Source: UNIV OF CONNECTICUT submitted to
DEVELOPING CRITICAL THRESHOLDS AND GUIDELINES TO MANAGE IRRIGATION WATER QUALITY
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
TERMINATED
Funding Source
AFRI COMPETITIVE GRANT
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1009179
Grant No.
2016-69008-25073
Project No.
CONS2015-09127
Proposal No.
2015-09127
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Program Code
A1701
Project Start Date
Apr 1, 2016
Project End Date
Mar 31, 2020
Grant Year
2016
Project Director
Raudales, R.
Recipient Organization
UNIV OF CONNECTICUT
(N/A)
STORRS,CT 06269
Performing Department
Plant Science & Lands. Arch
Non Technical Summary
The proposed project is an integrated (extension-led) project with agoal ofdeveloping science-based guidelines to monitor water quality for irrigation that can be implemented by growers under current conditions andprepares them to manage low-quality water in the near future. The objectives toachieve thisgoal are(1) Identify barriers for adopting low-quality water sources in commercial horticultural farms in the northeastern U.S., (2) Improve the understanding of water quality and the relationship with plant health and irrigation efficiency and establish critical thresholds for water treatment in horticultural farms, and (3) Advance education and implementation of safely using non-traditional water sources for irrigation of horticultural crops in the northeastern U.S. Horticultural farmers will be interviewed about perceived barriers to implement closed-loop irrigation systems or use of non-traditional water sources (i.e. wastewater). Then, controlled-experiments and on-farm sampling will be conducted to identify water biological, chemical and physical parameters that limit plant health or cause emitter clogging. Finally, we will develop education materials and presentations to transfer the knowledge from our experiments and published literature. We expect that by providing science-based information (objective 2) through various communication channels (objectives 1, 3), the uncertainties about monitoring water and irrigating with low-quality water will reduce and result in a positive attitude that will lead to adoption of new practices. The tools developed in this project will provide immediate solutions at the farm-level to respond to current needs and support long-term sustainability of agriculture in the region.
Animal Health Component
0%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
0%
Applied
100%
Developmental
0%
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
11102101060100%
Knowledge Area
111 - Conservation and Efficient Use of Water;

Subject Of Investigation
0210 - Water resources;

Field Of Science
1060 - Biology (whole systems);
Goals / Objectives
Objective 1: Identify barriers for adopting low-quality water sources in commercial horticultural farms in the northeastern U.S.Objective 2: Improve the understanding of water quality and the relationship with plant health and irrigation efficiency and establish critical thresholds for water treatment on horticultural farms.Objective 3: Advance education and implementation of safely using non-traditional water sources for irrigation of horticultural crops in the northeastern U.S.
Project Methods
Objective 1: Face-to-face interviews will be carried out withfarmers from 50 horticultural operations in the northeastern U.S. We will ask farmers about the perceived barriers for adopting non-traditional water sources such as wastewater or recirculated water. A request for participation will be sent via email through our extension colleagues in the northeast. The incentive to participate will include a free assessment of water pH, EC, and alkalinity and a customized fertilizer recommendation based on water quality and crops. The questionnaire for the interview will be developed by all key personnel and we will pilot the questions with some of our grower partners. The first stage of the interview will consist on discussing non-traditional water sources and we will ask about the awareness of the availability of these sources. The second stage of the interview will consist of asking about perceived barriers to adopt non-traditional water sources. Finally, we will ask about current water-related practices (i.e. monitoring pH, recirculating water, application of disinfestants, etc.). Horticultural farmers (N=50) from the northeastern U.S. will be interviewed about current monitoring practices and barriers to adopt non-traditional water sources. A smaller group (N=5) of farmers from Connecticut will be asked to pilot the questionnaire.Objective 2: Water sources: Five water sources will be collected: (1) pond water from UConn research farm, (2) recirculated water from a commercial farm, (3) secondary wastewater and (4) tertiary wastewater from UConn Wastewater treatment facility and (5) municipal water as a control. Water quality: Water samples will be characterized for their chemical, physical and biological properties. Chemical parameters will include pH, electrical conductivity (EC), carbonates, bicarbonates, metals, plant macro- and micronutrients, sodium, chloride, chlorine demand, and chemical oxygen demand (COD). COD will be measured in our laboratory with a colorimetric analysis. All other chemical analysis will be carried out by a commercial analytical lab. Physical water quality will be evaluated by measuring total suspended solids (TSS), as described in the protocol Current Methods 2540 D (APHA, 1995). Briefly, 1 liter of water will be filtered with a suction of 200kPa through a 4.25 cm preweighed glass fiber filter with a pore size 0.45 mm glass fiber filte7r. The filter will be dried at 100°C and reweigh. Microbial analysis will include microbial biomass and diversity, human pathogen indicator organisms and plant pathogens. Microbial biomass and diversity will be analyzed with Phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis with gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC/MS) as described by Jin and Kelley (2007). The samples will be sent to a commercial laboratory to carry out the PLFA analysis. Escherichia coli, coliform and Enterobacteriaceae indicators will be quantified using dehydrated media . Plant pathogens will be quantified using real time PCR (QPCR) for Pythium spp., Phytophthora spp., Rhizoctonia spp., Fusarium spp. and Thielaviopsis spp. DNA will be extracted using the PowerWater® DNA Isolation kit (MoBio Laboratories, Inc.; Carlsbad, CA). Plant response to water quality. Representative crops of the region were selected as model crops. Hydroponic lettuce, basil and cucumbers, and container-grown petunias and tomatoes will be grown in the UConn research greenhouse. All crops will be grown from seedling until harvest. All crops will be irrigated with 5 water sources (described above) in a closed irrigation system. Water EC, pH and nutrients will be adjusted to match to each crops' requirement for optimum growth. The experiment will be carried out as a complete randomize design and will be run twice. Data collection: During the growing cycle, water quality will be evaluated weekly for EC, pH, and total microbial load. At the end of the experiment, fresh and dry weight and total marketable yields will be measured. Plant health will be evaluated by measuring chlorophyll content, stand counts, and incidence and severity of root and foliar lesions (if present). Complete chemical analysis of water quality will also be carried out at the end of the experiment. We will also measure irrigation flow rate weekly and track days before emitters clog, and incidence of clogged emitters. Suppressive effect of different water sources. An experiment will be carried out to identify if different water sources have the potential to suppress disease development. Solutions with different water sources will be combined with known concentration of Pythium spp., Phytophthora spp., Rhizoctonia spp., Fusarium spp. or Thielaviopsis spp. After 24-hour contact time, the solutions will be used to irrigate tomato seedlings stage 1. Fresh solutions will be prepared every other day to irrigate the plants. The experiment will be a full factorial design and will be run twice. Data collection: Stand counts, disease incidence and severity, chlorophyll content, and fresh biomass will be evaluated at day 10. Survey clogging of irrigation systems in commercial operations. We will use our extension partners to identify growers who have clogging in irrigation lines. We willrecruiting growers around the U.S. who would like to collaborate in this part of the research. We will pre-screen the potential operations by a phone interview and then select a maximum of 20 operations to sample. Detailed collection sample instructions and a survey asking about water source, irrigation system and practices will be provided to growers. Growers will collect water samples and send 6 clogged emitters to our lab. Data collection: Water quality will be evaluated as described above. Biofilm will be collected from the emitter and the evaluated for microbial biomass using performing PLFA analysis and presence of plant and human-indicator pathogens.Objective 3: A science-based guide will be developed based on the results obtained in objective 2 and published literature. The guide will include the following topics: (1) Introduction to water quality, (2) Chemical parameters, (3) Biological parameters, (4) Physical Parameters, (5) Protocols to monitor water quality on farm, (6) Pond water, (7) Irrigating with wastewater, (6) Recirculated water, (7) Clogging of irrigation emitters, (8) Water treatments. Additional topics may be included based on the results from the interviews carried out in objective 1. An online interactive decision support tool for water management will be developed. The information behind the tool will be the data collected in objective 2. We will adjust the tool based on the feedback fromthe interviews (objective 1). The inputs will be water quality values (determined by results in objective 2) and then the output will be a display of optimum range and recommendations for management based on the published literature.A consultant will be hired to develop the tool. The results and products of the project will be disseminated in several venues. We will organize two workshops focused exclusively on water management. The workshops will include hands-on, on-farm monitoring and presentations from experienced researchers and practitioners on water quality. The workshops will include a field trip to visit operations that are recirculating irrigation water or using non-traditional water sources. The specific operations and locations will be determined based on the farm visits on objective 1.

Progress 04/01/16 to 03/31/20

Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience for this project included horticultural producers, graduate and undergraduate students, Extension agents, public and private technical assistant consultants, and other researchers. See detailed information in the Outputs section. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?This project provided tremendous advancement in Dr. Raudales' program, who at the time was an untenured faculty. It allowed the Raudales Lab to expand their irrigation research by implementing material science protocols to understand the interaction of microbes with physical properties of pipes. We also extended our program to do more microbial community studies to understand the dynamics of recirculated water. This project partially sponsored the research of one Ph.D. and two M.S. students. At least eight undergraduate students were involved at various stages of the project. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? PRESENTATIONS: Growers and practitioners: Since the beginning of this project (4/2016) until now (6/2020), Dr. Raudales and her team have delivered 57 presentations on water-related subject to horticultural growers and workers. In all of those presentations, she has cover more than one of the research outputs obtained in this project. Scientists: The team presented the results of this project in six presentations in professional annual conferences and three in annual multistate meetings. WORKSHOPS: We coordinated three workshops and 8-part webinar series co-sponsored by this project. We reached a total audience of 465 individuals who expressed increased in knowledge (73-89.7%) or likelihood to change a practice (79.3-95%) in response to the information provided during the events. OTHER INDIRECT CONTACTS: We developed WaterQual (https://www.cleanwater3.org/wqi.asp) -a tool that interprets the quality of a water source for use in irrigation of plants in greenhouses and nurseries, was created in collaboration with the CleanWater3 team. Since inception (01/2018) up to the end of the reporting date (6/15/2020) WaterQual has had a total of 3,033 total views of which 2,434 are unique views (suggesting the same number of individual users). Magazine articles: Since the beginning of this project (4/2016) until now (6/2020), Dr. Raudales and her team has published 41 extension articles in trade magazines or non-government educational platforms which target audience is the horticultural industry with readership between 4K and 27K. The outputs of this project remain on several public platforms where they were submitted for publications, where there are accessible to the public at no cost. We decided to take advantage of these platforms for their large readership numbers. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? As high-quality water resources become more limited, agricultural producers need to learn how effectively and safely use alternative water sources of variable quantity and quality. In this project, we interviewed and surveyed horticultural farmers; sampled water from commercial farms for two consecutive years; and conducted experiments to evaluate chemical, microbial, and physical water parameters that could affect crop quality or irrigation efficiency. Growers surveyed in Connecticut and the Northeast did not perceive water quantity or quality as limitation in their production system. The majority of growers did not know how much water they use in their operation and did not have clear incentives to use low-quality water or capture and reuse water their runoff. Two operations who faced water scarcity or strict regulations in the past were the ones who closely track water use, use multiple water sources, and capture and reuse runoff. The majority of surveyed-growers reported low frequency of water or nutrient solution testing -suggesting that further training on this field is needed. We conducted several experiments to determine levels in low-quality water that may affect crop health and we found that residual concentrations of plant growth regulators can be problem in ornamental greenhouses. We also observed that the current thresholds to prevent emitter clogging used by several international organizations do not hold up in practice. Specifically, in our survey most farms exceeded the thresholds on total suspended levels, iron, magnesium, and manganese levels in fertigation and did not result in clogging or inactivation of chlorine-bleach as a sanitizer to control Phytophthora root rot. In two separate experiments, we observed that water that is captured and reused in several cycles in vegetable production in greenhouses could have the potential to reduce disease incidence. Larger studies are needed to investigate the complex interaction of microbial and chemical parameters in irrigation water. OBJECTIVE 1: Identify barriers for adopting low-quality water sources in commercial horticultural farms in the northeastern U.S. We conducted two surveys: (1) an in-person interview to Connecticut where we follow a questionnaire developed by UConn Extension, and (2) and short survey applied to attendees of two sessions in the Northeast Greenhouse Conference. We conducted a survey to all type of farms in Connecticut (N=45, including greenhouses, nurseries, fruit orchards, and field vegetables). The majority of farmers (69%) selected "I don't know" when asked about the amount of water used in the previous year. The majority indicated that they did not use any technology, other than weather tracking, and personal experience to determine irrigation timing. A minority (33% -42%) of growers said they were "not concerned" about lack of access, regulatory barriers, or, lower water supply -whereas 42% expressed some degree of concern. When asked about water management strategies to implement in the near future only two growers indicated "capturing and recirculating" as an option, whereas the majority selected other options -such as using other sources (well, surface, or public water) - or installing more efficient irrigation systems. The results of this survey suggests that while concern about potential external factors that may affect access to water among CT growers is split, they do not see a need for adoption of low-quality water sources as a primary option because they have easy access to other high-quality water source and they perceive implementation of more efficient irrigation as an option at hand. On the second survey (N=32), the major finding relating to water use was that only 33% of the respondents indicated a high frequency (monthly or less) of monitoring water quality. These results highlight the importance of training growers how to proactively monitor water to prevent problems. OBJECTIVE 2: Improve the understanding of water quality and the relationship with plant health and irrigation efficiency and establish critical thresholds for water treatment on horticultural farms. We sampled water eight horticultural operations in Connecticut for two consecutive years (survey 1), sampled recirculated nutrient solutions from eight and five greenhouses in Spring and Fall -respectively (survey 2), and completed six experiments in controlled conditions. In survey 1, we sampled water at different points in the irrigation from operations that indicated having issues with clogging of irrigation emitters. The main conclusion of Survey 1 was that clogging occurred when the parameters in water were low based on the standard rating scale recommended by the Food Agricultural Organization -suggesting that an updated version is needed where individual parameters as well as their interactions are considered. On survey 2, we detected paclobutrazol levels above 5ppb recirculated nutrient solutions captured and reused in ornamentals, with higher levels in the spring season -indicating that ornamental greenhouse that recirculate nutrient solutions must treat water to remove potential residues of plant growth regulations in the solution. In Experiment 1, we determined that organic suspended solids on the solution up to 50 mg/L does not affect the effect of chlorine to prevent Phytotphthora root rot in tomato seedlings. In Experiment 2, we observed when using water with high concentration of organic load, biofilm accumulates more on pipes made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) than polyethylene(PE). We also observed that the physical properties of PVC changed more than PE. We observed (Expt.4) that pipe material, the concentration of organic solids or iron in solution affect the diversity and abundance of microbial communities -which may help explain biofilm formation and why iron precipitation is not always directly proportional to the concentration of iron in the water. In Experiment 5, we observed that disease incidence and severity caused by Phytophthora capsisi on cucumbers is lower and yields higher when reusing nutrient solutions compared with freshly prepared solutions. On Experiment 6, we evaluated the effect of phytoremediation with purslane (a salt accumulator) of high sodium chloride in recirculated nutrient solutions and observed a mild reduction of negative symptoms at low salt concentration, but not strong enough to be used in practice or effective at high concentrations. Objective 3: Advance education and implementation of safely using non-traditional water sources for irrigation of horticultural crops in the northeastern U.S. The accomplishments of this objective are listed in the question below about dissemination to communities of interest.

Publications

  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Raudales RE. 2019. Watering: Communication Tips. e-Gro Alert 8(20):1-5
  • Type: Other Status: Accepted Year Published: 2019 Citation: Raudales RE, C McGehee, J Cabrera. 2019. Testing the waters: Is public drinking water safe to hydroponic production. Produce Grower March: 16-18
  • Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2020 Citation: Raudales RE. 2020. Match the filter to the problem. e-Gro Alert 9(15):1-5
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Raudales RE. 2020. Three steps to ensure water quality for greenhouse crops. Greenhouse Grower, February: https://www.greenhousegrower.com/technology/3-steps-to-ensure-water-quality-for-greenhouse-crops/
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Raudales RE. 2020. The trigonometry of root rot diseases. GrowerTalks. February: 68-69
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Cabrera JC, RE Raudales. 2019. The insoluble iron issue. Greenhouse Grower Magazine: July 2019. https://www.greenhousegrower.com/technology/how-to-address-insoluble-iron-issues-in-the-greenhouse/
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: McGehee CS, RE Raudales, WH Elmer, RJ McAvoy. 2019. Efficacy of Biofungicides against root rot and damping-off of microgreens caused by Pythium spp. J. Crop Protection 121:96-102 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cropro.2018.12.007
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Grant GA, PR Fisher, JE Barrett, PC Wilson, RE Raudales. 2018. Paclobutrazol removal from irrigation water using a commercial-scale granular activated carbon system. Scientia Horticulturae 241: 160-166
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Cabrera JC, RE Raudales. 2019. The insoluble iron issue. Greenhouse Grower Magazine July: 56-58.
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Fisher P, G Grant, R Raudales. 2019. Clean up your water with carbon filtration. GPN Magazine:32-36
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Raudales RE. 2019. Watering: Communication tips. e-Gro Alert 8(20):1-5http://e-gro.org/pdf/2019_820.pdf
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Raudales RE, C McGehee, J Cabrera. 2019. Testing the waters: Is public drinking water safe for hydroponic production. Produce Grower March: 16-18
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Raudales RE, R Dickson. 2019. The roads that lead to salty water. GrowerTalks February 82(10):54-57
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Raudales RE, R Dickson. 2018. Save water, save Money: The case for closing the irrigation loop. November 82(7): 58-62
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Raudales RE. 2018. A taste of water quality. GrowerTalks June 81(2): 52-53
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Fisher PR, RE Raudales, B Mackay. 2018. WaterQual  A new online tool to interpret your irrigation water quality. Nursery Management June 2018:16-21
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2018 Citation: Raudales RE. Biofilm formation and presence in greenhouse irrigation systems. The Ohio State University Plant Pathology Seminar. 23 April 2018. Wooster and Columbus, OH
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Cabrera JC, RE Raudales. Evaluating Water-Quality Classification Systems to Assess the Risk of Clogging in Greenhouse Irrigation Systems Survey 2019 UConn CAHNR Graduate Student Forum. 6 April 2019, Storrs, CT
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Cabrera JC, RE Raudales. Biofilm Growth by Pipe Material and Flow of the Solution. 2019 UConn CAHNR Graduate Student Forum. 6 April 2019, Storrs, CT (poster)
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Raudales RE. 2018. Sanitation: Start clean, stay clean. e-Gro Alert 7(31):1-3
  • Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2018 Citation: Raudales RE, JC Cabrera. 2018. N is for plant health. e-Gro Alert 7(20):1-4
  • Type: Other Status: Other Year Published: 2018 Citation: Raudales RE. 2018. I tested my growing media, now what? e-Gro Alert 7(15):1-3
  • Type: Other Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Raudales, RE. 2018. How clean is your greenhouse irrigation system? Greenhouse Grower Magazine. January 2018
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Other Year Published: 2020 Citation: McGehee CM, RE Raudales. (In preparation).A survey of practices of horticultural growers in the Northeast.


Progress 04/01/18 to 03/31/19

Outputs
Target Audience:Extension articles: We published 11 articles on water and nutrient in trade magazines potentially reaching an audience of 146,943 individuals (based on magazine readership numbers). Online tool: The online tool has reached a total of >2,201 total views (1,744 views). Presentations: We delivered a total of 10 individual presentations to horticultural growers reaching 523 individual greenhouse and nursery growers. Workshops: We co-organized four education program in the northeast, reaching a total of a total of 1001 individual farmers. Education audience: Presentations: We delivered eight presentations on the results of the project in professional meetings or university seminars. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?See target audience and other products sections for details. We also advanced our knowledge on microbiome sampling and data analysis. A Ph.D. graduated- partially funded by this project. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?See target audience and other products. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We are currently writing the manuscripts and working on the website to consolidate the outputs of the project.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? We finished the following experiments: Evaluated the effect of introducing Phytophthora on microbiome or recirculated water and cucumber roots. Evaluated salt phytoremediation in recirculated nutrient solutions. Evaluated the effect of total suspended solids on the efficacy of chlorination in recirculated water. Characterized the microbiome of water sources that result in clogging of irrigation emitters in farms.

Publications

  • Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Cabrera Garcia, Juan, "Identifying Clogging Factors and Thresholds of Greenhouse Irrigation Pipes" (2019). Doctoral Dissertations. 2140. https://opencommons.uconn.edu/dissertations/2140
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Cabrera JC, RE Raudales (2018) Poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) growth and root rot incidence in the presence of biofilm on irrigation pipes. HortScience 53(9):S132
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Cabrera JC, RE Raudales (2018) Biofilm accumulation on polyvinyl chloride and polyethylene pipes with solution flowing for 30 seconds every 9.5 minutes, 2 minutes twice a day, and continuously. HortScience 53(9):S413
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Raudales RE, J Boldt, J Altland, PR Fisher (2018) Quantifying paclobutrazol in recirculated water in commercial greenhouses HortScience 53(9):S130
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2018 Citation: Cabrera JC, RE Raudales (2018) Effect of biofilm in irrigation pipes on plant growth and Pythium root rot incidence. Northeastern Plant, Pest, and Soil Conference. Philadelphia, PA. 10 Jan 2018. - 1st Place for Best Research Paper Oral Presentation- Contributed https://neppsc.org/wp-content/uploads/2018-NEPPSC-Proceedings_FINAL.pdf


Progress 04/01/17 to 03/31/18

Outputs
Target Audience:Our target audience are horticultural producers in the northeastern U.S. Presentations: We delivered a total of 13 presentations reaching a total audience of 879 greenhouse and nursery growers. These presentations included 1 presentation in Spanish targeting the Hispanic workforce (total 60). One-on-one: We provided individual recommendations on water and nutrient management to approx. 80 farmers during the past year. Sampling: We sampled water from 8 greenhouse and nurseries in CT. These are farms that reported water quality problems, and this is a second year of sampling for this project. Workshops: We co-organized with different partners four education workshops, which included a total of 20-training hours, targeting a total of 129 individual farmers. Two of the workshops included hands-on activities on monitoring root-borne pathogens. Webinars: We partnered with UMass Extension and UNH Extension and organized an eight-part webinar series that focused on root-zone management. We reached a total of 366 farmers. Technical bulletins: We wrote a total of 14 extension bulletins in magazines with readerships ranging between 4K and 18K, NIFA was acknowledged in the publications. Changes/Problems:The M.S. student who was working on the plant pathology and survey part of the project requested a leave of absence due to mental health illness. Because of the nature of his personal health, we decided to rerun some experiments to verify the accuracy of the results. We have already hired an experienced technician to run the experiments. We anticipate that we will finish the project on time. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? We have trained two graduate [1 Ph.D. and 2 M.S. however the M.S. dropped the program] and four undergraduate students on topics relating water quality analysis, irrigation, greenhouse production, microbiology, detection of plant pathogens, survey and experimental design. We presented the results of this project in the American Society for Horticultural Sciences Annual meeting, the Northeast American Society for Horticultural Sciences regional meeting, and one local research symposium in CT. We co-organized with different partners four education workshops, which included a total of 20-training hours, targeting a total of 129 individual farmers. Two of the workshops included hands-on activities on monitoring root-borne pathogens. We co-organized an eight-part webinar series that focused on root-zone management. We reached a total of 366 farmers. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Project results were disseminated to our target audience through presentations, one-to-one consultations, educational workshops, an eight part webinar series, and technical bulletins. See the target audience section for more details on our dissemination efforts. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Objective 1: Identify barriers for adopting low-quality water sources in commercial horticultural farms in the northeastern U.S. Finalize the survey, data analysis and publication. Objective 2: Improve the understanding of water quality and the relationship with plant health and irrigation efficiency and establish critical thresholds for water treatment on horticultural farms. Finalize at least two of the peer-review publications. Conduct and finalize experiments on disease control. Objective 3: Advance education and implementation of safely using non-traditional water sources for irrigation of horticultural crops in the northeastern U.S. Develop a new website dedicated exclusively for Water Horticulture Management. Conduct two in-person workshops on water quality. Conduct another webinar series.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Objective 1: Identify barriers for adopting low-quality water sources in commercial horticultural farms in the northeastern U.S. We sampled again commercial operations that reported clogged irrigation emitters. We conducted chemical, physical and microbial analysis on the samples. We are currently waiting on the results of microbial population results. We used that information to refine experiments in objective 2. Objective 2: Improve the understanding of water quality and the relationship with plant health and irrigation efficiency and establish critical thresholds for water treatment on horticultural farms. Last year we measured biofilm formation when irrigating with low quality water. This year, our research concluded that biofilm formed when irrigating with pond water affected roughness and hydrophobicity of the pipes. These results are new and exciting. We are currently preparing new experiments to evaluate if roughness and hydrophobicity changes in the pipe have any effect on plant pathogens and hence disease incidence. We submitted DNA samples to service lab for sequencing of microbial populations (we are waiting to receive the data). These results are novel and exciting and have open new research questions that we can approach to ameliorate the effect of low quality water on clogging and spread of pathogens. We anticipate that with a few more experiments in the short term we will be able to develop specific recommendations to growers. We finished a replicated experiment in which we evaluated phytotoxicity thresholds when using chlorine in irrigation. We are currently preparing the manuscript to publish the results. We conducted some experiments and observed inhibition of pathogens with recirculated water. We are repeating some of the experiments on disease suppression (see the Changes/Problems sections for more details). Objective 3: Advance education and implementation of safely using non-traditional water sources for irrigation of horticultural crops in the northeastern U.S. On March 2018, we launched the water quality interpreter tool (http://cleanwater3.org/wqi.asp) which is available in English and Spanish. We started promotion of the tool by sending a notice on e-Gro Alert which has a national readership of 4K. We are currently preparing an article for Greenhouse Grower magazine which has an international readership of 18K. We published 14 extension bulletins and recorded eight videos. We will use this materials for the final project's website that we will create this year.

Publications

  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Awaiting Publication Year Published: 2018 Citation: JC Cabrera, RE Raudales. Effect of biofilm in irrigation pipes on plant growth and Pythium root rot incidence. Northeastern Plant, Pest, and Soil Conference. Philadelphia, PA 10 Jan 2018. 1st Place for Best Research Paper Oral Presentation
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Raudales RE, JC Cabrera. 2017. Biofilm buildup on PVC and polyethylene at three irrigation frequencies. HortScience 52(9):S222 (Abtr.)
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Raudales RE. 2017. Sensitivity of Impatiens walleriana to chlorine in irrigation water. HortScience 52(9):S450 (Abtr.)


Progress 04/01/16 to 03/31/17

Outputs
Target Audience:Extension audience: Presentations: Since March 01, 2016, Dr. Raudales (PD) delivered a total of 19 individual presentations reaching a total audience of 933 individual greenhouse and nursery growers. These presentations included 6 presentations delivered in Spanish targeting the Hispanic workforce (total 135 individuals). One-on-one: The PD had one-on-one direct contact with at least 85 individual farmers during the past year. During this interactions, Dr. Raudales provided recommendations on topics relating water and nutrient management, Sampling: We collected water samples from a total of 10 greenhouse and nurseries in CT who had reported problems associated with water quality. Workshops: We co-organized with different partners six education workshops, which included a total of 60-training hours, targeting a total of 1232 individual farmers. Organizational restructuring: We partnered with the Northeast Greenhouse Conference Growers' Association, which includes Growers' Associations from the five New England and New York. Through this partnership we expect to reach more audience specifically targeting the goals of this project. Education audience: Presentations: Juan Cabrera, Ph.D. student, presented preliminary results of this project at the University of Connecticut Graduate Student Forum. He presented to an audience of approx. 25 graduate students. Changes/Problems: Survey Date: Originally, we were going to conduct an in-person survey to meet objective 1. However, based on grower feedback we decided to do an online survey. We changed the date from 2016 to 2017, because the project initiation was delayed for 3 months. No changes in budget expenses are requested. Fees for Consultant Expenditure Extension Request: We developed the database for the "Water quality interpreter tool". The Consultant developed the platform, we are only waiting to get some minor updates on the final format before we launched. Fees for Service Expenditure Extension Request: We collected water samples from 10 greenhouse operations. However, we would like to extend the sampling period and the number of farms by requesting that the funds requested for fees for samples in year 1 are extended to year 2. We decided to hand-in sampling containers to farmers during our upcoming grower workshops and give them a prepaid envelope to collect more water samples. Fees for Service Expenditure Extension Request: We collected water samples from 10 greenhouse operations. However, we would like to extend the sampling period and the number of farms by requesting that the funds requested for fees for samples in year 1 are extended to year 2. Material and Supplies Expenditure Extension Request: We conducted several experiments relating water quality and generated new knowledge on how pipe material, irrigation frequency, microbial load, and pond water quality have effect on irrigation efficiency. However, we still have many experiments to conduct and we would appreciate if we can extend the impact and quality of our research by extending the remaining funds for materials and supplies from year 1 to year 2. In year 1, we had some delays with our experiments as a result of (1) high pest pressure in the greenhouse, and (2) the grower that supplied us with recycled water had to drained all the tanks because of high disease incidence on September 2016. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?We have trained two graduate and two undergraduate students on topics relating water quality analysis, irrigation, greenhouse production, microbiology, detection of plant pathogens, survey and experimental design. We are planning to start grower workshops as indicated in the Objective 3 of our proposal in Fall 2017. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?As indicated in the "Target Audience section" of this report, we have reached hundreds of individual farmers in different venues and through different communication channels. In each opportunity, we have briefly discussed this project. However, specific dissemination of the results of this project are expected to be more targeted on Fall 2017, when we conduct workshops sponsored by this project. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Objective 1: Identify barriers for adopting low-quality water sources in commercial horticultural farms in the northeastern U.S. We expect that by the next reporting period all the activities of objective 1, including publications of results will be finished. Objective 2: Improve the understanding of water quality and the relationship with plant health and irrigation efficiency and establish critical thresholds for water treatment on horticultural farms. We expect that to expand our sampling from commercial operations. In 2016, because of the delayed in the project initiation, we did not sample as many growers. As the project initiated when most horticultural operations in the northeast are ramping up their work. However, we have reached many farmers and we expect to sample over 50 operations this year by also giving sampling kits to growers during our training sessions in Fall 2017. We expect to increase our sampling population this way. We expect that by the next reporting period we will have two scientific manuscripts submitted for publication based on the results of experiments conducted by graduate students. In 2016, we had high incidence of pests, we have already started implementing a preventative biocontrol program in our greenhouse to prevent further problems. In addition, we also ordered two walk-in growth chambers in which we will conduct experiments. Objective 3: Advance education and implementation of safely using non-traditional water sources for irrigation of horticultural crops in the northeastern U.S. No changes/Nothing to report

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Objective 1: Identify barriers for adopting low-quality water sources in commercial horticultural farms in the northeastern U.S. June 2016: Developed the interview instrument and contacted Northeast Greenhouse Conference to ask for their support contacting farmers. November 2016: We pilot-tested the interview instrument with a subset of growers in at the Northeast Greenhouse Conference. We will amend the instrument based on their feedback and we will send the survey in June as indicted by our stakeholders. Objective 2: Improve the understanding of water quality and the relationship with plant health and irrigation efficiency and establish critical thresholds for water treatment on horticultural farms. March 2016-present: Trained one Ph.D., one M.S. and two undergraduate student on water quality analysis and experimental design. May 2016-present: Run 1st Plant Bioassay in the greenhouse with 5 different water sources, but we did not collect the results because of pest pressure. Conducted three experiments (with two experimental runs each) evaluating the effect of microbial load on clogging and plant disease, pipe material and irrigation frequency. We are currently working on the manuscript to present the results of this section of the project. March 2017 Ongoing Disease Suppression Experiment May 2016-present: Sampled 10 commercial operations that reported clogged irrigation emitters. Objective 3: Advance education and implementation of safely using non-traditional water sources for irrigation of horticultural crops in the northeastern U.S. March 2016- present: We developed a 64 entries (including chemical and biological indicators) database in both English and Spanish to develop the "Water quality interpreter" tool.

Publications

  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Other Year Published: 2017 Citation: Cabrera JC, RE Raudales. Effect of irrigation pipe material and irrigation frequency on biofilm accumulation. University of Connecticut College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources Graduate Student Forum. Storrs, CT. 26 March 2017.
  • Type: Websites Status: Under Review Year Published: 2017 Citation: Raudales RE, PR Fisher, B Mackay. Water Quality Interpreter tool. BackPocketGrower.com