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A L M O N D O R C H A R D 2 0 2 5 G O A L S WATER USE 3 Bullseye! Targeting Orchard Needs, Reducing Water Use with Valve Control Water is almond growers' most valuable resource. For years, the industry has sought out and developed new technologies to improve water use efficiency in the orchard, and in 2018 the California almond industry went one step further by committing to reduce the amount of water used to grow a pound of almonds by an additional 1 20% by 2025. Today, to continue attaining "more crop per drop" in the orchard, growers are implementing more strategic practices and honing their irrigation control capabilities by investing in more efficient irrigation systems. But don't let the word "invest" cause any alarm – new or improved systems don't have to be costly or intimidating. Once growers have consulted with experts and determined what their new system needs to achieve, there are many ways they can effectively build that system – even in a preexisting orchard – and establish improved irrigation practices. Valve control is just one way growers can bring innovation to their orchards. Using this technology, growers can pay more attention to other orchard management tasks instead of constantly creating or changing their irrigation schedules. Will Martin, account manager for Laurel Ag and Water in Lodi, knows a thing or two about valve control and the value it provides growers and their orchards. For the past seven years, Martin has managed irrigation technology and scheduling on almond operations throughout California's North Valley, a role that challenged him to look closely at the needs of an orchard and select the best irrigation system to achieve the desired results. "Everyone has their own agenda based on what they are looking to achieve," Martin said. "Growers need to decide what they are trying to achieve before they put anything in the ground." He explained how, after seeing challenges with conventional practices, he concluded he needed a more efficient irrigation system for the orchard he managed. "When we couldn't figure out the issue, we always blamed it on the water. Then we realized we were treating a 100-acre block all the same — that is, until we determined variability within the soil. At that point, we discovered that each type of soil – gravel, sand and clay – had different water-holding capacities and therefore the water needed to be managed differently across the orchard. Once we were able to map out the different soil types and design an irrigation system to accommodate each type, we saw a great opportunity to irrigate in such a way that would help promote yields and improve tree health," Martin said. Choosing your irrigation approach Tom Devol, senior manager of Field Outreach and Education at the Almond Board of California (ABC), explained that there are multiple reasons and paths growers can take to implement automated irrigation in their orchards and use valve control to ensure a more efficient system – it simply depends on what the orchard's needs are. Examples of different kinds of irrigation approaches include: f Pulse irrigation: When using this short, frequent irrigation system, growers run the pumps for three hours on and three hours off instead of running the pumps for 24 hours straight, which helps improve water infiltration into the soil. f Variable Rate Irrigation (VRI): This irrigation system is designed to deliver different amounts of water to different parts of the orchard based on the soil's intake ability and water holding capacity. f Irrigation by tree variety: With this approach, growers can provide certain varieties with more water than others at specific times in the growing and harvesting season. For Martin and his team, VRI proved to be the best option for optimal water use efficiency. "We wanted to target soil moisture and keep it at 80% for most of the growing season, bring it down to 60-75% during harvest, and then bring it back up to 80%. Once we identified that goal, we had to figure out how to get that result. To achieve it, we used a software that would look at forecasts, actual soil moisture, the age of 1 Why additional? Over the past two decades, almond growers have successfully reduced the amount of water needed to grow a pound of almonds by 33% via improved production practices and adoption of efficient microirrigation technology. (Source: University of California, 2010. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2012. Almond Board of California, 1990-94, 2000-14.) A L M O N D O R C H A R D 2 0 2 5 G O A L S WATER USE "Think about landscapes at your house on a controller: You set the schedule and it just runs. If you see that it's running a little too much, you back off. If you see that it's going to rain, you back off, or if you see that it's getting too hot you make sure you have the water running. Automating frees up time and makes irrigating simpler." — Will Martin