1. XII. Commercial Landscape Irrigation Basics 1 Dave DeWolf – Consultant

2. 2 Lake County Photo provided courtesy of Christie Cooper

3. W ATER E FFICIENT L ANDSCAPE ( AKA ) WEL G ARDEN 3

4. WEL??? 4 Photo provided courtesy of GardenSoft

5. WEL - Benefits o Environment o Water and air quality o Screens noises/unpleasant sights o Refuge for people and wildlife o Moderates temperature 5

6. WEL - Reduce o Daily & Seasonal peak water demand o Green waste production o Run-off o Soil erosion o Hardscape damage o $$$$ 6

7. Lake County WEL 7 Photo provided courtesy of Christie Cooper

8. What is a Water Budget/Allocation ? 8

9. Landscape Water Budget Most common Amount of water required to maintain a healthy landscape  Landscape Size (sq/ft)  Water requirements of plants.  Inches of precipitation per sq/foot of soil. 9

10. Landscape Water Budget Result of a comprehensive Landscape/Irrigation Audit  Landscape observations  Irrigation system evaluation  Scientific calculations/Formulas 10

11. Observations Water source Controllers Sensors Plant Material/Condition Density Micro Climate(s) Soil Sprinklers/Application Devices Maintenance/Condition Issues 11

12. Water source Meters Potable or ??? Wells Pumps 12

13. Controllers Manual Valves Manually Programmed Smart Controllers Sensors 13

14. Smart Water Irrigation Technologies (SWAT) Climate Based Irrigation Controllers Soil Moisture Sensors Weather Sensors 14

15. 15 Signal, Weather and Web Based Controllers Photo by RainBird Photo by WeatherTrak Photo by Weathermatic Photo by RainBird

16. Soil Moisture Sensors 16 Photo courtesy of Irrometer Photo courtesy of RainBird

17. Tensiometers 17 Washington State University Cooperative Ext., Pub#PW0475 James, GJ Principles of Farm ISD John Wiley, 1988 IPM News. Michigan State University, Pascal Nzokou

18. Plant Material/Condition What is being irrigated? How do the plants look? What’s a WUCOLS? 18

19. Density Factor 19 Photo provided courtesy of Dave DeWolf

20. Low Density 20 Photos provided courtesy of GardenSoft Medium Density High Density

21. Micro Climate What is constantly influencing the landscape? 21 Photo provided courtesy of GardenSoft

22. Soil Soil Category / Texture Slope Compaction Standing Water 22

23. 23 Soil Texture

24. Saturation 24

25. Soil Moisture 25 Diagram provided by COMET UCAR

26. Irrigation Scheduling Sandy / Coarse Faster application Longer duration Schedule more frequently Loam / Medium Moderate application Schedule less often Clay / Fine Shorter durations Multiple start/stop times 26 Image provided by www.dripdepot.com Coarse Medium Fine

27. Sprinkler Type(s) How is the water getting to the plants? 27 Rotor Spray Drip OR ??? New Technology

28. Maintenance and Condition Issues 28 Photos provided by Dave DeWolf

29. Simple Fixes 29 Photos provided by Dave DeWolf

30. Irrigation Terminology  Evapotranspiration  Irrigation Efficiency  Distribution Uniformity  Precipitation Rate  Hydro-Zone 30

31. 31 Water converted from liquid to vapor that does not pass through the plant. Evaporation

32. Transpiration Water passes from soil Into plant root hairs Up through the stem Exits leaves into the air 32 Diagram provided by courtesy of COMET UCAR

33. EvapoTranspiration (ET) Sum of water lost from Evaporation and water used by plant Transpiration 33

34. 34 Reference ET (ETo)

35. CIMIS – Station 13 35

36. 36 WEATHER Solar radiation, air temperature, relative humidity, and wind speed SOIL FACTORS Soil texture, structure and chemistry PLANT FACTORS Plant type, root depth, density, height, and stage of growth If, ETo = 0.25 inches/day (for July 15, 1985) and, Kc = 0.55 (for an orange tree in July) then, ETc = ETo x Kc = 0.25 inches/day x 0.55 = 0.1375 or 0.14 inches/day. Transpiration Rate ETo Climate Indicators

37. Distribution Uniformity (DU) Properly sized and matched sprinkler heads Sprinkler spacing 37 Photo courtesy of El Dorado Irrigation District

38. Precipitation Rate (PR) Rate that irrigation water is applied per unit of time Measured in inches per hour (in./hr.) 38 Photo courtesy of the Center for Irrigation Technology at California State University, Fresno

39. Irrigation Efficiency (IE) 39 Influenced by things you can and cannot control Photo courtesy of Dave DeWolf

40. Hydro-Zone 40 Photo courtesy of GardenSoft