Note: This is part of a Research Update series that highlights projects funded by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), Fertilizer Research and Education Program (FREP).
Project Title: Certification and Distance Learning for Fertigation
Project Lead: Dr. Stuart Styles, Irrigation Training and Research Center (ITRC), Cal Poly State University in San Luis Obispo
Project Status: Complete (3-year project)
Project location: ITRC, Cal Poly State University in San Luis Obispo
Overview: This FREP-funded project developed distance learning modules for various aspects of fertigation, including nitrogen processes and management. In addition, this project translated these resources into Spanish and made them available for free on ITRC’s YouTube channel.
Background
California has over 4.1 million acres with intensively farmed drip/micro irrigation, and approximately 1 million more acres with sprinklers, almost all of which apply fertilizer through irrigation water (fertigation). Fertigation encompasses the application of fertilizers to crops via irrigation systems. The lack of readily available pragmatic information and training related to fertigation is a major hurdle to improving nitrogen fertilizer use efficiency. This project is intended to address this issue with both English and Spanish training materials and certifications.
Approach
The principal investigators (PIs) of this project developed 22 distance learning modules for various aspects of fertigation, including nitrogen processes and management. These videos utilized information available in the ITRC/FREP book Fertigation that was developed under a previously funded FREP grant. The 22 videos were completed in English and Spanish, and all videos were uploaded to YouTube and are available to the general public on the ITRC YouTube channel. A list of the videos and their durations are shown in Table 1.
Table 1. List of the training videos available on ITRC’s YouTube channel.
The ITRC team also developed a “Certified Fertigator” certification program targeting farm managers and field staff involved in fertigation. After developing the questions and answers for the exam, the asynchronous online courses were developed based on the fertigation videos. A preliminary question bank was created for future quizzes and exams. In 2024, ITRC launched the in-house “Certified Fertigator” program.
Project Results and Impacts
The project has developed a suite of technical educational/awareness products. The in-house English and Spanish “Certified Fertigator” courses are active and open for enrollment on ITRC’s website. Participants who pass the exam at the end of the course with a score of 70% or higher receive a certificate of completion.
The videos are also available to the public as a playlist. There have been over 17,000 views with over 1,800 hours of viewing time since the modules were posted, with approximately 11 percent of the time focused on the Spanish modules (Figures 1 and 2). The videos that have the most interest are Fertilizer and Chemical Injectors and Sulfur Dioxide Generators. These videos have well over 2,500 views each in English and over 150 views each Spanish.
Figure 1. View count of ITRC fertigation modules (English).
Figure 2. View count of ITRC fertigation modules (Spanish).
The in-house English and Spanish “Certified Fertigator” courses are active and open for enrollment on ITRC’s website. Participants who pass the exam at the end of the course receive a Certificate of Completion. There has been a total of 50 attendees and 36 recipients of the “Certified Fertigator” certification (through January 2025). These courses are also available at no cost via the ITRC website at (https://www.itrc.org/classes/fertigation.htm).
To learn more about this project and other current and completed FREP projects please visit: https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/is/ffldrs/frep/Research.html.