Irrigation Covered

Andrea Kawabata, Alyssa Cho, Jen Burt, Marc Meisner, and Nick Yamauchi joined with staff from USDA NRCS Kealakekua and Kamuela as well as SiteOne Landscape Supply to host a Hands-On Irrigation and Groundcover Workshop at the Kona Cooperative Extension Office and Research Station.
Orchard crop growers learned about how NRCS programs can provide them with financial and technical support for conservation practices. Additionally, NRCS staff presented about on-farm irrigation establishment and conservation groundcovers.
During the hands-on activity at the research station, participants set up several variations of irrigation lines, including drip, pigtail, and spray emitters, and learned about the latest tools and supplies available. Here Andrea teaches a participant how to add a spray emitter.
Growers were also provided a variety of groundcover starts to test out on their farms. These and other helpful and important hands-on workshops have been funded by CTAHR supplemental funding, for which principal investigators Kawata and Cho extend their gratitude.