Course description
Strategies for Fertilization & Irrigation
Forming part of New AG Academy'sBest Practices for Product Application within Agriculture Series, this course consists of 10 online sessions, between 1.5 and 2 hours each.
On completion of this course, you will gain a further understanding of the essentials of fertilization, irrigation and be able to confidently design fertilization plans and irrigation regimes. Familiarise yourself with the practices and theory of fertigation, drip irrigation and other important techniques. From learning the fundamentals of plant nutrients to interpreting soil test results, over 5 weeks you will ensure plants optimal crop nutrition and boost the crop yield while minimizing environmental pollution.
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Suitability - Who should attend?
This course has been developed for agronomists wanting to boost their career and growers looking to learn how to maximise yield through a comprehensive fertigation program.
Outcome / Qualification etc.
- Acquire knowledge of the essential plant nutrients
- Understand soil salinity, how it affects crop production and how to avoid it
- Develop skills in fertigation and understand the interactions between fertilizers, water and soil
- Understand the processes in soils that influence the availability of the different nutrients
- Develop skills in interpreting soil test results
- Acquire knowledge of water requirements by crops
- Understand irrigation water quality and develop skills in interpreting water analysis
- Learn how to design fertilizer programs based on soil, water and plant tissue analysis
- Develop skills in irrigation scheduling and designing irrigation systems
This course has been assessed by a Certified Crop Advisor and awarded 13.5 CEU credits.
Training Course Content
Module 1: Plant nutrients
- Yield response to nutrients
- Law of minimum
- The essential nutrients
- The macronutrients
- Secondary nutrients
- Micronutrients
- Nutrient availability
- Nutrient forms
- Unit and form conversions
- Nutrient requirements by crops (effects – planting density, weather, Crop phenology and nutrient uptake curves, target yield)
- Nutrient deficiencies and their symptoms
Module 2: Soil as a source of nutrients
- Soil properties
- Soil minerals
- Soil pH
- The organic matter
- Nutrients in soil
- Availability of nutrients in soil
- Soil nutrient holding capacity (Cation exchange capacity)
- Soil texture and how it
- affects nutrient availability
- Soil biology and its effect on nutrient availability
- Harmful minerals
Module 3: The water – sources, properties and quality
- Water sources for irrigation:
- Groundwater
- Surface water
- Wastewater
- Desalinated water
- Measurement units – ppm, mmol/l, meq/l
- Water quality for irrigation – chemical, physical and biological properties
- Water quality chemical parameters
- Alkalinity and Carbonate hardness
- Hardness
- pH
- TDS
- The electrical conductivity
- Nutrients occurring naturally in water
- Harmful elements and their allowed ranges
- Interpreting water analysis
Module 4: Salinity – soil and water
- What is salinity
- Sources of salts in soil and water
- Effect of salinity on plants and crop yields
- Salinity symptoms in plants
- Effect of salinity on soil
- Salinity parameters in soil and water – EC, SAR,
- Measuring soil salinity
- Salinity thresholds
- Toxicity of specific elements
- How to avoid or minimize soil salinity
Module 5: Interpretation of soil, water and plant tissue analysis
- The soil solution
- Nutrients in the solid soil phase
- Extraction methods
- Soil salinity and fertility
- How to interpret soil analyses
- Interpretation of additional parameters: cationic exchange capacity (CIC), organic matter, soil pH, soil electrical conductivity
- Additional approaches to interpreting soil analysis results
- Saturation of basic cations
- Quantitative analysis
- Interpretation of water analysis
- Interpretation of plant tissue analysis
Module 6: The fertilization plan
- The target yield
- Nutrient requirements as determined by target yield
- Philosophies for balancing soils
- How to adjust the nutrient requirements based on soil, water and tissue analysis
- Types of fertilizers
- Organic fertilizers
- Choosing fertilizers
- Calculating fertilizer rates
- Timing of fertilizer application
- Basal application
- Split applications
- Methods of fertilizer application
Module 7: Fertigation
- Advantages and challenges
- Quantitative fertigation
- Proportional fertigation
- The nutrient solution
- Effect of the water quality
- Preparation of stock solutions
- Fertilizer solubility and compatibility
- Calculations
- Fertilizer injectors
- Fertigation systems
Module 8: The water in soil
- Soil porosity and texture
- Types of soil water
- Water holding capacity of the soil
- Water storage in soil
- Moisture conditions of the soil
- The osmotic effect
- Movement of water in the soil
Module 9: Irrigation management
- Water requirements of plants
- The evapotranspiration
- Methods for estimating evapotranspiration
- Irrigation scheduling based on crop evapotranspiration
- Leaching
- Irrigation scheduling using tensiometers
- Irrigation scheduling using sensors
- Irrigation methods
- Drip irrigation
- Sprinklers
Why choose PTI
On average, delegates of their online academies said:
Quality of content:
4/5
85% had applied content during the course to their role
Delivery rating:
4/5