ST. HELENA, Calif., Dec. 21 (UPI) -- Slowing the rate of delivery would reduce the amount of water lost in vineyards in California's Napa Valley, a Stanford researcher said.
Using water efficiently is a priority in the Napa Valley, where summers are hot and dry and grapevines must be irrigated to thrive.
Deep cracks caused by the natural shrinking and swelling of soil means that at least 10 percent of irrigation water bypasses vine roots and is wasted, Stanford researcher Eve Hinckley said.
Growers could reduce water loss by lowering irrigation drip lines to the ground or burying them, she said.
Growers also could slow the rate from drip emitters and irrigate earlier in the day for a longer period of time to allow more water to soak into the roots, rather letting the water bypass them altogether, the university said in a release Friday.
