PHOTO: MARK PASVEER
Most Dutch growers (still) use hose reel systems because of their easiness to use and capacity although they do realise that these are not ideal from the perspective of water utilisation.
Nonetheless, there’s some systems from Bauer and Lindsay in use. Mainly because of the en- ergy, labour and operational efficiency of the systems. Especially if irrigation is an integral part of the farm operation. Drip irrigation is very rare and apart from (trails with) seed po- tatoes and other high value crops hardly used.
GPS controlled irrigation The popularity of GPS controlled sector irriga- tion on hose reel systems is increasing rapidly. In its most simple setup, the GPS receiver on the sprinkler sends its location so the grower can see whether the sprinkler is actually mov- ing and thus whether the hose reel system is working without problems. Irrimec offers To- prain which is a GPS-controlled sector opera- tion for adapting the working width of the sprinkler to the local field conditions, to irrigate field borders and non-rectangular fields effi- ciently and to avoid field side buildings from being hit. Irrimec is also working on a system to vary the speed of the hose reel system in order to enable variable rate application (VRA). German company Raindancer is debuting its GPS-controlled sector adjustment irrigation this year. The technology is also offered by Bauer who calls it SmartRain and connects with Pessl Instruments soil moisture sensors
(see below). The Bauer setup calculates the actual location of the sprinkler based on the starting point of the sprinkler. It can then vary the roll-up speed of the hose reel and thus VRA irrigate.
Soil moisture sensors increas- ingly popular Like with spraying, timing is everything when it comes to irrigation. The perfect hose reel sys- tem, irrigation boom or pivot system is useless if set to use too late or at the wrong moments. Even local weather reports, rain radar apps and
the human (grower) eye are not accurate and capable enough to start irrigating at the opti- mal moment. This has set off an increased in- terest in soil moisture sensors. Not that these are new to the market, far from even, but the Internet of Things (IoT) and the LoRa (Long Range) or LPWAN (Low Power Wide Area Net- work) communication technologies and net- works make the sensors and systems much less costly and thus more interesting to use in mul- tiple fields, crops and irrigation zones. It’s not only the communication technology that is less expensive, the same goes for costs of data
Raindancer solar panel with gps-antenna for gps control of hose reel systems priced at €1,200. 33
▶ FUTURE FARMING | 24 May 2019
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