LETHBRIDGE, AB – A new research project, being led by Lethbridge College, is trying to take the guesswork out of irrigation.
Irrigation Science Applied Research Chair, Dr. Willemijn Appels, has received more than $420,000 from the Results Driven Agriculture Research organization to learn more about optimizing the amount of water crops need to grow.
The three-year project will utilize microwave radiometer technology to map out the water already available in the soil. That data would then be translated to adjust how much extra water is needed through irrigation.
Dr. Appels explains that this technology adjusts pivot sprinklers in real-time as they move along a field.
The project will be getting underway shortly at the Alberta Irrigation Technology Centre, just east of Lethbridge.