The 2010 ASHS Annual Conference

Objective(s):
The symposium is structured as a series of presentations from five pairs of companies that use contrasting technologies to assist growers with five key aspects of irrigation: 1) drip irrigation (drip tape, drip hose, surface/subsurface irrigation, retrieval methods, pressure-compensating/non-pressure-compensating emitters, tape wall thickness), 2) micro irrigation (micro sprinklers, advantages/disadvantages vs. drip, agricultural/nursery applications, flow rates, spray patterns), 3) filtration (sand media filters, screen filters, backflushing, filtration requirements for drip and micro irrigation), 4) chemical/fertilizer injection (discussion/demonstration of available devices, maintaining concentration with varying flow rates), and 5) soil monitoring (devices/methods and communication systems to obtain soil moisture, electrical conductivity, and temperature information). Speakers will provide information about their company’s specific products as well as general descriptions about the irrigation industry. Each presentation will be followed by discussion based on questions from the audience.