Matthew Shanahan is a young, enthusiastic and committed irrigation industry professional currently working with RM Consulting Group (RMCG) in the fields of recycled water and sustainable irrigation management.
This project will demonstrate how the collection of five independent strands of irrigation data via a novel sensor and logging platform will link irrigator experience with measured data, link atmospheric scheduling with soil based monitoring, and link water management with solute management.
The compilation of a clearer picture of the changing patterns of salt distribution in irrigated soil by Flinders University of SA student Megan Sebben under the supervision of the head of the South Australian Research and Development Institute’s Water Resources and Irrigated Crops Unit, Jim Cox.
The project will develop the application of monolayers to reduce evaporation from irrigation channels.
This proposal will develop and deliver integrated farm dam management information to allow irrigation businesses to optimise the use and returns from farm dams.
An improved understanding of groundwater and surface water interactions in the Wilyabrup and Smiths Brook catchments of Western Australia has resulted from a research project funded by the National Program for Sustainable Irrigation.
Open Hydroponics is a high-frequency (drip) irrigation combined with balanced fertiliser application system that adopts principles of soil-less hydroponics to field based production system (Martinez and Fernandez, 2004). This system is generally known as advanced fertigation system (AFS).
Oxygation of fig and pineapple crops was the interest of Central Queensland University student Michael Law, whose project built on investigations into the technique as a means of generating healthier interactions between water, soil and plant physiology.
High frequency fertigation is being adopted by Australian citrus producers as an alternative to traditional approaches to supplying water and mineral nutrients to trees. Information, guidelines and practical tools to assess performance are insufficient to support the economic & sustainable use of these technologies for citrus production on Australian soils.
There is now strong evidence of serious soil structural decline under precision irrigation, but practical tools to identify the conditions for this degradation are not yet available. We will identify a range of paired (precision-irrigated / non-irrigated) texture-contrast soils in vineyards across the Barossa Valley and assess the impact of this irrigation on soil properties important for root growth and water uptake.
