Irrigation system diagram

When you hear “irrigation system diagram,” many people imagine a beautiful drawing with straight lines and arrows. In fact, it is a living organism, where every centimeter of the pipe must take into account the slope, pressure and even how the wind drives water along the furrows. Now I remember how last year they redid the project near Astrakhan - initially they laid standard drip lines, and there the sandy soils literally sucked out the moisture. We had to add subsoil emitters, although initially it seemed that this was an extra expense.

Why a ready-made diagram is just the beginning

I take as an example a recent project with Shandong Linyao Intelligent Agriculture Technology LLC - their engineers sent a standardirrigation system diagramfor a vineyard in the Krasnodar region. Everything is perfect: calculated flow rate, valves, filters. But when they started marking the field, it turned out that the old drainage channel runs right through the main pipeline area. I had to change the routing on the fly and shift the control nodes. It’s good that they had flexible solutions with remote control of valves in their catalog - this saved the situation.

By the way, about filtration - many people underestimate how important it is to install multi-stage cleaning. I once saw how, over the course of a season, a 120 m3 sand filter accumulated half a ton of silt, which the mesh modules did not catch. If it were not for regular flushing (and they often forget to set it up in automation), the entire system would stop working. Now I always advise clients of Shandong Lingyao LLC to install combined filters, especially if the water is from open sources.

Another nuance: the diagrams often do not take into account that the pressure at the end of the line may fall below the calculated value. Especially if the terrain is difficult. We once conducted an experiment on a slope of 8° - the difference in water supply between the upper and lower emitters reached 23%. We had to zone the system into three circuits with separate pressure regulators. By the way, their equipment for integrating water and fertilizers allows such things to be flexibly configured.

Costly Design Mistakes

The most common problem is whenirrigation system diagramis done without taking into account crop rotation. I saw it in the Rostov region: they installed a system for corn, and a year later they switched to vegetables with a different planting step. All the wiring turned out to be useless - we had to cut the pipes and weld the collectors. Now I always ask agronomists about plans for 5-10 years ahead.

Another painful point is saving on shut-off valves. It seems that simple ball valves can be installed instead of servo operated valves. But when you have to manually walk around 50 hectares in 40-degree heat... It’s better to immediately install automation, since Shandong Linyao has inexpensive solutions with remote control via GSM.

By the way, about their equipment - last month they tested frequency converters at a pumping station. It turned out that during sudden voltage surges (and this is a common occurrence in rural networks), standard protection does not always work. Added stabilizers - the problem went away. A trifle, but without it the whole unit could fail.

How technology is changing the approach to irrigation

Now many people are demanding 'smart' systems, but they do not always understand that these are not just humidity sensors. For example, in the smart agricultural parks of Shandong Linyao LLC they use a complex: weather station + tensiometers + evapotranspiration calculation. Data flows into the cloud andirrigation system diagramdynamically adjusted. But! This only works if agronomists know how to interpret the data. I have seen cases when a computer watered a field in the rain - simply because the response thresholds were not set.

We had an interesting experience with drip tapes - we tested different models in the Volgograd region. Some lasted up to 3 seasons, others began to crack after the first winter. It turned out that the problem is not only in the wall thickness, but also in the UV stabilizers. Now, when choosing, we always request laboratory tests for photoaging.

On the issue of reliability: in projects of high-quality agricultural fields, duplication of highways began to be used. Yes, it is 15-20% more expensive, but when the main pipe bursts in the middle of watering, the losses are much higher. It is especially important for crops such as potatoes, where drying out of the soil is critical.

Practical installation details

Noneirrigation system diagramdoes not survive an encounter with a real field without adjustments. I remember in the Stavropol region we had to change the depth of the pipes - the ground penetrating radar showed a layer of clay where, according to geodesy, there should be loam. It’s good that Shandong Lingyao’s technical department promptly recalculated the loads on the collectors.

It is also important not to skimp on the installation of control units. I saw how prefabricated cabinets were placed directly into the ground without a foundation - after a rainstorm the electronics shorted out. Now we always make concrete platforms with drainage, even if this is not specified in the project.

There are also subtleties with filters - for example, when using fertigation, you need to install disk filters after the injectors. Otherwise, fertilizer residues will clog the droppers. By the way, this is perfectly implemented in their systems for integrating water and fertilizers - there is a built-in flushing of the circuits.

What remains behind the scenes of projects

Few people write in the specifications thatirrigation system diagrammust take into account the 'human factor'. For example, in farms where there is no full-time engineer, it is better to install fully automated systems with remote monitoring. We once installed a smart system in Kazakhstan - so the local machine operator first turned off “this Chinese electronics” until he saw that the yield had increased by 30%.

Another important point is training. The good thing about Shandong Lingyao LLC is that they provide training for agronomists. They show not only how to press buttons, but also how to diagnose problems. For example, if the pressure in a zone drops, it could be a clogged filter, a burst pipe, or simply a forgotten open tap.

Lastly, never ignore local expertise. Old land reclamation experts can suggest nuances that are not found in any textbook. Once in Crimea, a local tractor driver showed us where an unknown drainage system from the 1970s runs underground - he saved us a week of work and a lot of nerves.