Water management
Irrigation – a vital component for profitable vegetable production
• Grants of up to £35,000 now available • Maximum 40% of all project costs • Licences and permits must be in place
T
ime is rapidly running out for growers to benefi t from reservoir grants for irriga-
tion this spring. Light sandy lands in Suffolk and Norfolk have a limited wa- ter-holding capacity so precise and frequent irrigation is the key to successful vegetable crops. Wa- ter helps maximise crop yield and quality, enhancing crop establish- ment and chemical weed control, as well ease of harvesting. It is often thought that we have
too much water in this country – and there have most certainly been times in the past when this has been the case. But it is not a certain supply and has become an
expensive part of farming input costs over recent years.
This why so many growers
have now large storage reservoirs as well as bore holes. The Environ- ment Agency is in the process of reviewing licences with a view to cutting back these licences to lev- els equal to historic usage. It may well be that installing a reservoir can secure your wa- ter supply and the Countryside Productivity Scheme has one of its key objectives clearly aimed at water resource management and reservoirs.
The minimum grant is £35,000 – with a maximum of 40% of the project costs – and the deadline
for applications is 3 April. But ab- straction licences and planning permission need to be in place be- fore applying. The idea is to help fund reservoirs, abstraction point creation, fi ll pipes, pump controls and distribution mains, metering equipment and “best practice” ap- plication equipment.
One aspect that will help the cost of a reservoir is the soil where the reservoir is to be situated. If it is clay, then the costs of the work can be reduced by as much as 50% by not needing to use a butyl lin- er. Thus a full soil analysis of the site becomes of great importance.
Water quality Control of water quality is cru- cial to minimise the potential problems that can be caused by biological and herbicide contam- ination, soil particles or organic matter. Irrigation can be an en-
try path for bacteria such as
E.coli and this is of huge signifi cance for crops like salad that will be eat- en raw. The water used for irriga- tion needs to be checked regular- ly to ensure it has acceptably low levels of microbial contaminants before use, although sampling where abstraction is direct from river or steam water is less repre- sentative because of fl uctuating bacterial loading over time. Wa- ter from deep boreholes is likely
RESERVOIR LINERS 3 Supply and installation 3 25-year warranties
Take the right route
with
GEOSYNTHETIC TECHNOLOGY LIMITED
Wiston Road, Nayland, Colchester CO6 4LT
SYNTHETIC TECHNOLOGY LIMITED ton Road, Nayland, Colchester CO6 4LT Email:
sales@geosynthetic.co.uk Tel: 01206 262676 Fax: 01206 262998
www.geosynthetic.co.uk
T: 01206 262676 F: 01206 262998 Email:
sales@geosynthetic.co.uk
www.geosynthetic.co.uk
Single Season for packing quality on the right soil type
Solid Set Sprinklers for all occasions
NOW eligible for 40% FUNDING Please call to fi nd out more details?
www. wr
ootwater.com t: 01302 771881
e:
info@wrootwater.com 30 ANGLIA FARMER • MARCH 2018
RightRoute_QtrPage.indd 1 25/08/2017 11:18
Hard Hose Drip
for processing potatoes
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