CASE STUDY
Commercial Horticulture / Citrus Agriculture
Davis Nursery, Arcadia, FL
Mitigation of Citrus Greening Impact through Soil pH Control
Commercial Horticulture / Citrus Agriculture • Arcadia, Florida • Partner: Paramount Chemicals
Project Details
- Client: Davis Nursery
- Industry: Commercial Horticulture / Citrus Agriculture
- Location: Arcadia, Florida
- Project Type: Drip Irrigation Chemical Injection — Soil pH Correction
- Equipment: Pulsafeeder Pulsatron Series E-DC (Model LS44S4-KTC1-037)
- Solution Partner: Paramount Chemicals
Project Overview
Davis Nursery operates commercial citrus groves in Arcadia, Florida — a region with naturally alkaline soils that are poorly suited to citrus root development without active pH management. To service multiple grove zones, their system relies on strategically positioned well heads driven by Caterpillar Diesel engines, which simultaneously power well pumps and charge 12V battery banks for precision chemical injection equipment.
Paramount Chemicals was engaged to design and implement a chemical injection program capable of delivering 93% sulfuric acid and liquid fertilizer directly into the drip irrigation network, before the irrigation water reaches the citrus root zone.
Citrus greening, known in the industry as Huanglongbing (HLB), is one of the most economically destructive diseases affecting U.S. citrus production. While the disease itself is vector-borne, one of the most effective agronomic countermeasures is maintaining optimal soil pH to support root ball health. This case study documents how a chemical metering pump for agriculture from Water Treatment Supply helped Davis Nursery deploy a scalable, automated drip irrigation chemical injection system across their Florida groves.
This solution is used in agricultural irrigation systems and is ideal for off-grid chemical dosing applications — designed for sulfuric acid injection at the point of use.
Background: Key Concepts
What is Citrus Greening?
Citrus greening (Huanglongbing or HLB) is a bacterial disease spread by the Asian citrus psyllid. It manifests as nutrient malnourishment in the root ball, preventing trees from reaching maturity and bearing fruit. Soil pH conditions directly influence the severity of its impact.
Why pH Matters
Citrus trees require a soil pH of 6.0–6.5 to absorb iron, zinc, and other essential micronutrients. Alkaline soils — common in Florida groves — lock out these nutrients, suppressing root development and accelerating greening damage. Maintaining optimal pH is the foundation of a healthy root ball.
Why Injection is Needed
Surface-applied amendments are inconsistent and labor-intensive. A precision sulfuric acid dosing pump integrated with a pH control irrigation system delivers acid directly into the drip line, ensuring every tree receives the same controlled dose at the optimal point of uptake.
Chemical Injection System for Citrus Irrigation
For citrus growers operating dispersed groves on alkaline soils, a purpose-built chemical metering pump for agriculture is the practical answer to consistent, automated pH correction. Water Treatment Supply specifies agricultural dosing pumps that integrate cleanly with existing drip irrigation infrastructure, deliver precise dosing of concentrated acid, and operate reliably in remote, off-grid environments.
A complete drip irrigation chemical injection system for citrus typically includes: a DC-powered metering pump, sand pre-treatment filtration, injection quills at the point of dosing, and chemical-resistant tubing & accessories rated for the chemicals being handled.
The Challenge: Alkaline Soil and Nutrient Lockout
Citrus greening manifests as malnourishment in the citrus tree’s root ball. The root system fails to absorb adequate nutrients, ultimately preventing the tree from reaching maturity and bearing fruit. While the primary cause is bacterial infection spread by the Asian citrus psyllid, poor soil conditions drastically accelerate its impact.
Davis Nursery faced a specific agronomic challenge: their grove soils were not sufficiently acidic to support healthy root ball development. Without intervention, the root systems remain unable to uptake iron, zinc, and other micronutrients — even when these elements are present in irrigation water.
Alkaline Soil pH
Citrus trees require a soil pH of 6.0–6.5 to efficiently absorb essential nutrients. Untreated alkaline conditions in Arcadia groves were actively suppressing root development.
Manual or Absent pH Correction
Without an automated injection system, consistent and precise chemical dosing into drip lines across dispersed grove zones was not operationally feasible.
Off-Grid Grove Zones
Citrus grove zones are serviced individually and are not connected to a central power grid, ruling out standard AC-powered chemical dosing equipment and requiring a 12V DC-compatible solution.
Sand Contamination in Supply Water
Well-sourced irrigation water in the region typically carries suspended sand particulates that can damage sensitive chemical injection equipment and clog drip emitters without pre-treatment.
The Solution: Pulsafeeder DC Chemical Metering Pump
Paramount Chemicals designed a self-contained, battery-powered chemical injection system for each grove zone, built around the Pulsafeeder Pulsatron Series E-DC — a DC-powered sulfuric acid dosing pump purpose-built for remote, off-grid chemical dosing applications. The Pulsatron line is engineered specifically for solenoid-driven precision metering in field conditions where mains electricity is unavailable.
This solution is used in agricultural irrigation systems and is ideal for off-grid chemical dosing applications. It is designed for sulfuric acid injection, with full chemical compatibility for 93% H₂SO₄.
System Design and Installation
The complete pH control irrigation system was deployed across all grove zones in five sequential stages — from well head infrastructure through to drip-line delivery at each tree’s root ball.
Step 1 — Well Head Infrastructure
Caterpillar Diesel engines were installed at strategic positions across the grove to drive zone-specific well pumps. Each engine simultaneously charges a bank of 12V batteries, providing a stable DC power source for the injection equipment without requiring mains electricity.
Step 2 — Sand Separation Pre-Treatment
A hydro cyclone sand separator was installed downstream of each well pump to remove suspended particulates before the irrigation water contacts the Pulsafeeder metering pumps or enters the drip emitter network. This protects equipment integrity and extends service intervals.
Step 3 — Pulsafeeder Pulsatron Series E-DC Sulfuric Acid Injection
The Pulsafeeder Pulsatron Series E-DC (Model LS44S4-KTC1-037) was commissioned at each zone to inject 93% sulfuric acid into the drip irrigation line. Operating on 12V DC battery power, the pump’s solenoid-driven diaphragm mechanism delivers accurate, repeatable dosing of concentrated acid, reducing irrigation water pH to the target range before it reaches the root zone. Key selection criteria included full chemical compatibility with 93% H₂SO₄, adjustable stroke rate and volume, self-priming capability, and low maintenance for remote deployment.
Step 4 — Liquid Fertilizer Co-Injection
In parallel with acid dosing, the system was configured to co-inject liquid fertilizer into the irrigation line. The acid corrects soil pH while the fertilizer delivers a targeted nutrient profile — both applied directly through the drip irrigation network to maximise root zone uptake efficiency.
Step 5 — Drip Line Delivery
Conditioned irrigation water is delivered through the drip lines directly to each tree’s root ball. This point-of-use delivery minimises chemical waste, ensures consistent treatment volumes per tree, and brings the nutrient uptake environment into the optimal agronomic range across every zone.
Results: Soil pH Stabilization and Yield Improvement
Following installation of the Pulsafeeder Pulsatron Series E-DC chemical injection systems across all grove zones, Davis Nursery recorded consistent, measurable improvements in both soil conditions and operational efficiency across the treated areas.
Soil pH correction directly influences the root ball’s capacity to absorb the macro and micronutrients required to resist the physiological effects of greening. By automating precise acid injection at the point of irrigation, the nutrient uptake conditions across treated zones were brought into the optimal agronomic range, supporting root ball development and improved tree maturity rates.
Before & After Comparison
| Parameter | Before Implementation | After Implementation |
|---|---|---|
| Soil pH Management | Absent/infrequent manual correction | Continuous automated correction |
| Chemical Injection Method | Not in place at the zone level | Pulsafeeder Pulsatron Series E-DC per zone |
| Power Supply Dependency | AC mains required | Fully 12V DC / battery-powered |
| Sand Pre-Treatment | None | Hydro cyclone separator per zone |
| Fertilizer Delivery | Surface or manual application | Co-injected via drip irrigation line |
| Root Ball Nutrient Availability | Restricted by alkaline pH | Optimised — pH 6.0–6.5 maintained |
| Operator Intervention | Frequent, unstructured | Reduced to periodic inspection |
Looking for Proven Chemical Injection Solutions for Agricultural or Industrial Applications?
Water Treatment Supply stocks and configures chemical metering pumps, dosing systems, filtration equipment, and monitoring instrumentation for agricultural, industrial, and municipal water treatment applications — including off-grid and DC-powered deployments.