Every day, each of us generally consumes about 100 gallons of water for our basic needs of drinking, bathing, cooking, toiletries, etc.  (USGS, 2019; Kobir, 2024; and Philadelphia City Government, 2024).  The United States Geological Survey (USGS) estimates that the average American needs 80-100 gallons per day for basic use and consumption (indoor use).  The Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) estimates that Arizonans consume an average of 146 gallons of water per day (ADWR, 2024).
 
As discussed in a recent article in this newsletter (Silvertooth, 2024) the water required to produce the food supporting an average Arizonan can range from 800 to 1,500 gallons per day.  Thus, we can use an estimate of 1,000 gallons consumed per day to support our individual food requirements (Anyabwile and Walker, 2019; Wheeler, 2022; Food Print, 2024; Michel, 2023; Smith, 2012).  
 
If this estimate of “virtual water” use is expanded to include clothing, appliances, vehicles, and other items in our common daily use the average water footprint for Americans easily comes up to 2,000 gallons of water per day (ASPE, 2022).
 
Looking at this more closely, we can see quite a wide range of water requirements to produce some common food items (Figure 1).  It is interesting to note the increasing water requirements associated with meat products and that beef is commonly found at the top of the list.

Figure 1.  Water requirements to produce some common food
items.  Source:  World resources institute, Anyabwile and Walker, 2019.

Considering daily indoor use and diet, a person can develop estimates on their own personal daily water consumption and water footprint by use of one of the water footprint calculators available on-line (i.e., Water Footprint Calculator).
 
Some good examples of water requirements (footprint) for basic food and daily use products include the following (Wade, 2024):
 

• One cup of coffee is estimated to be around 37 gallons. 
• It takes about 365 gallons of water to make Spaghetti sauce with ground beef, garlic, oregano, onion, and basil according to the USDA. 
• Sixty-five gallons of water are needed to produce a serving of rice and beans.
• The fruit in a fruit medley requires 71 gallons of water.
• It takes a total of almost 3,200 gallons of water to produce a mobile phone that includes numerous water-intensive stages, from mining rare minerals to assembling electronic components.  
• A substantial amount of water is needed to provide the ongoing charging required for electric vehicles.  This includes all the steps from the mining of lithium for batteries to manufacturing vehicle components. 
• Approximately 13,700 to 22,000 gallons of water is required to produce each of our standard vehicles.
• The data centers that support the extensive digital landscape we navigate daily require huge amounts of water for cooling systems and infrastructure maintenance.  For every 200 gigabytes of internet access approximately 40 gallons of water is needed, or about one-fifth of a gallon per gigabyte is required.
• A plastic water bottle requires twice as much water to produce the plastic than the volume of water in the bottle.
• One gallon of gasoline requires up to 2.5 gallons of water to refine it.
• One pair of leather shoes requires more than 2,100 gallons of water to produce.

 
The important point to consider is that we all use more water every day than is commonly realized.  Water is essential to support all life and it takes a lot of water to grow plants and support animals that everyone needs to live and survive.  
 
There is a strong demand for the food products shown in Figure 1 and all other food products as well.  As consumers, we are all the direct beneficiaries of the water used to produce the crops with all the fruits and vegetables that come from them.  Healthy animals require good food, which all comes from plants, i.e., alfalfa.  Everything we consume has a significant water footprint. 
 
We commonly devour our way through tons of good food while being totally oblivious to the reality of what it takes to put it all in the markets and ultimately on our kitchen tables.  It is good for us to recognize the realities of the water requirements that support the production and provision of our food, particularly in these times of water shortages.

 
References:
Anyabwile, A. and S. Walker.  2019.  5 Ways to put food on a water diet.  World Resources Institute.  https://www.wri.org/insights/5-ways-put-food-water-diet
 
Arizona Department of Water Resources.  2019.  Water Your Facts.  Arizona Water Facts.  https://www.arizonawaterfacts.com/water-your-facts
 
Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR).  2024.  Conservation.  https://www.azwater.gov/conservation/public-resources
 
ASPE.  2022.  New research shows most Americans are unaware of their daily water consumption.  ASPE Pipeline.  https://aspe.org/pipeline/new-research-shows-most-americans-are-unaware-of-their-daily-water-consumption/#:~:text=Most%20believe%20they%20use%20less%20than%20100%20gallons,indirectly%20%28e.g.%2C%20the%20water%20required%20to%20produce%20food%29.
 
Food Print.  2024.  The Water Footprint of Food.  https://foodprint.org/issues/the-water-footprint-of-food/
 
Kobir.  2024.  How many gallons of fresh water do we use per day.  https://medium.com/rocklinca/how-many-gallons-of-freshwater-do-we-use-per-day-7987edf6b1bb
 
Michel, D.  2023.  Water and Food: How, When, and Why Water Imperils Global Food Security.  Center for Strategic and International Studies.  https://www.csis.org/analysis/water-and-food-how-when-and-why-water-imperils-global-food-security
 
Philadelphia City Government.  2024.  Gallons Used Per Person Per Day.  https://water.phila.gov/pool/files/home-water-use-ig5.pdf
 
Smith, T.  2012.  World Water Day: How much water do you use in a day?  Climate Home News.  https://www.climatechangenews.com/2012/03/22/world-water-day-how-much-water-do-you-use-in-a-day/
 
United States Geological Survey. 2019.  How much water do I use at home each day? https://www.usgs.gov/special-topics/water-science-school/science/water-qa-how-much-water-do-i-use-home-each-day
 
Wade, M.  2024.  Where does our water wind up?  Ag Alert, California Farm Bureau Federation.  7 February 2024.
 
Water Footprint Calculator. 2024.  https://watercalculator.org/water-footprint-of-food-guide/
 
Wheeler, M.  2022.  Did You Know’ Series: How Much Water Are We Actually Using?  Virginia Water Resources Research Center, Virginia Tech University.  https://www.vwrrc.vt.edu/2022/03/31/did-you-know-series-how-much-water-are-we-actually-using/

Interested in staying up to date on the latest robotic ag technologies? The International Forum for Agricultural Robotics, FIRA, hosts two annual conferences focusing on robotics and autonomous farming solutions, one in Europe and one in the USA. They recently uploaded recordings of sessions from the 2024 World FIRA, held in Toulouse, France to YouTube. The site also contains playlists of themed breakout sessions from previous European and USA events (over 400 videos total). Highlights include panel discussions with growers and company executives, robot demos, and inno’pitches from startup companies. Most of the content, particularly from the USA events, is high quality and worth viewing. 
Check it out by clicking here or on the image below.

These types of herbicides are also called contact herbicides. PPO inhibitor means they slow down the production of the protoporphyrinogen oxidase (PPO) enzyme, which is used in chlorophill production. This inhibition also results in the formation of highly reactive molecules that attack and destroy lipids and protein membranes which ultimately affect cell membranes. This result in leaky cells and disintegration of the tissue.

Goal (Oxyfluorfen) is one of the earliest registered of these products (1980) but has only been used widely over the about the last 16 years. This is the only one of these that has problems with “lift off” or codistillation with water. ⁽¹⁾
According to University of CA IPM “In dry bulb onions, GoalTender may be tank-mixed with other pesticides such as bromoxynil, but tank mixes must only be used on older onions with well-developed cuticles to avoid unacceptable crop injury. Unacceptable injury may occur if applied to small onions without adequate cuticle development, and in conditions such as after cloudy or rainy weather. Follow the label closely to avoid crop injury when tank mixing.
Oxyfluorfen has some residual soil activity after application. It controls small broadleaf weeds, some grasses, and nightshade, and controls little mallow (cheeseweed) well ”. ⁽¹⁾

Other PPO herbicides are: Aim or Shark, Chateau, Sharpen or Treevix, ET, and Spartan. They work as contact herbicides and do not move through the plant.
Most of these products don’t have preemergence activity but when used at higher rates Goal and Chateau do.⁽²⁾ As the plant emerges from the soil and contacts the herbicide it dies, so it is recommended to avoid disturbing soil after the application of these products.
 
This week in Yuma oxyfluorfen uses:

1. Directed application in broccoli for goosefoot, lambsquarter, and cheeseweed control.
2. Broadcast application in onions for goosefoot, grasses and lambsqurter

 
References

1. https://cales.arizona.edu/crop/vegetables/advisories/more/weed173.html
2. https://ipm.ucanr.edu/agriculture/onion-and-garlic/integrated-weed-management/

Results of pheromone and sticky trap catches can be viewed here.
 
Corn earworm:            
CEW moth counts decreased considerably y in the past 2 weeks and about average for late summer
 
Beet armyworm:         
Trap counts stay active in some locations (Yuma Dome Valley and Wellton) particularly near alfalfa
 
Cabbage looper:         
Cabbage looper numbers remain low consistent previous years.
 
Diamondback moth:      
DBM moths were not caught in any trap since June; average for this time of the year.
 
Whitefly:                      
Adult movement decreased in past 2 weeks consistent with previous years
 
Thrips:                         
Thrips adults decreasing in most locations, and trending comparable to previous years.
 
Aphids:                       
Aphid movement is absent and consistent with what we typically see during the summer.
 
Leafminers:                  
Adult activity has highest in Wellton and Dome Valley, and slightly above average for early August