9月13日加州大学举行首台中心支轴式喷灌机展示会

随着加利福尼亚州的农业日新月异，加利福尼亚大学将于9月13日下午4点向公众展示其首台中心支轴式高架喷灌系统，展示地点选在曼哈顿西区研究与推广中心。

大学将邀请农民和其他公众成员免费参观这套系统，学习高空灌溉怎样与免耕农作方式相结合，创造出可持续、更有效益且环保的农业耕作方式。这次活动含免费烧烤午餐。您可到网上进行注册参加：http://ucanr.edu/TwilightRegistration。

高架喷灌系统是美国最流行的灌溉方式，如中心支轴式喷灌系统，然而，在加利福尼亚州迄今尚未得到大幅推广。高架喷灌的最新技术手段是与GPS相整合，通过电脑或小巧的手机就能管理大面积的农场，这项新技术引起农民的极大兴趣，改变了农民传统的重力地面灌溉（滴灌）的耕作方式，目前加州有5，000,000英亩尚在使用滴灌。

加州大学戴维斯分校植物科学院联合研发中心专家Jeff Mitchell说："我们对高架喷灌系统成功应用于棉花、苜蓿、玉米、洋葱、小麦等农作物上抱有极大信心，在加州有50亿美元的乳制品行业，所以在饲料作物比如苜蓿、玉米和高粱上应用潜力极大。"

曼哈顿西区研究推广中心的研制新系统估价为100,000美元，其研究费用由瑞克制造集团捐助。瑞克还将资助中心研究灌溉监控系统，这项技术可以使农民和使用者更实时地通过上网观察农作物生长情况和灌溉情况。

展示一开始，中心支轴式喷灌机将灌溉8英亩的半圆苜蓿地和8英亩的半圆形棉花地。灌溉系统性能、除草、施肥、土壤取样和经济可行性等将全方位成果展示在加州大学研究中心的多个研究小组的监控下完成。

Mitchell说："在棉花和苜蓿上，我们将研究不充分灌溉方式，通过控制支轴转速、圆形部件等，实现充分灌溉，四分之三水量灌溉，和二分之一水量灌溉。"

9月13日展示这天，研究者们将分享他们的专业知识-在加州如何推广使用中心支轴式喷灌机。参会者将学习到如何运行高架喷灌设备，怎样维修，土壤传感器如何与喷灌设备联用，及高架喷灌设备能产生何种高效益、高均匀度等。(编辑 崔亚静)

First center pivot for University of California

In a sign of changing times in California agriculture, the University of California will dedicate its first full-sized center pivot overhead irrigation system at the UC West Side Research and Extension Center during the Twilight Conservation Agriculture field day at 4 p.m. on Sept. 13. The center is at 17353 W. Oakland Ave. in Five Points.

Farmers and other members of the public are invited to the free event to see the system in operation and learn how overhead irrigation can be combined with no-till or minimum-till farming methods to create a more sustainable, profitable and environmentally sound agriculture industry. The field day includes a free barbecue dinner. To register, go tohttp://ucanr.edu/TwilightRegistration.

Overhead irrigation systems, such as center pivot systems, are the most prevalent form of irrigation nationwide; however, they have not been widely adopted in California to date. Recent technological advances in overhead irrigation - which allows integration of irrigation with global positioning systems (GPS) and management of vast acreage from a computer or smart phone - have boosted farmers' interest in converting from gravity-fed surface irrigation systems, which are still used on 5 million acres of California farmland.

"We see tremendous possibilities for overhead irrigation in cotton, alfalfa, corn, onions and wheat production," said Jeff Mitchell, UC Cooperative Extension specialist in the Department of Plant Sciences at UC Davis. "There is also great potential for overhead irrigation in California's $5 billion dairy industry for more efficiently producing feed crops like alfalfa, corn and sorghum."

The new system at the West Side Research and Extension Center, valued at about $100,000, was donated by Reinke Manufacturing of Hastings, Neb., for researchers to use.  Reinke will also sponsor the installation of its OnTrac irrigation monitoring system, which will give farmers and the public a real-time, online window of observation on crops growing and being irrigated by the new center pivot.

To begin with, the center pivot will irrigate an 8-acre half-circle of alfalfa and an 8-acre half-circle of cotton. All aspects of production - including irrigation system performance, weed control, fertilization, soil salinity and economic viability - will be monitored by a diverse team of researchers from UC Cooperative Extension, Fresno State University and UC Davis, plus farmer cooperators and industry members.

"In cotton and alfalfa, we will study deficit irrigation," Mitchell said. "By controlling the speed of the pivot, pie-shaped segments will get either full irrigation, three-quarters of the full amount or about half of the full irrigation quantity."

At the Sept. 13 field day, researchers will share what they have already learned about using center pivot systems in California. Participants will hear how overhead irrigation systems operate, how they are optimally managed, how soil water sensors can be used in conjunction with overhead systems and how overhead systems can result in higher application efficiencies and uniformities.