Water Management, Critical for Plant Agronomics - Part 1

·32 min·2 clips

Craig defines SGMA as a 2014 groundwater law tied to overdrafted basins and 0.83 acre-feet per acre.

1. Yara’s Crop Nutrition podcast episode “Water Management, Critical for Plant Agronomics - Part 1” focuses on irrigation as an agronomic tool for California farms. 2. Scott Warr hosts the episode, Guillermo Valenzuela brings more than 20 years in ag tech at Wisecon, and Craig Hornung brings 37 years as a citrus grower plus his East Cahuilla groundwater work. 3. The episode asks how irrigation technology, sensors, and SGMA change the way growers manage water, nutrients, and crop quality. 4. Craig says water hydrates roots, moves nutrients into the plant, and should avoid both over-irrigation and under-irrigation. 5. Guillermo says water is “life” for trees and calls it the main tool for crop growth across different phenology stages. 6. Craig compares old citrus plantings at 90 trees per acre with trellis systems at 968 trees per acre. 7. Craig links that density shift to greater stress on the system because more trees depend on timing of water and nutrition. 8. Craig says operating margins have tightened, citing 300 boxes per acre, 600 to 800 boxes per acre, and table grape yields of 2,500 to 3,000 boxes. 9. Craig says fruit quality now determines whether fruit goes to juice or to standards and choice markets. 10. Craig describes the equipment shift from furrow irrigation to foggers, fan jets, mini sprinklers, single-line drip, and double-line drip. 11. Guillermo says sensors and data logs let growers see water movement under the ground and estimate how deep nutrients travel. 12. Guillermo says that if nutrients move below five feet while active roots are between three and five feet, fertilizer is being wasted. 13. Guillermo says drip irrigation let growers put water on the root zone precisely, but some still irrigated until ponding appeared. 14. Guillermo compares that transition to buying a Ferrari and needing a clutch and stick shift to drive it. 15. Guillermo says Chile adopted drip quickly because incentive money supported investment and the goal was to irrigate more land with less water. 16. Craig says technology adoption in California is slow because water was relatively inexpensive and many landowners are older growers who are less inclined to change. 17. Craig says SGMA now matters more because water availability has changed and every drop must be used better. 18. Guillermo says the challenge is not only product design but also installation, servicing, and training irrigators to use the systems correctly. 19. Listeners who manage orchards, irrigation systems, or farm water budgets will get the most from this discussion. 20. Listeners looking for a light introduction without technical irrigation detail may want to skip it.

As heard by us

A practical case for treating irrigation as part of crop nutrition, not just water delivery.

Irrigation comes through here as part of crop nutrition, not a separate utility. It supports growth, nutrient uptake, plant health, soil fertility, and the timing of nutrient delivery, while also helping limit leaching.

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Want irrigation advice that can change how you manage the root zone?

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