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to contain fewer pathogens; water extracted from rivers and stored in reservoirs prior to application will show a decline in pathogen levels over time.
Equipment
Hose reels are by far the most pop- ular method of irrigation with ei- ther rain gun, sprinklers or linear applicators. This sort of spray irri- gation generally works better at night as the wind tends to be low-
er and thus the water does not get blown away from the crop. An alternative is trickle irri- gation which has several ben- efi ts including lower water us- age as there is very little waste. This uses small-bore plastic pipes to take the water directly to the plants but there is a considerable labour cost in setting up and re- moving the system from the fi eld. Fertigation can be used with this system (and even water with
Crops such as lettuce are very sensitive to water supplies
a higher than normal saline lev- el) as the water is applied direct- ly to the roots and not the leaves but algae and slime can build up in the pipes - which thus need to be cleaned by periodic chlorination. The newest irrigation systems
have GPS control and are connect- ed to a smartphone for instant alarms or re-setting.
Vegetable requirements As is well known, potatoes require a great deal of water during their growth period as their yield is so dependent on this but crops such as lettuce are very sensitive to water supplies as leaf expansion is closely related to water avail- ability; however, too much water and the heads can grow too fast and “burst”, too little and the crop wilts. Although crops such as broc- coli and caulifl ower are not grown specifi cally for their leaves, they
respond to irrigation in the same way as other leaf vegetables. Cau- lifl ower can be particularly affect- ed by water stress with a shortage of water causing reduced growth and premature heading. Carrots and onions require an even and abundant supply throughout the season as stress can cause carrots to have small, woody and poorly fl avoured roots. Uneven irrigation can cause misshapen or split roots in carrots and early bulbing in on- ions.
Wildlife
Another benefi t from a reservoir is the wild life aspect and the im- pact on the local environment. For example, two small reservoirs at a nursery near Diss provide the home for no less than 24 differ- ent species with many birds, in- cluding cormorants and barn owls. A complete irrigation system on a farm is a huge investment but amortized over many years it pays for itself in the improved yield and good quality of the crops. Without its aid for vegetables, there simply would not be any crops for sale.
GPS- FLEET MANAGEMENT FOR YOUR IRRIGATION
MONITORING ● REMOTE CONTROL ● DEPLOYMENT ● PLANNING & MUCH MORE
With Raindancer you can monitor and control the irrigation on your smartphone or PC
Have all information at a glance Compatible with all irrigation machines Save time on inspection trips Know when the machines are ready
Know the status and water pressure of each machine Detect faults faster to save time
We are the EXCLUSIVE UK Distributor and Importer for Raindancer Visit us:
www.rstirrigation.co.uk ● Call us: 01353 675265
MARCH 2018 • ANGLIA FARMER 31
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