The importance of drip and sprinkler irrigation systems today is greater than it ever has been. We are demanding more and more from our crops and we therefore have to demand equally from our irrigation. Often though, in the rigours of day to day farming it is easy to assume uniformity of irrigation. But when you come to test, properly and scientifically, it is surprising how much variation farmers accept as normal. The reasons for the variation can be various – dripper quality and suitability, age of the system, dirt, overall system design even operator decisions – but knowing what is happening in your substrate or field has to be a priority.
Aquaplast as experienced irrigation designers understand the issues and sympathise with the many calls on farmers time. That’s why we created the irrigation challenge! The routine is simple. We book a convenient time, borrow one of your staff for half a day and set up various experiments and measuring strategies which will eventually produce a spreadsheet conclusion of the average output in ml compared to the theoretical and then the variation across various predetermined areas, + and – when compared to the actual output average.
We have a sort of traffic light system where 0-5% variation is good and expected (you would hope for 3% on a new system). Anywhere between 5-10% we have an amber light and over 10% is a red light. Needs investigation or replacement.
Please contact the team for more details and to make your appointment to ‘Challenge your Irrigation’!