Greenhouse Irrigation and Fertigation Systems

A well-designed irrigation system will supply the precise amount of water needed each day throughout
the year. The quantity of water needed would depend on the growing area, the crop, weather conditions,
the time of year and whether the heating or ventilation system is operating. Water needs are also
dependent on the type of soil or soil mix and the size and type of the container or bed. Watering in the
greenhouse most frequently accounts for loss in crop quality. Though the operation appears to be the
simple, proper decision should be taken on how, when and what quantity to be given to the plants after
continuous inspection and assessment. Since under-watering (less frequent) and overwatering (more
frequent) will be injurious to the crops, the rules of watering should be strictly adhered to. Several
irrigation water application systems, such as hand watering, perimeter watering, overhead sprinklers,
boom watering, and drip irrigation which are currently in use will be discussed in this chapter.

Rule 1: Use a well-drained substrate with good structure If the root substrate is not well drained and
aerated, proper watering cannot be achieved. Hence substrates with ample moisture retention along with
good aeration are indispensable for proper growth of the plants. The desired combination of coarse
texture and highly stable structure can be obtained from the formulated substrates and not from field soil
alone. Rule 2: Water thoroughly each time Partial watering of the substrates should be avoided; the
supplied water should flow from the bottom in case of containers, and the reot zone is wetted thoroughly
in case of beds. As a rule, 10 to 15% excess of water is supplied. In general, the water requirement for soil
based substrates is at a rate of 20 litres/m 2 of bench, 0.3 to 0.35 I per 0.165 m diameter pot.

Rule 3: Water just be/ore initial moisture stress occurs Since overwatering reduces the aeration and root
development, water should be applied just before the plant enters the early symptoms of water stress. The
foliar symptoms, such as texture, colour, and turgidity can be used to determine the moisture stresses, but
they vary with crops. For crops that do not show any symptoms, colour. Feel and weight of the substrates
are used for assessment.

Hand Watering The most traditional method of irrigation is hand watering and in present days is
uneconomical. Growers can afford hand watering only where a crop is still at a high density, such as in
seed beds, or when they are watered at a few selected pots or areas that have dried sooner than others. In
all cases, the labour saved will pay for the automatic system in less than one year. It soon will become
apparent that this cost is too high. In addition to this deterrent to hand watering, there is a great risk of
applying too little water or of waiting too long between waterings. Hand watering requires considerable
time and is very boring. It is usually performed by inexperienced employees, who may be tempted to
speed up the job or put it off to another time. Automatic watering is rapid and easy and is performed by

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the grower himself. Where hand watering is practiced, a water breaker should be used on the end ·of the
hose. Such a device breaks the force of the water, permitting a higher flow rate without washing the root
substrate out of the bench or pot. It also lessens the risk of disrupting the structure of the substrate surface.
Perimeter Watering Perimeter watering system can be used for crop production in benches or beds. A
typical system consists of a plastic pipe around the perimeter of a bench with nozzles that spray water
over the substrate surface below the foliage. Either polyethylene or PVC pipe can be used. While PVC
pipe has the advantage of being very stationary, polyethylene pipe tends to roll if it is not anchored firmly
to the side of the bench. This causes nozzles to rise or fall from proper orientation to the substrate surface.
Nozzles are made of nylon or a hard plastic and are available o to put out a spray arc of 180°,90 or 45°
regardless of the types of nozzles used, they are staggered across the benches so that each nozzle projects
out between two other nozzles on the opposite side. Perimeter watering systems with 180° nozzles require
one water valve for benches up to 30.5 m in length. For benches over 30.5 m and up to 61.0 m, a water
main should be installed on either side, one to serve each half of the bench.

Overhead Micro Sprinklers While the foliage on the majority of crops should be kept dry for disease
control purposes, a few crops do tolerate wet foliage. These crops can most easily and cheaply be
irrigated from overhead. Bedding plants, azalea liners, and some green plants are commonly watered from
overhead. A pipe is installed along the middle of the bed. Riser pipes are installed periodically to a height
well above the final height of the crop. A total height of 0.6 m is sufficient for bedding plants flats and 1.8
m for fresh flowers. A nozzle is installed at the top of each riser. Nozzles vary from those that throw a
360° pattern continuously to types that rotate around a 360° circle. Trays are sometimes placed under pots
to collect water that would otherwise fall on the ground between pots and is wasted. Each tray is square
and meets the adjacent tray. In this way nearly all water is intercepted. Each tray has a depression to
accommodate the pot and is then angled upward from the pot toward the tray perimeter. The trays also
have drain holes, which allow drainage of excess water and store certain quantity, which is subsequently
absorbed by the substrate.

Boom Watering Boom watering can function either as open or a closed system, and is used often for the
production of seedlings grown in plug trays. Plug trays are plastic trays that have width and length
dimensions of approximately 0.30 x 0.61 m, a depth of 13 to 38 mm, and contain about 100 to 800 cells.
Each seedling grows in its own individual cell. Precision of watering is extremely important during the 2
to 8 week production time of plug seedlings. A boom watering system generally consists of a water pipe
boom that extends from one side of a greenhouse bay to the other. The pipe is fitted with nozzles that can
spray either water or fertilizer solution down onto the crop. The boom is attached at its center point to a
carriage that rides along rails, often suspended above the center walk of the greenhouse bay. In this way,

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the boom can pass from one end of the bay to the other. The boom is propelled by an electrical motor.
The quantity of water delivered per unit area of plants is adjusted by the speed at which the boom travels.

Drip Irrigation Drip irrigation, often referred to as trickle irrigation, consists of laying plastic tubes of
small diameter on the surface or subsurface of the field or greenhouse beside or beneath the plants. Water
is delivered to the plants at frequent intervals through small holes or emitters located along the tube. Drip
irrigation systems are commonly used in combination with protected agriculture, as an integral and
essential part of the comprehensive design. When using plastic mulches, row covers, or greenhouses, drip
irrigation is the only means of applying uniform water and fertilizer to the plants. Drip irrigation provides
maximum control over environmental variability; it assures optimum production with minimal uses of
water, while conserving soil and fertilizer nutrients; and controls water, fertilizer, labour, and machinery
costs. Drip irrigation is the best means of water conservation. In general, the application efficiency is 90
to 95%, compared with sprinkler at 70% and furrow irrigation at 60 to 80%, depending on soil type, level
of field and how water is applied to the furrows. Drip irrigation is not only recommended for protected
agriculture but also for open field crop production, especially in arid and semi-arid regions of the world.
Drip irrigation is replacing surface irrigation where water is scarce or expensive, when the soil is too
porous or too impervious for gravity irrigation, land leveling is impossible or very costly, water quality is
poor, the climate is too windy for sprinkler irrigation, and where trained irrigation labour is not available
or is expensive. In drip irrigation weed growth is reduced, since irrigation water is applied directly to the
plant row and not to the entire field as with sprinkler, furrow, or flood irrigation. Placing the water in the
plant row increases the fertilizer efficiency since it is injected into the irrigation water and applied directly
to the root zone. Plant foliage diseases may be reduced since the foliage is not wetted during irrigation.
One of the disadvantages of drip irrigation is the initial cost of equipment per acre, which may be higher
than other systems of irrigation. However, these costs must be evaluated through comparison with the
expense of land preparation and maintenance often required by surface irrigation.

Basic equipment for drip irrigation consists of a pump, a main line, delivery pipes, manifold, and drip
tape laterals or emitters The head, between the pump and the pipeline network, usually consists of control
valves, couplings, filters, time clocks, fertilizer injectors, pressure regulators, flow meters, and gauges.
Since the water passes through very small outlets in emitters, it is an absolute necessity that it should be
screened, filtered, or both, before it is distributed in the pipe system. The initial field positioning and
layout of a drip system is influenced by the topography of the land and the cost of various system
configurations. Design considerations should also include the relationship between the various system
components and the farm equipment required to plant, cultivate, maintain and harvest the crop.

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Type of injectors for fertigation

The equipment and technology for fertigation enable the application of fertilizers solution in a
well controlled way as described below.
The selection of the proper technology and equipment is of prime importance to ensure the
right application of fertilizers solutions. The description of the technology and equipment is
aimed to guide the user in the selection of the suitable equipment and its proper operation.

1) The fertigation parameters.

The fertigation system must be able to regulate the application parameters, which are:
 Quantity and flow rate of the fertilizers solution
 Proportion of the fertilizers solution to the irrigation water
 Duration of application of the fertilizers solution
 The starting and finishing time of the application of the fertilizers solution

2) Application modes.

The fertilizers solution can be applied to the irrigation water in 4 main modes:
 Continuous application. The fertilizers solution is applied at a constant rate
throughout the irrigation , from start to finish and the total required amount of
fertilizes is injected regardless of the irrigation water quantity and flow rate.
 Non-continuous application. Irrigation starts without fertilizers, commonly 10-25% of
the irrigation application time, then application of fertilizers solution begins,
commonly for 80-50% of the irrigation application time. The application of fertilizers
solution is cut out before the end of irrigation, and irrigation with water free of
fertilizers continues, commonly for the last 10-25% of the irrigation application time.
 Proportional application. The application flow rate of fertilizers solution is
proportional to the discharge of the irrigation water, for example, 50 lph of fertilizers
solution to 50 m3/hr of irrigation water. That is, a proportion of 1 to 1000. (1000PPM
of fertilizer solution in the irrigation water)

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  Quantitative application. A predetermined quantity of fertilizers solution is applied
during the irrigation regardless of the irrigation water quantity.

3) Technologies and equipment for fertigation:

The equipment for application of fertilizers solution into irrigation water systems can be
classified into 4 major types of equipment:
Metering pumps – called also injection pumps. Metering pumps deliver fertilizers solution from
an open tank into the pressurized irrigation system while their discharge pressure is higher than
the pressure of the irrigation water system at the inlet point. Metering pumps are classified and
distinguished according to the driven power:
- Electrical driven diaphragm or piston pumps
- Water driven diaphragm or piston pumps
- Engine driven pumps
Pressure differential fertilizers tanks. A closed pressurized tank with fertilizers solution is
connected to the irrigation water pipe on both sides of a pressure-regulating valve. The pressure-
regulating valve creates pressure difference between the inlet and the outlet to the tank. As a
result of the pressure difference, the solution from the tank flows in to the water pipe.
Veturi. The venturi is a pipe section with significantly narrower orifice inside the pipe section.
As a result of the narrow water passage, the flow velocity of the water in the orifice is much
higher than in the inlet of the venturi and as a result, suction is formed at the venturi orifice,
which is used to suck the fertilizers solution from an open tank.
Suction injection. Open tank with fertilizers solution is connected to the suction intake of the
irrigation water pump. The fertilizers solution is sucked into the irrigation water by the same
pump that pumps the irrigation water.

Fertilizers
Fertilizer dosage has to be dependent on growing media. Soilless mixes have lower nutrient
holding capacity and therefore require more frequent fertilizer application. Essential elements are
at their maximum availability in the pH range of 5.5 to 6.5. In general Micro elements are more

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readily available at lower pH ranges, while macro elements are more readily available at pH 6
and higher.

Forms of inorganic fertilizers

Dry fertilizers, slow release fertilizer and liquid fertilizer are commonly used in green houses.

Slow release fertilizer

They release the nutrient into the medium over a period of several months. These fertilizer
granules are coated with porous plastic. When the granules become moistened the fertilizer
inside is released slowly into the root medium. An important thing to be kept in mind regarding
these fertilizers is that, they should never be added to the soil media before steaming or heating
of media. Heating melts the plastic coating and releases all the fertilizer into the root medium at
once. The high acidity would burn the root zone.

Liquid fertilizer

These are 100 per cent water soluble. These come in powdered form. This can be either single
nutrient or complete fertilizer. They have to be dissolved in warm water.