By Fanie Vorster, ARC Institute for Agricultural Engineering

Irrigation system design

Changes to the distribution pattern, with a
Efficient irrigation systems resulting loss of efficiency, will result from
form the basis of supplying nozzle wear, incorrect operating pressure,
leaks in the system, incorrect placement
sufficient and equal of sprinklers and numerous other factors.
Changes in working pressure will change
amounts of water to all the way that water is distributed. Higher
crops and plants. There is a or lower operating pressure will alter the
pattern of distribution both through the
variety of irrigation systems air and the way water sinks into the soil.
It is essential to know what the correct
available, each with a correct operating pressure is for emitters used in
application that will deliver the the field to attain efficient irrigation. In the
case of a sprinkler irrigation system, the
best results in the particular pressure can be measured at the emitter.
The operating pressure of an irrigation
circumstances. system can be measured and controlled at
the hydrant valve.

F
Pressure gauges are vitally important,
armers should aim to achieve the because if the pressure is too low, the
best possible water use efficiency water jet does not break up easily
for their systems. Less efficient and most water falls in a donut, some
systems bring about reduced distance from the sprinkler. Excessively The distribution of water in the soil below
crop yields and waste water, high pressures will cause the jet of water a dripper will vary significantly, depending
energy, fertilisers and labour. Therefore it to break up too much. A fine mist will on soil type and structure. The even
is important to use a properly designed form, which can easily be driven away by distribution of irrigation water is very
irrigation system. wind. Most water will also fall close to the important. Uneven distribution will lead
sprinkler. to uneven plant growth rates, which will
Overhead irrigation systems The correct pressure will produce cause a loss in production. Field tests and
With sprinkler irrigation systems, water a distribution pattern which will allow system evaluations can help a farmer to
is sprayed into the air and falls to the for the best possible final overlapped improve maintenance and management,
ground in a distinctive distribution pattern distribution of water between a series of thereby increasing efficiency and
which depends on the pressure that it is sprinklers spaced at the selected distance production.
operating at. apart.
System maintenance
Drip and micro-irrigation systems Every irrigation system requires regular
In drip and micro-irrigation systems, the maintenance. Poor maintenance will cause
emitter often supplies only a single plant. the performance of an irrigation system
The amount of water that the plant needs to deteriorate. Water distribution and
can be delivered at any point in the root irrigation efficiency will suffer.
zone. The plant will then develop a root Regular checking of sprinkler nozzles
system that draws water from that point for wear and malfunctioning is vital. The
where it is normally available. cause could be as simple as a piece of dirt
that is stuck in the nozzle or it could be
Sprinklers are spaced in the field in such a manner a sprinkler that needs to be replaced. If a
that their distribution patterns overlap to produce nozzle is worn, more water will escape at
an even distribution of water across the entire field.
normal operating pressures.

STOCKFARM 44 JANUARY 2016

 Management & technology
Care must be taken that the standpipe The distribution pattern of orifice sprayers
In a drip irrigation system it is not essential
of the sprinkler stands upright, otherwise is irregular. More water is usually sprayed
to wet the entire soil surface uniformly. It is,
however, crucial that each emitter should the distribution pattern of the sprinkler to one side. This makes it essential to
deliver the same amount of water. Poor emit- will be affected negatively. The sprinklers always point the sprayer in the same
ter application efficiency will seriously impact must also be aligned properly, otherwise direction when using it in the field. The
on crop production.
parts of the field will be over-irrigated and system design will attempt to overlap the
other parts will receive insufficient water. natural skewed distribution pattern to
achieve an even distribution. If sprayers
Mini-sprinklers and garden sprayers are not properly aligned, the application
Equipment used to irrigate small areas in rate will be erratic and irrigation efficiency
community gardens, were developed with reduced.
the urban garden in mind. Community Sprayers normally connect to a supply
gardens are increasingly being recognised line by means of a garden hose attached
as an important activity in rural to a riser valve. Orifice sprayers are closely
communities. Irrigation plots are small spaced, with normal in-field spacing of
and it is often difficult to plan appropriate between 5 and 6m. A single sprayer can
systems by using conventional irrigation be used to irrigate an area of up to 600m2,
technology. Garden systems make use of or a number of garden beds.
mini-sprinklers and garden sprayers to Irrigation plots are normally designed
distribute water. so that the sprayer can be placed between
Garden sprayers operate at low beds and sufficient overlap still takes place
pressure (between 150 and 200kPa), in the centre of the bed. Good vegetable
typically covering a small area – seldom production is possible in small community
exceeding a radius of 6m. Application garden plots that use garden sprayers to
rates are often very high and if the sprayer irrigate.
is left in one position for too long, water
will run off and not penetrate the soil. Use of grey water
The ideal should be to reuse water
where possible for purposes other than
Garden sprayers are labour-intensive and normal-
In all cases, the distribution pattern of ly designed so that the emitter (sprayer) is moved drinking water, for example in toilets or for
water around the sprinkler will change. every five to ten minutes. The farmer remains in supplementary irrigation in gardens.
It will also have a negative impact on the field the whole time and constantly moves Water from the bath, basin, shower and
emitters.
the performance of the other sprinklers laundry washing that is not soiled with
in the system as well as on the pump human excreta can be collected through
performance. Energy costs will increase; a filter into a small holding tank. From
irrigation efficiency will drop and crop there it is pumped to irrigate a garden
production will decrease. plot. The grey water can also be collected
It is important to regularly replace in a bucket and dispersed manually. Water
worn nozzles with new ones of the correct from the kitchen is not used as it contains
size and type, or otherwise sprinkler fat, grease and food particles.
application rates and distribution patterns Long-term use of certain washing
will also change. Each type of irrigation powders with high phosphate content will
system will naturally have a list of have a negative effect on the soil. Grey
maintenance operations that should be water cannot be applied through drip
carried out on a routine basis. and micro-irrigation systems because it
Every irrigation farmer should have contains particles that will cause clogging
an operations manual for his system that of the emitters.
details maintenance tasks, and a toolbox
containing all the tools needed to perform For more information, contact Elmarie
routine maintenance tasks. It is also Stoltz of the Agricultural Research
important that the farmer keeps a contact Council’s Institute for Agricultural
list of people for advice or assistance with Engineering on 012 842 4017, or send an
specific problems. email to stoltze@[Link]. SF

STOCKFARM 45 JANUARY 2016