Pasture / Hay Irrigation options and Management
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Pasture / Hay Irrigation options and Management
Chris Henry, Ph.D., P.E. Assistant Professor and Water Management Engineer
Special thanks to Phil Tacker for inspiration and assistance with this presentationSpecial thanks to Phil Tacker and KSU Extension for inspiration and assistance with this presentation
Micro-Irrigation for High Tunnels
Contact Information:E-mail: [email protected]: 870-673-2661
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Micro-Irrigation (drip/trickle)
The slow, low pressure, precise, application of water and nutrients directly to plants’ roots in
a predetermined pattern.
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What is irrigation and why do we irrigate?
• The watering of land by artificial means to foster plant growth (Merriam Webster Dictionary).
• Food security
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Drip Irrigation
• Efficiency 95 – 100%• Less disease problems • Reduced weed growth • Fertilizer injection is possible
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Types of Micro Irrigation
- Point Source (includes bubblers)
- Line Source
- Micro Spray
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Point Source
Application: Individual plantings like orchard trees, grapes etc.
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Point source emitters
‘Drippers’
Mini sprinklers
Spaghetti tubes and drippers
Each is rated for dripping at a pre-determined rate usually expressed in Gallons Per Hour (GPH)
1-3 GPH are common sizes
2 GPH emitter
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Emitters
• Pressure: 1 psi minimum (2.3 ft, 0.7 meter elevation)• Typical output: ½, 1, 2 gallons per hour
– (2, 4, 8 liters per hour) • Outlet spacing is almost unlimited 2 – 12 feet is most common (0.6 – 3.6 meters)• Run length will be limited at low pressure (1 psi)
approx. 15 feet (5 meters) • 5-15 psi on larger systems (> 15 ft)
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½” Polyethylene Tubing
Emitter
Punch Hole
Insert Emitter
Emitter Installed
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Slow application Covers 12 – 16 inch diameter circle
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Can be hidden under mulch – don’t bury emitter in the ground!!!
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Wire Staple hold in place
End Closure
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Line Source Application:
Irrigation in vegetable garden and/or rowed plants
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Drip Tape• Pressure 1psi minimum (2.3 ft, 0.7 meter elevation)• Flow: approx. 0.5 gpm/100 ft (2 lph/42 meter)• Hole spacing: usually 12 inches (30 cm)• Covers about 12 inch (30 cm) wide strip
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Concept introduced in England after WWII
Adopted in Israel for irrigating crops in the desert
American ‘invented’ the modern drip-tape concept
Tube in a tube…
Built in ‘pressure compensation’ over 5-15 PSI. Allows long runs with uniform water distribution
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Line source emitters
Drip tape or drip tube
‘Leaky’ pipe
Weep hose
Line can be for dripping at a pre-determined rate usually expressed in Gallons Per Length Hour (GPH) - 25 G/100’/Hr is the most common drip capacity.
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Drip Tape Wall Thickness
10 to 12 mil
Probably best for cost and durability
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Header line with drip tape connected at each row
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Fittings connect to header line and to drip tape
End of tape is easily sealed
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Surface water supplies and well water supplies will probably require filtration for micro-irrigation.
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Micro SprayApplication: Solid or close plant spacing
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Micro Sprays• Pressure: 5 psi minimum (12 feet, 3.6 meters elevation) probably require
pump • Flow: 1.5 – 65 gallons per hour (6 – 250 liters per hour) 10 to 15 gph (38 to 57 lph) common• Coverage distance: 2 – 25 feet (0.6 – 7.6 meter)• Various wetting coverage patterns
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Drip Irrigation
• Irrigations are usually frequent since applying low amounts of water
• Every 1 to 2 days is common
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1 meter minimum
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Homemade Drip LineOrifice Discharge (gph)
Nominal Operating Head
Hole Diameter
3 ft 4 ft 5 ft 6 ft 7 ft 8 ft
1/16 in 7.3 8.5 9.5 10.4 11.2 12.0
3/32 in 16.5 19.1 21.3 23.2 25.2 27.0
1/8 in 29.3 33.9 37.9 41.5 44.8 47.9
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http://sowingshalom.blogspot.com/2009/11/simple-bucket-drip-irrigation-system.html
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Mulching Combined With Irrigation
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Large Scale Micro-irrigation
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30 “ wide
1 ½” rise
Plastic mulch= 48” wide
Rolls are 2,000 to 4,000 ft long
Cost $110-130/acre
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Drip Tape or Tube
8 mil (annual)
15 mil (several years)
Rolls or spools
8 mil- 7,500 ft (acre spool)
15 mil- 4,000 ft
$130-140/roll
1.6c/ft.
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Offset
Tomatoes
Melons
Large flowers
Nursery stock
Centered
Peppers
Cole crops
Strawberries
Small Flowers
Single rows or double rows planted on beds
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Hand planting
Mechanical or ‘punch’ planter
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Remove a crop and plant another so that the beds are used 2-3 times per season.
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Components of a drip system
( backflow preventer) Filter
150 mesh screen Pressure regulator
5 to 15 PSI Manifolds Drip tubing or drip line
Optional
Pressure gauges
Injectors
Controllers
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Screen or mesh filters for well or municipal systems (closed water source)
150 or greater mesh
flush valve to clean
(pressure gauge to indicate filter clogging)
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Sand or media filters for open water sources (stream, pond, or lake)- usually need 2-3 filters side by side
inlet at top
clean by backflushing
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Pressure regulation between 5 and 15 PSI
Adjustable or ‘preset’
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Considerations for Tunnel
• Set up tunnel with good drainage around building
• Raise area above grade and level• Loam soil types are ideal for tunnel, sand ok,
clays are least preferrable• Organic matter is good for irrigation• Micro-irrigation minimizes humidity in
building
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Water Source
• Most alluvial wells in AR are high in iron, very bad for micro-irrigation.
• Rural water is probably best option, surface water may be better than groundwater.
• Know your water pressure • Obtain a water sample before buying anything
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Iron or Sulfur bacteria (ochre) buildup on filter
elements
Fe > 1.5 ppm
Mn > 1.5 ppm
(Sulfate) ‘rotten egg smell’ – not common in Ks.
Injections of chlorine or a ‘drip maintenance product’
to the water
Shallow wells, where water turns things orange. Not usually a problem in municipal systems.
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Water Quality Analysis
Suspended solids –’turbidity’ Iron Manganese Hardness (Hydrogen sulfides) Coliform bacteria (if used for drinking or
washing produce)
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Potential for Clogging
Suspended solids
50 50-100 100
Chemical
Fe .1 .1-.5 >.5
Mn .1 .1-.5 >.5
Hardness
<150 150-300 >300
Hydrogen sulfide
.5 .5-2 >2
pH <7 7-7.5 >7.5
Slight Moderate Severe
All chemical values in ppm or mg/l (except pH)
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Drip Irrigation Design ConsiderationsDrip Irrigation Design ConsiderationsDetermine the number of emitter lines/bed and emitter spacing
based on soil type and bed width. Determine the number of emitter lines/bed and emitter spacing
based on soil type and bed width.
Sand-low capillaritySand-low capillarity Loam-medium capillarityLoam-medium capillarity
Clay-high capillarityClay-high capillarity
Use 2 dripper lines on wide beds with sandy soil
Use 2 dripper lines on wide beds with sandy soil
Typical 12 inches between emitters
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Short wetting period
Long wetting period
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Short operation
Long operation
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Filter
Pressure regulator
Manifold
tape
Typical layout in the field
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Determining flow and pump requirements
You have 4 rows, 100’ long. How much water is required to operate the system?
4 X 100’=400’
25 gal/100 ft/hr
4/100’ X 25gph= 100 GPH= 1.6 GPM
Note: 5-10 gal/min through a garden hose
30 gal/min- household well
Most common brands of drip tape flow at 25 GPH/100 ft
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Determining water requirements for a point source system
You have 500 ‘drippers’ in a system each dripping at a 2 GPH rate. What water flow do you need.
500 X 2 GPH= 1000 GPH or 16 GPM
Note: A garden hose will supply about 5-10 GPM
A household well will supply about 30 GPM
Most drip times are 1-2 hours for shallow rooted crops (average about 45 min/day over a summer)
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Irrigation Fundamentals
Soil Water Balance Equation
Irrigation + Precipitation – Evapotranspiration +-Drainage +-Runoff = Water Balance
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Available Water Holding Capacity and the Root Zone
Root Zone2’ to 4’
Vegetative RegionWater Use by ET
Storage of water for irrigationAvailable Water Holding Capacity
Deep Percolation BelowRoot Zone
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Crop Water Use changes with Maturity
Kc ini Kc mid Kc end
Soybeans 0.3 0.95 0.2
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Soil Texture Available Water Holding Capacity (in/ft)
Sand 0.5-1.0
Sandy loam 1.0-1.5
Loam 2.0-2.5
Silt loam 2.5
Clay 2.0-2.5
6-12 in 18-24” >36”
Broccoli, greens, onion, snap beans, peppers
Cabbage, cucumber, muskmelon, eggplant, potato, tomato
Asparagus, lima bean, watermelon
Rooting Depth
Loam soil, 2.0 in/ft of soil in cucumber. When roots are, 6”, AWC at 30% deficit is 1.4” (0.6”), when at 24 inches, 2.8” (1.2”)
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Safety factor
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Tensiometer functions as an artificial root- measuring soil matric potential or how ‘hard’ the root must work to remove water from the soil
010
20
3040
Saturated
Field Capacity
Irrigation range in sandy soils
60
Irrigation range in clays
Soil Type Field Capacity, cbars
Trigger, cb
Sand 7-12 30
Loam, silt loam
12-20 40
clay 20-35 55
Irrigation range in loams
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0 centibar
200 centibar
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Manual read Watermark
Wireless Watermark
Wired WatermarkWatermark soil
moisture sensors and dataloggers
Tend to be less slightly less responsive and less reliable, but much easier to use
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6/1 6/15 6/29 7/13 7/27 8/10 8/24 9/7 9/21 10/50
40
80
120
160
200
240
012345678910
Rain Rip 30 Irrig Conv 30 Irrig rip 30 Avg 6" conv 30 Avg 6"
Soil
moi
stur
e (c
b)
Rain
, Irr
ig. (
in.)
6/1 6/8 6/156/226/29 7/6 7/137/207/27 8/3 8/108/178/248/31 9/7 9/149/219/2810/50
20406080
100120140160180200220240
012345678910
rip 30 Avg 18" conv 30 Avg 18"
6/1 6/8 6/156/226/29 7/6 7/137/207/27 8/3 8/108/178/248/31 9/7 9/149/219/2810/50
40
80
120
160
200
240
012345678910
rip 30 Avg 30" conv 30 Avg 30"
89 cb is 30% deficit Watermark threshold
30%
6” 18” 30”
6”
18”
30”
Subsoil did not recharge until irrigation and 3” rain
Sensors took guesswork out of whether or not irrigation was needed
V2 V4 V6 V8 V11 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8
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Tips
• Tensiometer or watermarks should be soaked in water twice for 24 hrs
• Do not use a slurry, make hole with ½ inch conduit/pipe/soil probe and insert sensor
• Install after emergence• Use more than one sensor location• Watermarks cost $35 each, reader $250,
tensiometers $75 each.
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Tensiometer ‘Station’
One long (12”)
One short (6”)
Turn the system on when the long tensiometer indicates a need to water.
Turn the system off when the short tensiometer drops to <5.
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Fertigation=Fertilization & Irrigation
Add a concentrated fertilizer solution to the drip flow
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Adjust dilution ratio from 1:64 to 1:400
No electrical required-operates on water flow (internal piston)
Usually operate at 1:100 or 1:200 dilution
Water Piston Injector
Dosatron or Dosamatic
Siphon into water flow
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Injector set so that you can ‘bypass’
injector if you don’t want to use it.
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Suggested application of fertilizer through drip
• All of the P and K needed applied before planting
• ¼ to 1/3 of the N required applied before planting
• Remainder applied through drip
Significant growth Full development
1 lb N per acre per day (watering)
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Maintenance of Drip Systems
Applying water on a frequent (usually daily) basis
A drip system must be reliable each time you use it
Poor maintenance will ‘catch up with you’
You will use it often
Reliability is essential
It will quit when you need it most
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Maintenance of Drip Systems:
Clogging by particles or algae
filters to remove particles and algae
Calcium deposits on drippers and lines
acid to dissolve calcium deposits
Slime or Ochre deposits on filters/drippers
Iron or Sulfur in water- chlorine or oxidize
A water quality test to determine hardness, total solids, iron, manganese, sulfate, (coliform bacteria)
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Injecting for Maintenance
Acid (sulfuric or phosphoric) for calcium deposits from hard water (as needed)
Chlorine (from bleach) for bacterial slime caused from Iron or Manganese- daily or ‘shock’
Daily= 1 ppm free chlorine in the lines as you shut down. ( 2 teaspoons in 100 gal water)
‘Shock’= 30 ppm free chlorine in the lines as you shut down (1/2 cup in 100 gal water)
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“Drip Maintenance Product”- a commercial preparation of anti-bacterial agents and weak acids to be used on a daily basis with
watering. Shut down system with ‘drip maintenance product’ in the
system.
Drip-A/-Tron
Sure Drip
s
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inlet
outlet
An open tank will allow iron and manganese to oxidize, form a sludge that will settle to the bottom, and can be periodically removed
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Suggested Reading
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Thank you for your time
• Micro-irrigation is a different mindset• Know your pressures and water quality source• Pick a good location, drainage and soil