Toro is releasing two ‘how-to’ guides on subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) and mint production.

The SDI guide helps producers implement systems for field crops, and the mint guide profiles Idaho mint producer and president of the Idaho Mint Growers Association, Bob McKellip. The guide reveals the success McKellip has had through using SDI in two harvests.

The SDI guide gives and overview of the technology and a summary of its benefits, including increased yields, decreased costs and water use, improved ability to farm in drought conditions, and improved flexibility and convenience. The SDI guide also explains system set-up and the lateral selection process. Selecting the correct lateral model is integral for successful SDI systems, but is often challenging because emitter flow rates range from .07 gph to .53 gph, emitter spacings range from 6 inches to 24 inches, internal diameters range from 5/8 inch to 1 3/8 inches, and wall thicknesses range from 4 mil to 15 mil.

In a bid to help ease the selection process, Toro has developed a four-step lateral selection tool to help producers translate soil, water and crop information into specific lateral choices. Users can choose from Toro’s wide lateral product offerings, including Aqua-Traxx premium drip tape, Aqua-Traxx PC (pressure-compensating) drip tape and Toro’s new Neptune flat emitter dripline.

The mint guide explores McKellips experiences with SDI. “With drip irrigation, the result is a better crop, no runoff and a cleaner watershed,” explains McKellip. “I harvested unheard-of yields on second-year mint — 188 pounds of mint oil per acre!”

In addition to 47 percent more pounds of mint on his SDI fields versus his furrow-irrigated fields, he decreased water usage by 41 percent and reduced fertilizer usage by 50 percent.

The guide also reviews McKellip’s SDI system details including the lateral model, depth of burial as well as application rates, and cites other benefits including power savings; reduced weed growth, cultivation costs and labor; improved resistance to insects and disease; the ability to rotate to marginal soils; and the ability to grow higher-value crops with conserved water.