Lucerne
Almonds
Apples
Avocado
Blueberries
Citrus
Maize
Greenhouse Cucumbers
Greenhouse Peppers
Greenhouse Tomatoes
Mushroom
Potatoes
Processing tomatoes
Sugarcane
Table Grapes
Wine grapes
NETAFIM Global
CONTINUOUS IRRIGATION
Farmers face many irrigation management challenges. Continuous irrigation solves many of these challenges. It helps to reduce management inputs around irrigation scheduling, it improves system efficiency and optimizes water-use, Soil and aeration conditions are optimised for peak plant performance. All of this leads to higher yields and better quality than you’ve ever seen.
Precision and Efficiency is within Reach
Discussions around modern farming increasingly centres around precision and efficiency. Low-delivery drip irrigation technology and concepts such as continuous irrigation bring these discussions into practice. With continuous irrigation, farmers are able to focus water and nutrient delivery on the root-zone, controlling the depth of irrigation very efficiently. With low-delivery drip irrigation, the farmer can have more control over the way the water moves through the irrigation system into the soil, and even water distribution in the soil. This results in better utilisation of lower potential soils.
Reasons to choose continuous irrigation:
- Irrigate larger areas simultaneously.
- It is simpler to automate the system.
- Managing the system is less complicated.
- Better utilise certain problem soil areas.
- More efficient distribution of water and nutrients below the dripper, which leads to a larger wetted area where the plant can extract water from.
- Minimise leaching of fertilisers and water below the root-zone.
- Improved system hydraulic performance due to longer irrigation time.
Improve Soil Conditions
Drip irrigation systems with higher delivery rates causes challenges concerning control over the depth of irrigation. This results in more frequent and shorter irrigation cycles, sometimes less than one hour per cycle. The result was oversaturated conditions in the subsoil, and even low hydraulic performance of systems due filling and draining losses.
The oversaturated conditions result in bad aeration and create stressful conditions for the plant roots. . Excessive water also leaches beneficial plant nutrients below the active root-zone, resulting both in less available nutrients for your crops and groundwater contamination. Continuous irrigation helps the farmer to balance the air-water ratio in the soil and targets water and nutrient application in the root-zone.
Change the Way You Use Water
Continuous irrigation helps you to make better use of the world’s most precious resource, for higher yields every season. Here’s the core design criteria:
- System flow rate: 2.5 m³ to 3.5 m³ per hour per hectare flow according to the climatic crop water demand.
- Number of irrigation shifts: One.
- Drip product: UniRam™ RC 0.7 or 1.0 ℓ/h.
- Spacing of drippers: 0.8 – 1.2 m.
- Lateral length: Maximum dripperline length must ensure flushing velocity of 0.5 m/second at the end.
- Primary filtration: Spin-Klin disc filters, 100-micron filtration grade or sand media filter with check filter.
- Secondary filtration: Disc or screen filtration with the same grade as the primary filter.
- Chemical maintenance: Continuous dosing of Hydrogen Peroxide with a concentration of 5 - 15 ppm at the start of the system and 1 - 2 ppm at the end of the system.
- Water analysis required: Yes, before the design of the project.
LET'S TALK ABOUT YOUR CONTINUOUS DRIP SYSTEM
We work with farmers around the world to analyse their water and help them determine what they can irrigate with it. Get in touch, so we can do something about your water challenges.