Agricultural land irrigation system

Many people still think that irrigation is just 'sprinkling with water', but in reality it is a complex ecosystem where every element affects the crop. Last season I saw how in the Krasnodar Territory an attempt to save on filters led to salinization of 50 hectares - a classic mistake made by beginners.

Selection of equipment: where the pitfalls lie

When you start designing a system, the first thing you are faced with is the choice between cheap valves and reliable solutions. I remember in 2020, at one of the farms in the Rostov region, Chinese solenoid valves were installed without taking into account the local water quality - after six months, 70% failed due to lime deposits.

Now I often advise you to pay attention tointegrated systems- for example, Shandong Lingyao has models with self-washing filters. But even here there is a nuance: if the water is from an open reservoir, two-stage cleaning is needed, otherwise the droppers will clog within a week.

By the way, about drip irrigation - many people think that it is universal. But on the heavy loams of the Stavropol region it was necessary to combine it with aeration, otherwise the root system would suffocate. Sometimes it's worth paying extra forfrequency regulation, especially if the area has elevation changes.

Automation: when you really need it

Last year, a remote control system was installed on a project in the Voronezh region - it would seem ideal. But it turned out that local operators are not ready to work with complex interfaces. I had to simplify it to three basic modes.

Now when selectingautomationI always ask: who will serve? If there is no full-time engineer, it is better to take solutions with remote monitoring - for example, like Shandong Lingyao, where you can see the pressure in the line through a mobile application. But there is a risk here: in some areas the connection is unstable.

I noticed an interesting detail: many farmers are afraid of fully automatic systems. And with good reason - once a power failure led to the fact that tomatoes on 20 hectares were left without watering for 48 hours. Now I always recommend hybrid solutions with mechanical duplication.

Design: Costly Mistakes

When I got acquainted with the projects of Shandong Lingyao, I noticed their approach tohydraulic structures— they always consider not only productivity, but also seasonal fluctuations in groundwater. In Kalmykia, I somehow neglected this calculation - as a result, the pumping station ended up in water in the spring.

Another common miscalculation is saving on drainage. On the saline soils of the Astrakhan region without a drainage system, any irrigation works for a maximum of 2-3 years. Moreover, the depth of drainage is a separate science and depends on the granulometric composition.

Now, when designing, I always request data for at least 5 years on water consumption of crops. Without this, even the most advancedirrigation systemwill be ineffective - I have seen cases when the productivity of pumps exceeded real needs by 1.5 times.

Fertilizer integration: subtleties that are not written in the instructions

They often go overboard with fertigation systems - they try to constantly supply fertilizers. But in practice, pulse feeding is better for most crops. Last year we experimented with an apple orchard - it turned out that when drip irrigation, phosphorus must be supplied separately from calcium, otherwise sediment will form.

By the way, about equipment forintegration of water and fertilizers— many people underestimate the importance of injector material. Plastic ones wear out quickly from ammonium nitrate, it is better to take stainless steel. Shandong Lingyao has good solutions in this regard, but for Russian conditions sometimes it is necessary to modify it - our fertilizers often have different concentrations.

I noticed another pattern: when using liquid complex fertilizers, you need to clean the filters more often - they produce more sediment. This is especially critical with drip irrigation - once the emitters on 15 hectares of corn clogged and had to be washed with acid.

Seasonal Maintenance: What's Often Missed

Many people think that after installation they can forget about the system until spring. But in the fall, it is imperative to blow out the lines - especially if polyethylene pipes are used. In cold weather they burst not from the temperature, but from the expansion of the ice.

Another important point is the calibration of humidity sensors. Once a season you need to check it using the thermostat-weight method - I once found a discrepancy of 25% on sensors that only worked for a year. By the way, Shandong Lingyao has good calibration kits, but the instructions in Russian sometimes require improvement.

Backflow protection is often forgotten, especially when connecting the system to open bodies of water. Somehow we had to deal with contamination of the well due to the backflow of water - now we always install double check valves.

Regional specifics: why there are no universal solutions

In the Stavropol region, for example, water often has a high iron content - special filters with aeration columns are needed. And in Crimea there is a problem with carbonate hardness - conventional acid dispensers cannot cope, so you have to combine methods.

Working withShandong Lingyao projects, I noticed their adaptability - they offer different filter configurations for different regions. But local improvements are still required - for example, in the Volgograd region it was necessary to increase the productivity of sand and gravel filters due to the high content of suspended matter.

An interesting case was in the Belgorod region - there they had to completely revise the irrigation scheme due to the terrain. Standard solutions did not work; they made zoning into 8 sectors with different watering schedules. Sugar beet yields increased by 23%, but so did energy costs—solar panels had to be installed to compensate.

Irrigation economics: when investments pay off and when they don’t

Many people believe that automation is always beneficial. But on plots up to 50 hectares it is often easier to hire an operator - the equipment pays for itself in 5-7 years. Another thing is large farms, where even 10% water savings provide significant benefits.

When making calculations, the cost of maintenance is often forgotten. For example,irrigation systemswith frequency regulation require annual inspection of converters - this is another 3-5% of the original cost.

Now, when planning, I always advise you to make a reserve for improvements - not a single project works perfectly from the first season. Usually it takes 2-3 years of adjustment to specific conditions. But when the system is debugged, it really begins to make a profit, especially in crops with high added value.