Droughtbusters: April 2000

Q. I’m a skilled technician and businessman, but not a great teacher. Where can I find trained irrigation specialists so my company can expand?

A. There are few schools that prepare people to be irrigation foremen or designers. A small number of state land grant colleges have four-year degrees in agricultural engineering that people have completed to prepare for their careers in irrigation. Other paths toward irrigation include four-year degrees in horticulture with a minor in irrigation science or a subsequent masters in irrigation science. Such programs require considerable dedication and graduate fewer than a dozen students with majors in irrigation annually.

Two-year community colleges in some areas offer degrees in landscaping that typically include irrigation courses. These schools produce the largest number of graduates each year – approximately 1,500 – but the amount of irrigation training is limited. Often, the most valuable training is on the job once a graduate has been hired.

One school in northern Florida recently launched a program that is completely dedicated to irrigation. Lake City Community College, Lake City, Fla., now offers both a one-year certificate and a two-year associate’s degree in irrigation. The school also has a landscape program for students to tie landscaping to irrigation. The school expects to graduate more than 20 irrigation managers each year.

Talk with representatives from your local community college horticulture department and your state university about the type of graduates they produce each year. There may be a way for them to tailor a degree to generate better trained people for your industry.

Of course, on-the-job training support is available from the Irrigation Association (IA). IA offers more than 20 different courses each year. This training can be backed up with four different types of certification.

Your local irrigation distributor should be able to help you arrange IA-sanctioned training in your area. You can find out more about IA training and certification programs by visiting www.irrigation.org.

Q. Should I use sprayheads or rotors for residential lawns? Front lawns in our area average about 1,500 square feet.

A. Unless a lawn is narrow or oddly shaped, rotors offer improved uniformity and reliability. Sprayheads have a higher precipitation rate and smaller radius. They do not cover as large an area as a rotor. More heads and laterals will be needed to cover the same area with sprayheads.

Once a lawn’s dimensions exceed 30 linear feet, look into rotors. Be aware that running times for rotary sprinklers will need to be longer than sprayheads. You won’t be able to put as many rotors in a zone as sprayheads. Also, larger rotary heads might require 3/4-inch pipe. Rotary heads are generally sturdier and harder to vandalize.

Do not mix sprayheads and rotary heads on the same zone. Also, pay attention to elevation and slope, which will influence application rate compared to the soil’s infiltration rate. The higher application rate of sprayheads might not be appropriate for sloped plant beds.

Bruce Shank is owner of IrriCom, a communications firm specializing in irrigation, turf and landscape in Palmdale, Calif. He can be reached at 661-722-1698 or irricom1@earthlink.net

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