2002 Annual Report
Extension and Outreach
Chemigation Safety
Jerry Wright, Associate Professor
and Extension Engineer, West Central Research and Outreach Center, Morris,
MN
George Rehm, Gary Malzer, and Carl Rosen, Professors, Soil, Water, and
Climate
William Hutchison, Associate Professor and Extension Entomologist, Entomology
Rick Foster, Extension Entomologist, Purdue University Extension Service
Bruce Montgomery and John Peckham, Minnesota Department of Agriculture
Objective
Enhance irrigators’, irrigation suppliers’, and crop advisors’
understanding of the benefits, limitations, safety regulations, and management
practices for application of agrichemicals in irrigation water. Goal is
to protect groundwater and the general public from potential health risks.
Program Description
Chemigation can be an effective and environmentally safe method of applying
certain types of agrichemicals to soil or plants. An irrigation system
that applies water uniformly and with proper safety devices and management
practices must be used to ensure safety. This program uses a variety of
educational opportunities including bulletins, meetings, news releases,
and field tours of research and demonstration projects to provide information
on appropriate use of chemigation.
Outcomes
Discussion on chemigation is maintained in University of Minnesota Extension
bulletins AG-FO-6118 Nitrogen Application with Irrigation Water and AG-FO-6122
Chemigation Safety Measures, and the Midwest Vegetable Production Guide
for Commercial Growers 2002 (Bulletin BU-7094) in which the University
of Minnesota Extension Service participated, at http://www.entm.purdue.edu/Entomology/ext/targets/ID/index2002.htm.
A chapter on chemigation safety and calibration was developed in cooperation
with MidWest Plan Service irrigation committee for MWPS-30 Sprinkler Irrigation
Systems Handbook.
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) includes one of the Extension bulletins in an information packet for chemigation-users (around 1200 MDA chemigation permits). Most irrigator in the state has been contacted through articles in newsletters of the Irrigators Association of Minnesota and the Minnesota Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association.