By Chris Thomas
From an historic drought to overwhelming rainfall, the weather certainly ain’t what it used to be. It can be hard to predict the next weeks let alone the next months. And with El Niño around the corner, farmers had better be prepared for more uncertainty. To avoid flooding or stagnant water on hard ground, an increasing number of Central Valley growers are turning to a proven tech which boosts water penetration and soil porosity at the same time.
Transforming the Interactions Between Water and Soil
Hailing from Switzerland with a subsidiary in Visalia, AQUA4D is making a splash with its precision water treatment. This technology, first released in 2004, restructures irrigation water and any minerals within – unleashing huge benefits upon interaction with soils and plants.
Now even more ranches in the Valley are seeing positive effects, with soils staying moister after rainfall and the potential to recharge groundwater. How? AQUA4D not only changes the structure of water, absorptive capacity and interaction with minerals within. It has also been proven to change both the macro- and microstructure of the soil it irrigates. This effect was observed in a 2020 study involving universities in France and North Africa. “AQUA4D® can improve soil properties greatly by increasing soil porosity,” said the researchers. “Through this porosity, water, solutes, and gases can diffuse through the ground, thus increasing exchange processes.”
Now after finding success in Europe, this innovative water treatment is finding new appreciation in helping Californian ag overcome some of its greatest issues.
Rainfall Penetrating Deep at University of California ANR
AQUA4D has collaborated with the UC Extension Center at Lindcove on several projects, including a stress test in citrus trees, pushing deficit irrigation to the limit. But it was another aspect which drew unexpected attention. The trial was irrigating some rows with AQUA4D, and others as a Control irrigated normally. When the deluges came in early 2023, a curious thing was observed: many days after the rain, the Control side had standing water, whereas in the AQUA4D side the water had penetrated fully into the ground.
Donald Cleek, superintendent of agriculture at UC Lindcove, observed this effect clearly: “We have a study here involving tango trees. We had a lot of storms this year, and in the rows with AQUA4D treatment the water absorbed into the soil a lot more and it did not puddle or get saturated.”
Soils Moist Even 10 Days After Irrigation at Prima® Wawona
It was a similar story a little further up the valley at the Prima® stone fruit ranches in Traver. Since installing in early 2022, irrigation frequencies have been cut almost in half. By keeping a close eye on changes in the soil – with first-hand observation, as well as sensors and monitoring tech – this has led to significant changes in irrigation practice, enabling some stunning water savings.
“Before we were irrigating every 7 days, now we only have to irrigate every ten days or so,” says ranch manager Matt Acosta. “Considering the sizes of our blocks, that’s significant. We’ve cut out one whole irrigation, so we figure we’re saving around 25% water right now. I would like to explore pushing out that interval even further to 12 or 14 days, with the close monitoring that we’re deploying.”
Global Reach, Local Presence
Visalia native Jeff Nunes oversaw the above projects and more, in his capacity as Field Manager. He’s excited about the potential of the technology to help growers here be more productive, but also save precious resources:
“Our technology is both cleansing the soil and allowing the rainwater to penetrate into recharge levels, about 28 inches into the soil. With the heavy rains that we’ve had and might have again this winter, our farmers are looking to use AQUA4D to help penetration of the rain while also minimizing the water needed in the summer.”
With a newly established base here in California, the AQUA4D USA team is looking forward to helping Central Valley growers improve water penetration and overall productivity with an exciting and sustainable technology. Get in touch today to schedule a meeting:
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