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samedi 1 février 2014

Tips To Understanding Pulse Irrigation

By Eliza Mendoza


As the world population grows so does the need for more food. This growth is coupled with a reduction in arable land as people settle and build homes where farming should be done. This forces mankind to come up with better farming methods that will take less space and produce more food. Systems like pulse irrigation has proven to be just one of the ways to make land more productive while using little water.

This system makes it possible to effectively manage your water resources. Since it is scalable, one can set it whatever way desired for the minimal water usage. Used with a drip or sprinkler system, the irrigation will be well managed. It can also be used together with the usual low flow systems and the ultra low flow systems.

For areas with very scarce water like in the deserts, this system has proven to be effective in saving water while satisfying the plants. The operation works by allowing water to passively flow into a reservoir at controlled rate. This builds pressure steadily till it reaches a predetermined level. The pressure then forces open the outlet valves and a pulse of water goes out.

Once the pressure reduces in the reservoir, the valves close allowing pressure to recharge again. As long as the inlet flow is lower than the outlet, the recharge and discharge cycle will continue. For this to work, a drip flow controller is used at the inlet to control rate of water flow into the reservoir.

This low flow pulse system can operate without monitoring for a long period of time. This saves the farmer from overwatering the plants. Engaging in this constant, frequent and controlled irrigation reduces water demand and lowers usage by a large margin. It also reduces water stress on plants as they have a period when there is no water flow as the pressure builds in the reservoir.

The outlet valve has strong magnets holding it closed as the pressure builds. When the pressure in the reservoir is strong enough, it overcomes the strength of the magnets forcing the top set of the magnets to open. A reduction in pressure allows the magnet to drop down and the recharging phase begins again and the cycle goes on and on.

When used with a sprinkler system, the results are impressive. During seed germination, it can be set to sprinkle for 5 seconds every minute in the first two weeks after planting. This is then gradually adjusted till you can allow it to sprinkle for an 8 hour period three times a week. The basic determinants are the rain conditions, intensity of the sun and water need by the plant.

Pulse irrigation system has been proven to have many advantages in farming. Even when used with a drip or sprinkler system, you get no run offs on heavy soil. Used on sandy soil that is known to have poor water retention, there is no leaching or water loss. On hilly areas and shallow soil, water does not run off despite the terrain. One can also achieve temperature control effectively through evaporative cooling using foggers and sprinklers working intermittently. This low discharge rate allows for use of little space in greenhouse and smaller containers. The system installation costs are also lowered greatly since it requires low capacity water pumps and smaller conduits.




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