Land irrigation system

When you hear “land irrigation system,” many people immediately imagine banal hoses with holes or complex computer panels. In fact, it is always a balance between agronomic necessity and economic feasibility. For example, last year, at one of the projects in the Krasnodar Territory, we encountered a classic mistake: the customer demanded maximum automation, although in terms of soil composition and crop (alfalfa), a simple drip circuit with manual control would have been sufficient. I literally had to draw on a napkin a calculation of evaporation and a crop rotation table - sometimes the most expensive solutions turn out to be useless if local features are not taken into account.

Selection of equipment: between theory and reality

Modern trends are pushing for the purchase of 'smart' systems, but in the arid regions of Stavropol we experimentally found out: sometimes the reliability of a mechanical valve is more important than a sensor network. Once they installed an expensive system with remote control - after two months, local voltage surges killed half of the controllers. We had to urgently install stabilizers, which were not originally in the project.

The choice of filters is especially critical. For artesian water with a high iron content, standard mesh filters only work for a season. I had toShandong Linyao Intelligent Agriculture Technology Co.,Ltddeveloping a hybrid option with sand and gravel backfill and automatic flushing is not an ideal solution, but it is optimal for local conditions.

By the way, about pressure: many people underestimate the need to accurately calculate pressure. On the slopes near Sochi, they somehow installed standard drip lines - the watering below was normal, but in the upper areas the plants simply died from lack of water. I had to convert it to a sectional supply with separate pressure regulators.

Design: where theory meets terrain

In textbooks they write about flat fields, but in reality you often work with complex terrain. In Crimea, at one of the vineyards, the standard scheme had to be completely revised - instead of traditional drip irrigation, they created a combined system with micro-sprinkling for young bushes. This added design hassle, but saved the seedlings during the first dry season.

Calculating water consumption is a separate headache. According to the standards, average coefficients are taken, but in practice, for tomatoes in the Rostov region and tomatoes in the Astrakhan region, the figures differ by 25-30%. Each time you have to make corrections for local evaporation, sometimes literally “by eye” based on the state of the plants.

It is especially difficult in windy areas. In Kalmykia, the sprinkling system turned out to be practically useless - half of the water was carried away by the wind. We switched to subsoil irrigation, although the customer was initially against it due to the high cost of installation.

Installation and first problems

The most critical stage is starting the system. I remember that in the Voronezh region, during the first launch, they forgot to flush the main pipes - the entire system was clogged with sand due to poor installation. I had to disassemble, clean, wasting time during the peak season.

A common mistake is saving on mounting hardware. In the Volgograd region, one business executive decided to save on connecting fittings - after a month, half of the connections began to leak. Losses from water loss turned out to be higher than the 'savings'.

It is especially important to take into account the human factor. In the Stavropol region they installed a modern system with timers, but local machine operators continued to water “the old fashioned way” - manually turning on the valves. We had to conduct a whole training seminar, and explain the principles of work in the local dialect.

Technology Integration: Experience of Shandong Lingyao

In collaboration withShandong Linyao Intelligent Agriculture Technology Co.,Ltdworked out a scheme for integrating frequency control with classic pumping stations. It turned out that for small farms (up to 50 hectares) full automation is not always justified - it is easier and cheaper to use semi-automatic modes.

Their developments in remote valve control are particularly useful for large areas. On a project in the Rostov region, a control system was installed via mobile Internet - the time saved on going around the fields amounted to about 3 hours daily. Although at first there were communication failures, we had to install additional signal amplifiers.

We gained interesting experience during the joint development of filter systems for water with a high lime content. Standard filters clogged within a week, so we had to create a cascade system with automatic flushing - not a cheap solution, but effective for local conditions.

Seasonal service and local features

Preserving the system for the winter is a separate art. In the Lipetsk region, once water was not completely drained from the pipes; in the spring, 30% of the system had to be replaced. Now we always use compressors for purging, although this increases the cost of maintenance.

Spring launches always bring surprises too. Last year in the Belgorod region it was discovered that rodents had legally damaged part of the underground pipes - they had to urgently search for and replace the damaged areas. Now we always include 10-15% in the estimate for unforeseen repairs.

We pay special attention to water quality. In some areas of the Moscow region, the water is so hard that filters require replacement every 2-3 months. We had to develop special softening modules, although they were not initially included in the project.

Economic efficiency and planning errors

The most painful issue is payback. Using the example of a farm in the Tambov region: they invested 15 million rubles in the irrigation system, but received real returns only in the third year. Moreover, the main savings were not in increasing productivity (although it also increased by 25%), but in reducing personnel costs.

A common mistake is incorrect calculation of the power of pumping equipment. In the Saratov region, pumps were installed that were too powerful - the excessive consumption of electricity was almost 40% of the planned figure. I had to change to more suitable models, wasting time and money.

An interesting point with crop rotation: sometimes a system that is ideal for corn is completely unsuitable for sunflower. In the Voronezh region, it was necessary to completely reconfigure the irrigation regime when changing crops - additional costs amounted to about 15% of the initial cost of the system.

Prospects and local solutions

We are currently experimenting with water recycling systems - especially important for areas with scarce water resources. In Kalmykia we are trying to collect drainage water and reuse it after treatment. Still expensive, but promising.

Local solutions are often more effective than imported ones. For example, to protect against frost in the Krasnodar Territory we use the simplest sprinkler systems - they work more reliably than expensive foreign analogues.

Particularly promising seems to be the direction that developsShandong Linyao Intelligent Agriculture Technology Co.,Ltd— creation of modular systems that can be adapted to specific conditions without completely replacing equipment. On their website https://www.lyzhihuinongye.ru you can find interesting technical solutions that we have already tested in Russian conditions.