How New Irrigation Tech Is Working Wonders for Florida Watermelon Growers
A University of Florida agriculture research assessment of nine North Florida growers farming 1,883 acres of watermelon revealed they saved a combined 164 million gallons of water last year thanks to automation.
“We’re flirting with saving more than 696 million gallons of water each year if the farmers of all 8,000 acres of watermelon in the region adopt this technology,” says Tyler Pittman, the UF/IFAS Agriculture and Natural Resources Agent who conducted the assessment.
Supported by grants from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS), Pittman has spearheaded a years-long campaign to educate Suwannee Valley farmers about the benefits of automation.
Irrigation management is paramount to commercial watermelon production. UF/IFAS recommends short, frequent irrigation to maximize plant absorption and minimize water and nutrient leaching, but conventional systems require travel between fields to manually activate and deactivate valves. Wireless automation equipment allows growers to fine-tune their outputs and to schedule and control them remotely using smartphone apps.
“Farmers can irrigate their fields while sitting on a beach on an island somewhere,” Pittman says. “All they need is an internet connection.”
Eighty-nine percent of the farmers Pittman surveyed said automation has helped them save time. On average, they reported 1.7 fewer hours spent in the field each day. Automation helped all surveyed farmers use less water. On average, they reduced their irrigation run times by 1.4 hours a day – or 24%.
Adam Whitehurst, who grows watermelon in Alachua and Levy counties, purchased automation equipment to try to boost efficiency.
“The system allows me to monitor fertilizer run times and measure exactly how much I put out,” Whitehurst adds. “The crop just grows better.”
RELATED CONTENT: Optimizing Farm Efficiency Through Better Irrigation Technology
According to Pittman, two-thirds of the farmers he surveyed said they would not have made a purchase without assistance from programs like those offered by the FDACS Office of Agricultural Water Policy and the Suwannee River Water Management District. More than half of the farmers received more than $10,000 to buy their equipment.
For more details, visit blogs.ifas.ufl.edu.
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