RESEARCH & EVENTS
Irrigation research backed by local energy
LOCAL case studies showing the performance and energy-saving capabilities of irrigation technologies and practices will be critical for encouraging on-farm adoption according to Mallee horticulture industry stakeholders. Irrigation organisations, industry partners, government agencies, growers, researchers and local councils contributed to the conversation around decarbonising irrigation at a One Basin CRC workshops in Mildura in February and in Loxton late last year. Insights from workshops held across the Murray – Darling Basin will inform a research project focused on supporting the agriculture sector to meet current and future challenges by addressing the barriers to transitioning to low-carbon irrigation. Project team member Dr Arezoo Boroomandnia, who is a research fellow based at One Basin’ s Mildura Hub at the Mallee Regional Innovation Centre, said local insights would help shape how the project communicated solutions and prioritised interventions.“ Discussions in Mildura emphasised the need for locally grounded examples of low-carbon irrigation solutions to build confidence and assist with investment decisions,” Dr Arezoo said.“ Input from stakeholders helps ensure that proposed decarbonisation pathways are practical, regionally relevant, and aligned with growers’ economic realities rather than purely technical assumptions.” One of the presenters at the Mildura workshop was Agriculture Victoria’ s Jeremy Giddings, who spoke about irrigation energy-saving options for horticulture.“ We are seeing new irrigation systems being designed with energy more in mind, and older systems being audited and improvements adopted,” Mr Giddings said.“ If we are going to have adoption, we need to frame it as energy savings for irrigators as well as emissions. It can be a win-win, and the end result may be the same, but energy savings are what might stimulate greater interest from growers.“ We also need to recognise and advance on the past work that has been done in this space.” The Almond Board of Australia’ s sustainability manager Ella Henson presented at the Loxton workshop on the challenges and needs of the almond industry in the decarbonisation space, drivers of sustainability and irrigation practices, and strategies for decarbonisation. She also spoke about the 2022 / 23 lifecycle assessment of the almond industry, which gave the
industry a better understanding of emissions sources and opportunities for emissions reduction and also identified some limitations.“ There has been a great deal of investment in irrigation systems in the Australian almond industry, and a focus on maximising the efficiency of irrigation systems,” Ms Henson said.“ The One Basin project is important because although the almond industry recognises the need to reduce emissions, cost-effective and practical solutions for perennial horticulture are often limited.“ Decarbonising irrigation practices supports growers’ ongoing ability and license to operate and helps them meet stakeholder expectations. It can also reduce operating costs and increase energy reliability and security considering that a high proportion of electricity use on almond orchards is associated with irrigation systems.”“ I believe the success of this work will be strengthened by continued industry engagement and a focus on outcomes that are both achievable and practical.”“ It is really important for emissions reduction strategies to be achievable for the average grower.”
From previous page Last season, hull rot still developed despite only 8.2mm of rainfall before hull split because dense canopies retained moisture. In contrast, the current season was far drier across all major almond growing regions, significantly reducing within canopy humidity. There were only 0.2mm of rainfall prior to hull split at the trial site which was not conducive for disease development. Last season’ s experience highlights that canopy humidity can still drive disease development in otherwise dry environments. This year we collected the nuts from hull rot strikes that showed no noticeable fungal sporulation, these were incubated in moist conditions after which there was obvious growth of the hull rot pathogen( Rhizopus stolonifera)( Figure 1). These observations indicate that, had there been rainfall prior to harvest, there was potential for the hull rot incidence to be much higher and emphasizes the importance of canopy management alongside careful selection of rootstock and planting design.
industry. australianalmonds. com. au
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