US: MSU scientists study water efficiency in greenhouses

Tom Fernandez , a Michigan State University prof in the Department of Horticulture , has spend much of his 25 - class career at MSU study how to effectively manage water in greenhouses and nurseries to increase water - use efficiency and reduce nutrient runoff .

With financial backing backing from Project GREEEN — Michigan ’s works Department of Agriculture initiative establish at MSU and bear out by the Michigan Plant Coalition , Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development , MSU AgBioResearch , and MSU Extension — Fernandez has developed management strategy to ensure agricultural stimulant such as fertilizers and pesticide are n’t washed away from their mean aim , harm the surrounding environment and diminishing water quality .

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency , about a half million piles of pesticides , 12 million tons of nitrogen , and 4 million piles of phosphoric plant food are every year apply to crops . The runoff of these inputs contributes to some of the leading breed on water timbre .

In greenhouses and nursery , it ’s easy to overwater many plant because the containers they ’re in allow water to easily debilitate . Fernandez has found that by applying body of water based on a plant ’s casual water use , irrigation can be reduced between 30%-80 % look on the coinage , and growers can economise water and reduce the runoff of nutrient from the potting mixing .

In add-on to understate the runoff of nutrients from fertilizers , such as nitrate and phosphates , Fernandez has also examined how to decrease the movement of pesticides from the soil and nontarget areas . pesticide are spray over the top of plants , so as a result , they shoot unintended spaces such as the gaps between plant or the ground cover in greenhouses and nurseries . When irrigation is applied overhead , the pesticides in these spaces can move with the weewee and impact its lineament .

Like how the bowel movement of nutrient from fertilizer in the soil were cut back , Fernandez enjoin apply less water to flora can help extenuate pesticide from move in the soil and from nontarget control surface . He also said that micro - irrigating individual pots using nebuliser stakes , which fan water over single containers , proved to importantly come down the surface overflow of pesticides .

" Time really is on our side when we ’re thinking about both nutrients and pesticides , " Fernandez said . " The longer we keep them from getting into weewee systems , the more can happen to them biologically so they do n’t cause a problem . "

With these scheme , Fernandez said there became a better understanding for how to water container plant without promoting overspill . Since then , he ’s contain on a new project : studying how to do by the water used in product by handle the amount of food and pesticides in it after software .

lead off in 2018 , Fernandez and Gemma Reguera , associate dean of faculty affairs and growth in MSU ’s College of Natural Science and prof in the Department of Microbiology , Genetics and Immunology , started to canvas how nutrients from fertilizers interact with bioreactors , as well as to what extent bioreactors separate them from piss used in greenhouse — an undertaking in the first place meditate by Fernandez ’s former doctoral scholarly person Damon Abdi , now an adjunct professor of gardening at Louisiana State University .