Sprinkler and micro irrigation systems are widely used in modern agriculture, covering approximately 67% of irrigated cropland in the United States.

These systems require precise water quality and nutrient management to function effectively. Since 1950, irrigation water use has increased by about 29%. The growing regulation around water and fertilizer use, coupled with the need for conservation, makes automation even more critical.

By integrating Walchem’s advanced water treatment controllers, sensors, and dosing pumps, farmers can optimize their irrigation practices, ensuring even chemical distribution, efficient water use, healthier crops, and compliance with regulations. Specific examples include pH control, fertigation, disinfection, and remote communications, further detailed below.

In many areas, hard, alkaline water from surface and underground sources causes scale buildup in sprinklers and drip emitters, and affects soil porosity and crop health. Controlling pH with acid converts carbonate to carbon dioxide, reducing scaling. Consistent flow makes this simple, but variable flow requires a responsive chemical pump (EWN, EHE, EJ, LK or IX) and a controller with PID or PI algorithms (Intuition-6/9) to adjust for changes in flow and pH. The addition of WEL pH sensors and WFP paddlewheel flow sensors provides real-time feedback for control.

Fertigation is the application of fertilizers in to the irrigation lines. This method provides a consistent and uniform amount of fertilizer to each of the crops provided the system is plumbed properly.This results in higher crop yield and reduced consumption of fertilizer and water. There are two ways that this can be accomplished:

Chemical Pump with Flow-based Feed
This method utilizes a chemical pump (EWN, EHE, IX) that is paced by a water meter, either through digital pulses or a 4-20 milliamp input. As the flow increases, the chemical pump output also increases, resulting in a proportional amount of fertilizer in the water line. Consistent levels of fertilizers reduce crop damage and increase the yield./p>

Conductivity Control
This method employs a conductivity controller (Intuition-6/9) alongside a dosing pump. The conductance of the fertilizer-water mixture is measured to determine fertilizer concentration. The initial water conductance is subtracted from the final conductance to find the fertilizer concentration, which can be converted to known levels of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) using manufacturer-provided charts. Different crops have varying NPK needs, so various fertilizer combinations can be used with this control method by referring to the conversion tables.

Crop contamination often occurs due to the use of contaminated surface water for irrigation. To address this, more farms are starting to disinfect irrigation water with oxidizers at the wellhead or pump station. This treatment ensures that both the water on the plant’s surface and any water entering the plant through damage are disinfected, reducing the risk of contamination. An Intuition-6/9 controller is recommended for this application and can be combined with an amperometric disinfection sensor for compliance monitoring. Sensors include chlorine dioxide, peracetic acid, hydrogen peroxide, ozone, and more.

Due to the remote locations of many wellheads, pump stations, and farming sites, effective communication systems are essential for monitoring field activities. The Walchem Intuition-6/9 controllers are ideally suited for these applications, offering remote communication, data logging, and control capabilities. When paired with the Fluent data management program, it allows for centralized monitoring of multiple farms across the country or even globally. This setup ensures compliance with the stringent inspection standards of grocery store chains, which now frequently inspect farms, harvesting, and disinfection facilities to guarantee contamination-free products. What better way to demonstrate adherence to these policies!

Irrigation suppliers, farm and feed stores, vegetable and fruit washing, flumes manufacturers and well drillers. Irrigation is most dense in the western United States, particularly in states like California, Nebraska, Texas, Arkansas, and Idaho.