What the Fertilizer Industry Has Been Doing to Reduce Groundwater Pollution
March 15 2012 - 6:57PM
Marketwired
The fertilizer industry is very concerned and engaged in the issue
of nitrate contamination in California's groundwater supplies,
according to Richard Cornett, communications director for the
Western Plant Health Association in Sacramento, a trade group that
represents fertilizer companies, manufacturers and retailers.
Regarding a recent UC Davis study on the issue, the fertilizer
industry acknowledges the problem of nitrates seeping into
California's groundwater but points out that it is important that
the public understand that the fertilizer industry has been
addressing this issue for many years.
Granted, the new study did note the scope of the problem and the
numbers of those people affected by nitrate pollution, along with
pointing out financial remedies to deal with the situation, but the
general reader might not know that industry has been working hand
in glove with agriculture and state agencies in tackling this
problem over the past several decades, Cornett noted.
Indeed, it is accurate to state, he says, that had it not been
for the research and education funded by the fertilizer industry,
to reduce and improve the nitrate situation on agricultural lands
in California over the past 30 years, that UC Davis researchers may
have reported numbers that greatly exceeded their findings about
the extent of the problem and the amount of those residents
impacted.
Cornett said to put the nitrate issue into context, it should be
pointed out that during the past 30 years the fertilizer industry
in California has self-funded research on the issue working in
tandem with the California Department of Food and Agriculture. More
specifically, CDFA's Fertilizer Research and Education Program
(FREP) has concentrated on developing extensive "best management
practices (BMPs)" to mitigate contributions from fertilizers. Over
the years, with the support of the fertilizer industry, CDFA/FREP
has contributed millions of dollars in grant funds to combat the
nitrate problem.
This is accomplished through nutrient management projects, and
farmers are implementing BMPs that optimize the efficiency of
fertilizer usage by matching nutrient supply with crop requirements
and to minimize nutrient loses, he said.
Over the years there have been changes in farming practices to
reduce nitrate leaching, Cornett pointed out. These include split
applications of nitrogen fertilizer which involves the proper
amounts of nitrogen and other plant nutrients for vigorous crop
growth based on soil and plant tissue testing. Soil moisture
sensors are now available that allow for the continuous monitoring
of soil water status in the soil profile. Fertigation (fertilizer
mixed into irrigation methods) has become more popular for its
efficient use of water and nutrients, tremendously reducing
leaching and runoff of nitrates.
And, more recently, he continued, there have been new
technologies developed, such as the remote sensing of in-season
nitrogen status of crops for supplemental fertilization involving
corn and wheat, and is presently in development for stone fruit
crops and almonds. Crop-specific and sometimes even
variety-specific algorithms allow for precise and spatially
variable application of the optimum nitrogen rate. Also, progress
is being made to determine nitrogen management zones guided by
aerial imagery, photography to detect nitrogen stress, and sensors
to calculate nitrogen application rates while travelling across the
field. As this new technology becomes more established and
affordable, its adoption in California will be widely accepted.
Cornett said all this is not written to confuse the reader with
a bunch of technical examples put forth by the fertilizer industry
to address what it is doing to deal with the nitrate issue, but to
reinforce the industry's position that it has been, is, and will
continue to work closely with regional water boards, state agencies
and California growers in a continuing effort to mitigate nitrate
impacts to California groundwater.
As noted in the UC Davis study, Cornett remarked, even if we
were to completely eliminate the sources of nitrate in groundwater
today, California's Central Valley and the Salinas Valley (heavy ag
producing areas) would continue to have a drinking water problem
for the next 10 to 30 years, because nitrates can move very slowly
through soils to groundwater.
The public should rest assured that the fertilizer industry
continues to be at the table with regulators, researchers, and the
agricultural community to help find solutions to nitrate leaching
in California's groundwaters, he said.
Richard Cornett Western Plant Health Association 916-574-9744
Email Contact