Syngenta Partners with the California to Improve Irrigation and Water Management

Syngenta, in partnership with the California Department of Water Resources and the Santa Clara Valley Water District, has announced that a new California Irrigation Management Information System (CIMIS) station is active and providing weather data to the public via the CIMIS Web site. The station, located in Gilroy, Calif., provides accurate water usage data for area crops. This data helps the local agricultural and landscaping communities conduct drought research and manage crop irrigation.

Syngenta provided the station, which gathers information such as solar radiation, wind direction and speed, humidity, and air and soil temperature, to the California Department of Water Resources. The Santa Clara Valley Water District will provide maintenance and calibration support. Syngenta researchers will analyze the web based data to determine daily estimates of plant water requirements and chilling requirements for crops grown in the local area. Finding innovative ways and technologies to help crops use water more efficiently is a major research focus at Syngenta.

“The CIMIS station data are reliable up to approximately 5-10 miles away from the station, so growers in the Gilroy area will benefit by delivering precision irrigation to crops,” said Joe Benson, site manager for Syngenta. “Syngenta is pleased to help provide growers with the detailed information they need to use water more efficiently. This is consistent with our focus on sustainable agriculture, which is at the heart of everything we do.”

The Gilroy CIMIS station runs completely on solar power. It provides information that empowers growers to make irrigation decisions immediately, rather than waiting up to one year for benchmarking data from less than ideal systems. The station’s data are available on the CIMIS Web site free to the public.

“We rely on the goodwill of companies like Syngenta who value irrigation research and the dissemination of the information to the local community so that many can benefit,” said Jan Carey, associate land and water use scientist for the Department of Water Resources.

The station is also expected to help local growers and the urban/landscaping industry, such as golf course managers and landscapers, plan for efficient irrigation. Information from the Gilroy CIMIS station also helps local farmers understand optimal strategies for growing crops when faced with water restrictions due to drought.

“California farmers and commercial and residential landscapers currently deal with a multitude of challenges, from serious drought issues to the troubled economy,” said Beau Goldie, chief executive officer, Santa Clara Valley Water District. “The Gilroy CIMIS station will help them overcome these challenges by providing the information they need to determine how to use their water resources more effectively.”

There are more than 130 active CIMIS stations in California. Syngenta’s Gilroy CIMIS station is the first in that community. The Gilroy station’s CIMIS Web site identification number is 211. Both active and inactive station data are available on the CIMIS Web site here. Santa Clara Valley Water District’s website’s user-friendly tools help farmers and landscapers calculate irrigation timing and amount based on CIMIS data. See www.valleywater.org.