

Trickle-L Group Offers Online Expertise to Growers,
GardenersBy Marcia
Wood May 27, 1997Growers and gardeners with questions about drip irrigation can
turn to an Internet discussion group called Trickle-L for fast help. Trickle-L was launched in 1994 by the
Agricultural Research Services
Water Management Research Laboratory in Fresno, Calif. Today, Trickle-L links
about 500 scientists, farmers, golf course managers, irrigation equipment
manufacturers and others interested in drip irrigation. Sometimes called
trickle irrigation or micro-irrigation, drip irrigation systems rely on tiny
sprayers to deliver precise amounts of water to plants. Using Trickle-L, a gardener might pose a question such as how to
stop gophers from gnawing on the buried tubing of an underground drip
irrigation system. Replies could be on their way to the user within hours from
Trickle-L participants throughout the United States or in any of about two
dozen foreign countries. By providing ARS researchers with an up-to-the-minute
look at concerns of drip-irrigation users, Trickle-L gives the scientists
insights on potential research gaps. Drip irrigation often helps home gardeners reduce their water
bills or avoid problems caused when water from their yards sprays neighboring
homes, fences, streets or sidewalks. Frequently, drip irrigation results in
bigger yields and greater profits to growers. These increased profits help
offset installation and maintenance costs, which usually are higher than for
options such as overhead sprinklers or furrow systems. Compared to these
systems, however, drip irrigation offers much more precise delivery of water
and fertilizer or other chemicals to plants. It can prevent over- watering,
excess use of chemicals and unwanted leaching into the underground water
supply. There's no cost to join Trickle-L, other than the expense of an
Internet connection with e-mail. For more details, see the story in the May
1997 Agricultural Research, ARS' monthly journal. The story also is on
the World Wide Web at: http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/may97/trickle0597.htm Scientific contact: Thomas J. Trout, USDA-ARS Water
Management Research Laboratory, 2021 S. Peach Ave., Fresno, CA 93727, phone
(209) 453-3101, fax 453-3211, [email protected]. U.S. Department of Agriculture | |