Equipment for water-saving irrigation

When you hear “water-saving irrigation,” the first thing that comes to mind is drip tapes and timers. But in fact, this is a whole philosophy where every element should work like a clock. How many times have I seen people skimp on filters and then wonder why the emitters clogged up during the season. Or they install expensive automation, but forget about basic hydraulics - it turns out beautiful, but ineffective.

Filtration: something everyone knows about, but few do correctly

Last year, a 200-hectare project was launched in Kazakhstan - the customer bought Israeli drippers, but saved on filters. Three months later, half the system was out of order. I had to urgently install disk filtersequipment for water-saving irrigationfrom Shandong Lingyao - the same ones with automatic washing. An important nuance: for sand mails, a two-stage system is needed, and the first mesh must be at least 120 mesh.

By the way, about automatic washing - many people think that this is a luxury. But when you see how in Uzbekistan, in the cotton fields, a team of four people cleans filters by hand for days... You understand that this 'extra' 15% of the cost pays off in half a season. Especially with our waters, where the hardness exceeds 300 ppm.

We are currently testing combined solutions - strainers plus hydrocyclones. Forequipment for water-saving irrigationwith open water sources it is almost a necessity. But there is a nuance: hydrocyclones require precise calculation of the pressure gradient, otherwise the sand passes further.

Automation: where simplicity is more important than smart functions

Frequency converters are a good thing, but in steppe areas with power outages they can become a headache. I remember a story in the Astrakhan region: they installed an “advanced” system, but after every power outage it required a restart. Farmers eventually simply turned off the automation and returned to manual control.

Nowequipment for water-saving irrigationfrom Shandong Linyao Intelligent Agriculture Technology LLC offers an interesting solution - hybrid controllers with backup power from solar panels. But it’s important not to overdo it: for most farms, basic watering programs are enough, and not “smart” algorithms that try to predict the weather.

I saw the most successful implementation in the Krasnodar Territory - simple timers with soil moisture sensors. No cloud technology, but water savings amounted to 30%. Sometimes it seems that in our pursuit of complex solutions, we forget that the main thing is reliability.

Integration of water and fertilizers: subtleties that are not written in the instructions

When working with fertigation, you constantly come across one mistake: people mix fertilizers without taking into account the pH. The result is a precipitate that kills the entire system. It is especially critical with phosphorus fertilizers - they must be supplied separately, through separate injectors.

Last season, we were setting up a system for a greenhouse plant in the Moscow region. Used thereequipment for water-saving irrigationwith proportional dispensers - everything seemed to be correct, but they did not take into account the water temperature. At +12°C, the efficiency of phosphorus absorption dropped by half. I had to add heating in the storage tank.

By the way, about containers - if you use open containers, you definitely need UV stabilizers for pipes. Ultraviolet radiation destroys not only polyethylene, but also some types of fertilizers. This is rarely written about in specifications, but in practice, nutrient losses can reach 15%.

Design: why standard solutions don't work

The most painful experience is when you try to adapt a finished project to a specific field. In 2020, in the Rostov region they adopted a German project for loam soils, and they ended up with solonetzes. I had to recalculate the entire humidification scheme - with conventional droppers the humidification zone was insufficient.

Now during designequipment for water-saving irrigationWe always require geodetic surveying with an accuracy of 5 cm. Does it seem like a small thing? But a height difference of 2 meters per hectare already requires zoning of the system. And yes, this increases the cost of the project by 10-15%, but you avoid problems with uneven watering.

Shandong Linyao LLC had an interesting case - they were making a system for an 8° slope in Crimea. We used compensated droppers with a diaphragm, but we had to additionally install pressure reducers every 50 meters. Without this, the lower part of the field received 40% more water.

Seasonal maintenance: something without which any system will die in two years

Many customers think that they installed the system and forgot about it. Reality is harsher: even the bestequipment for water-saving irrigationrequires regular washing. Especially in the fall - if you do not remove water from the pipes, frost will break all connections.

We have developed a simple checklist for farmers: after the season - blow with air, in the spring - flush to clean water, once a month - check the pressure on the end emitters. It’s elementary, but in 80% of objects this is neglected.

The most common failure is valves. Especially electromagnetic ones, which are installed at the lowest points of the system. Moisture plus dust - and after a year the contacts oxidize. Now we recommend placing them in simple boxes made of plastic pipes with waterproofing. Cheap and works.

Economics: when payback depends on the little things

When calculating the cost of a system, installation is often forgotten. And it can be up to 40% of the price of the equipment. Especially if the field has a complex shape - each turn increases labor costs.

For small farms, it is sometimes more profitable to start with simple systems - for example, drip hoses with mechanical valves. Yes, the efficiency is lower, but repairs can be done on your own. I saw a farm in Tatarstan where only two people work on 20 hectares - and they manage.

By the way, aboutequipment for water-saving irrigation— it is important to consider not only the cost per hectare, but also the operating costs. Sometimes an expensive system pays for itself faster due to savings on electricity and repairs. This is especially true for frequency converters - they reduce pump flow by up to 30%.

Outlook: where the industry is heading

Now everyone is talking about digitalization, but in practice, most farms need not so much a 'smart' system as a reliable one. I’ve seen projects with remote control via satellite - impressive, but when there is no stable Internet in the outback, all these functions are useless.

A more promising direction is modular systems. Exactly what he offersShandong Linyao Intelligent Agriculture Technology Co.,Ltd. When you can start with a basic configuration, and then buy additional blocks - the same humidity monitoring or automatic fertigation.

The main trend is unification. Previously, each manufacturer made its own connectors, but now we are gradually moving to standard sizes. This greatly simplifies the repair and replacement of components. I think in five years the marketequipment for water-saving irrigationwill look completely different - fewer 'exclusive' solutions, more compatible systems.