measurements were made combining a neutron probe, tensiometers, and ceramic porous cups to estimate NO3-N concentrations. The model is one-dimensional and is based on Richards' equation for describing saturated-unsaturated water flow in soil. At the soil surface, the model is designed to handle flux-type or imposed-pressure boundary conditions. In addition, provision is made in the model, for example, to account for a mulch plastic sheet that limits evaporation. The model accounts for heat transport by diffusion and by convection, while the modeling of the displacement of nitrate and ammonium in the soil is based on the convection-dispersion equation. Nitrate uptake by the crop is modeled assuming Michaelis-Menten kinetics. Nitrogen cycle modeling accounts for the following major transformations: mineralization of organic matter, nitrification of ammonium, and denitrification. The results showed that the overall trend of the water potential in the soil profile was correctly described during the crop seasons. Mineralization was high for the spring crop (4.7 kg NO3-N day–1 ha–1), whereas the other sink components, such as root uptake, drainage, and denitrification, were smaller (1.9, 1.4, and 0.2 kg NO3-N day–1 ha–1, respectively). For the summer crop, intensive denitrification was found in the soil layer at 0.15–0.90 m (5.7 kg NO3-N day–1 ha–1), while the mineralization was always an important component (9.2 kg NO3-N day–1 ha–1) and the sink terms were 1.7 and 1.7 kg NO3-N day–1 ha–1 for root uptake and drainage, respectively. Similar high denitrification rates were found in the literature under intensive irrigated field conditions.

セル成型苗個体群の連続秤量に基づく自動潅水システムの試作

Water (or moisture) content of soil-mix in a plug tray with limited-volume can easily be changed by evapotranspiration from a plug sheet and watering. Thus, timing and the amount of watering are the most important skills in plug seedling production. An automatic watering system for controlling water content of soil-mix in a plug tray was developed. A tomato plug sheet consisting of plug seedlings, soil mix in a greenhouse was watered by the watering system. The weight of the plug sheet was measured continuously with an electronic balance. When the weight of the plug-sheet decreased to a lower-limit setpoint by evapotranspiration, a solenoid switch of the watering system with overhead mist spray nozzles was turned on, and the plug sheet was watered. When the weight of the plug-sheet increased to a higher-limit setpoint by watering, the solenoid switch of the watering system was turned off. Watering was conducted only during the daytime. In this way, the weight of the plug sheet was controlled accurately in a range between the lower- and higher-limit setpoints during the culture period.

On the extent of genetic variation for transpiration efficiency in sorghum

A glasshouse study examined 49 diverse sorghum lines for variation in transpiration efficiency. Three of the 49 lines grown were Sorghum spp. native to Australia; one was the major weed Johnson grass (Sorghum halepense), and the remaining 45 lines were cultivars of Sorghum bicolor. All plants were grown under non-limiting water and nutrient conditions using a semi-automatic pot watering system designed to facilitate accurate measurement of water use. Plants were harvested 56–58 days after sowing and dry weights of plant parts were determined. Transpiration efficiency differed signficantly among cultivars. The 3 Australian native sorghums had much lower transpiration efficiency than the other 46 cultivars, which ranged from 7·7 to 6·0 g/kg. For the 46 diverse cultivars, the ratio of range in transpiration efficiency to its l.s.d. was 2·0, which was similar to that found among more adapted cultivars in a previous study. This is a significant finding as it suggests that there is likely to be little pay-off from pursuing screening of unadapted material for increased variation in transpiration efficiency. It is necessary, however, also to examine absolute levels of transpiration efficiency to determine whether increased levels have been found. The cultivar with greatest transpiration efficiency in this study (IS9710) had a value 9% greater (P &lt; 0·05) than the accepted standard for adapted sorghum cultivars. The potential impact of such an increase in transpiration efficiency warrants continued effort to capture it. Transpiration efficiency has been related theoretically and experimentally to the degree of carbon isotope discrimination in leaf tissue in sorghum, which thus offers a relatively simple selection index. In this study, the variation in transpiration efficiency was not related simply to carbon isotope discrimination. Significant associations of transpiration efficiency with ash content and indices of photosynthetic capacity were found. However, the associations were not strong. These results suggest that a simple screening technique could not be based on any of the measures or indices analysed in this study. A better understanding of the physiological basis of the observed genetic differences in transpiration efficiency may assist in developing reliable selection indices. It was concluded that the potential value of the improvement in transpiration efficiency over the accepted standard and the degree of genetic variation found warrant further study on this subject. It was suggested that screening for genetic variation under water-limiting conditions may provide useful insights and should be pursued.

Single point battery watering system with inlet mounting bracket: Mead Dennis; Ackroyd Edward C; Gemmell Thomas J Keene, NH, 03431, United States

Single point battery watering system with inlet mounting bracket: Mead Dennis; Ackroyd Edward C; Gemmell Thomas J Keene, NH, 03431, United States

The potential of off-stream livestock watering to reduce water quality impacts

Small commercial and non-commercial animal enterprises (SCAEs) are often located in suburban watersheds. Such operations raise a small number of animals on a few acres and have potential water quality impacts from their manure management. A typical pollution abatement practice includes fencing livestock from streams and providing an off-stream watering area. However, if there is a large stream to land area ratio, this practice becomes very costly for implementation and maintenance. An alternative is to provide off-stream watering areas without fencing to lure animals from the stream. This project demonstrated that off-stream watering areas are an effective alternative to stream fencing. They reduce the time animals spend at the stream under small acreage grazing conditions. In addition, an animal-operated pasture pump was demonstrated to be a viable off-stream watering device. The animal-operated tested pump pulled water from the creek and held the water in a small basin accessible to the animals. It is a usable alternative where conventional watering systems are inconvenient or expensive.

Single Basal Fertilization of MEISTER (Polyolefin-coated Urea) to Cyclamen

A capillary watering system can easily control water supply to cyclamen and can save nutrient losses by leaching. Introduction of single basal placement using MEISTER will be useful to innovate the traditional cyclamen culture. The conventional cyclamen culture using Nutricote needs double transplanting and double fertilization. In the new cyclamen culture, cyclamen seedlings (sowed on the plug tray in early January) were transplanted to 15-cm pots fertilized with MEISTER in early June. The selected MEISTER was one belonging to the sigmoid dissolution group, which showed delayed release during summer and the maximum release in early September. The new fertilization supplied N to the plants until the end of growing season. The growth of cyclamen plants on two experimental plots were compared at the flowering stage. Numbers and weight of flowers per pot and bulb weight were greater in the new culture than in the conventional culture though the total volume of leaves was less in the former. Regarding the nutrient absorption, the plants of the new culture showed lower concentrations of N and P in the leaves but higher concentrations of Ca and Mg compared to those in the conventional culture. Such nutrient uptake could contribute to preventing the occurrence of tipburn in the new culture.

Environmental loads from water-sprinkled softwood timber. 1. Characteristics of an open and a recycling watering system

The concentrations of a number of organic and inorganic compounds in the wastewater from sprinkling of landstored softwood timber was monitored during a period of up to 18 weeks. A recycling system using a watering intensity of 160 mm/24 h, and an open system with intensities between 55 to 12 mm/24 h were studied. The compound classes investigated included dissolved organic carbon; distillable phenols; resin acids; bacterial phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA); organic and inorganic phosphorus, sulfur, and nitrogen; and a number of metal ions. In the recycling system, the peak concentrations occurred after 4 to 6 weeks, and the amounts accumulated through refilling of water largely exceeded those present in the wastewater at the end of the storage. In the open system, net loads of compounds occurred during the first weeks, which thereafter turned into uptakes for most compounds. The PLFA increased during the first weeks and clearly responded to the peak concentrations in the waters. Already from the start there were strong uptakes of nitrate, sulfate, and many minerals in the piles, suggesting that the supply of macro- and micronutrients necessary for microbial growth, as well as available terminal electron acceptors, may be a limiting factor for the extentmore » of microbial degradation performed in the pile.« less

An unattended flower watering system

A ten-year old pupil describes a prototype of a system designed to automatically water flowers when you go on a long holiday. If is also designed fo demonstrate the use of a microcontroller which is a powerful and easy to use programmable control device.

Effect of adaptation to the farrowing crate on water intake of sows

Abstract The purpose of this study was to verify whether adaptation to the farrowing crate and to a new watering system in the last days of gestation would result in insufficient water intake and consequently higher incidence of constipation in sows and litters with low growth rates (problem litters). A total of 73 sows was divided into two groups: one being introduced into the farrowing crate 25 days before parturition (36 sows), the other being moved 3–5 days before farrowing (37 sows). Individual apparent daily water consumption (ADWC) was monitored continuously with electronic counters. Median ADWC and faecal dry matter content (FDMC) in late gestation and in lactation and incidence of problem litters were similar among both groups of sows ( P > 0.2). Important variations in ADWC between sows made interpretation of results difficult. In late gestation, many sows drank large amounts of water above what is considered as their physiological needs. During the first 2–3 days of lactation, most sows had low water intakes in conjunction with an increased FDMC in all sows at day 2 after farrowing. However, FDMC at day 2 was only correlated with ADWC of sows with problem litters ( r = − 0.6).

The Effect of Chopped Computer and Bond Paper Mixed with Wood Shavings as a Litter Material on Broiler Performance

The impact of utilizing chopped computer and bond paper as a litter material on growth performance of broilers reared to market age was evaluated. In the first experiment, broilers were placed in pens at 10 birds per square meter, and four different litter treatments were used; 1) 100% chopped computer and bond paper (CCP); 2) a mix of 75% CCP and 25% wood shavings (WS); 3) 50% CCP and 50% WS; 4) 100% WS. Experiment 2 evaluated the same treatments, but with densities of 14 birds per square meter.Litter treatments had no effect on body weight gain, feed consumption, conversion, or mortality for either of the two experiments. No differences were found for percentage litter moisture among treatments. Chopped computer and bond paper alone or mixed in different percentages with WS can be used as an alternate litter material for rearing broilers as long as there is good waterer management, especially with open watering systems. These systems may have the tendency to increase the incidence of litter caking.

Dust conditions of stope sections in zones of "force action" on K12 coal seams

In order to increase the daily loading per stope, accelerate preliminary workings, and create safe conditions for conducting mining operations on the floor of the Saranskaya mine of the Karagandaugol` Production Association, wells were drilled from the surface for hydraulic fracturing ({open_quotes}disjointing{close_quotes}) of the series of coal seams K{sub 7}, K{sub 10}, K{sub 11}, and K{sub 12}. The indexes of the {open_quotes}force actions{close_quotes} on the coal seams are listed, and data on the takeoff of methane from the wells drilled into the seams are presented. As the object of investigation of dust conditions in certain worked sections, the characteristics of which are shown in seam K{sub 12} was selected, which is high-gas and blowout-hazardous, and is classed in groups 4-6 with respect to dust level. The K{sub 12} seam consists of 20 bands of coal interlayered with argillites with a thickness of 0.2-2.5 cm, with inclusion of pyrite interlayers with the coal. The seam was worked by regular longwalls along the strike. The dust control measures that are being implemented in the stopes of the mine consist of wetting the coal in place and the use of a typical watering system mounted on the combines.

Effects of Environment on Growth, Efficiency of Feed Utilization, Carcass Fatness, and Their Association

The effects of environmental factors (house type, temperature, and type of watering system) on gain (G), feed consumption (FC), feed conversion (FCR), accumulation of abdominal fat (AF), and the association between FCR and AF of broilers were studied in a series of seven experiments. In addition, the adjustment of broilers to new housing environments and the factors affecting this adjustment were evaluated. The 4- to 7-wk G and FC were greater in groups raised at 21.1 C than 26.7 C. There were no consistent effects of environmental temperature on FCR (significantly reduced in 21.1 C groups compared with the 26.7 C groups in two of four trials) or in AF (significantly greater in 21.1 C groups than in 26.7 C groups in one of four trials). Environmental temperatures had no consistent effect on the relationship between FCR and AF. Both waterer types and environmental temperature affected the adjustment of broilers to placement in individual cages. Adjustment was better (less mortality and shorter periods of reduced FC) in the 21.1 C environment and when cup instead of trough waterers were provided. The 4- to 6-wk G and FC were reduced in the caged birds compared with the floor pen birds, but the FCR and AF were not consistently different. The initial (4-wk) BW significantly affected the 6-wk BW, G, FC, and FCR, but was not correlated with AF.