Does ‘fertigation’ really reduce water use?

Two companies set out to prove their products’ sustainability in the midst of the California drought.

Turf Feeding Systems (TFS), in partnership with Watertronics, will launch two projects at a high school soccer field and public park to document savings and benefits of their products’ ability to reduce water use.

Texas-based TFS specializes in fertilizer injection into irrigation–also known as fertigation–while Watertronics, headquartered in Wisconsin, designs and manufactures custom pumping solutions for irrigation and water management.

The United States Drought Monitor shows California is facing the worst drought conditions in its history. The goal of the projects are to prove the efficiency and economics of both companies’ technologies in reducing irrigation water use.

The two case study projects are being implemented at Oconomowoc High School Sports Complex’s soccer field in Wisconsin and Writers Vista Park in Denver, Colo.

“These separate applications and regions will demonstrate the benefits and values of sustainability with fertigation, using probiotic organic nutrients with a mineral fertilizer program,” says Michael Chaplinsky, founder and president of TFS.

The Oconomowoc High School Sports Complex case study will examine the school’s newly renovated high school soccer field, which installed a new irrigation system designed specifically for high-use tournament play. The irrigation design will include special goal-mouth zones to irrigate and fertigate damaged turf at higher rates for fast recovery.

The seven-acre Writers Vista Park, with South Suburban Parks and Recreation, will receive a Watertronics booster station with a TFS fertigation system attached.

The goal of the two projects is to produce data to document the savings and benefits based on previous years of costs, water use and quality and to validate how sustainable practices will improve plant and soil health, says TFS.

Photo: JoshArdle Photography / Foter / Creative Commons