Tracy Shields

WORK HISTORY

SKILLS

ABOUT TRACY SHIELDS

Today\'s landscapes are more complex and require irrigation professionals to pay more attention to Water Conservation and Plant Health than ever before. Often times landscape managers and/or growers lack the appropriate technology and know-how to help them make good irrigation decisions.Increasingly Green Industry professionals are utilizing technology like weather-based information, precipitation rates, and distribution uniformity to assist them in their irrigation schedules. Yet one of the most important and often most neglected irrigation data point is in the soil, in the active root zone of the plant.Here are three things you can do now to decrease water use and increase plant health.1. Stop irrigating beyond field capacity! Your soils can only hold so much water in the face of gravity. Once you have reached field capacity you are irrigating your soils to the point of saturation. Saturation will in turn create run-off. Stop wasting water and start managing the amount of water; between field capacity and your managed allowed depletion point. Managed allowed depletion point will mostly likely vary depending on the clients expectations of water conservation versus aesthetics.2. Start using intelligent soaking and cycling in your irrigation programs. The precipitation rate of landscape sprinklers can sometimes exceed the infiltration rate of your soil. Start by introducing shorter runtimes with soak times allowing the water to soak down into your soil before applying more water. Ideally you will want to re-apply water before the surface tension of the soil dries allowing you to push water deeper into the root zone. You need to make sure the applied water is making it into the root zone of the plant.3. Start controlling your points of connection by introducing flow sensors and master valves to your irrigation system. These control points will give you the ability to monitor and manage flow; allowing you to shut down sections of mainlines and/or zone valves minimizing wasted water and damaged landscapes due to broken pipes and/or damaged sprinklers. By utilizing these flow sensors you can also track your water use and know exactly how much water your system has used over a period of time.