Humans have been growing crops since around 9500 BC, with the earliest crops being wheat, barley, peas, chickpeas, and lentils. These crops could not survive without irrigation and the only method available back then was irrigation by rainfall. Of course agricultural irrigation has progressed since then, but food still cannot be produced without an irrigation system.
There are several types of agricultural irrigation techniques and in this blog post we give you some more information about each of them, most requiring irrigation filtration systems.
The 3 major filtration technologies for agricultural irrigation are screen, disc and media, each with different filtration levels and used for different circumstances and they will be explained in this blog in more detail.
Before deciding which irrigation technique and agricultural filtration technology is best for your irrigation water needs, consider the following factors:
- Soil: Relatively sandy soils may require more frequent irrigation than clay soils, as clay soils hold moisture longer due to their higher density.
- Layout/ topography: Whether fields are flat, hilly or inclining will have an impact on the best irrigation option.
- Weather: Different climates / weather conditions have an effect on which irrigation technique would be optimal.
- Water availability: Knowing the availability/scarcity and cost of water is essential when choosing the right irrigation system.
- Water source and quality: Where is the irrigation water coming from? Does the water contain high levels of organic or inorganic matter?
- Crop: Different crops require varying quantities of irrigation water to thrive.
Drip Irrigation Systems
Drip irrigation systems consist of a series of pipes, tubing, valves and emitters, and deliver water droplets and sometimes added nutrients directly to the roots of the plants. This system allows for the release of the required amount of water in a controlled manner. This is considered the most efficient type of agricultural irrigation.
This irrigation system is used in:
- Agriculture
- Horticulture
- Greenhouses
- Landscape
Pivot Irrigation Systems
There are 2 types of pivot irrigation systems:
- Center pivot: Distributes irrigation water through sprinklers on a center pivot located on wheeled towers and rotates around a fixed central point.
- Lateral move: Similar to the center pivot method but does not have a fixed point and moves up and down as opposed to circular.
This irrigation system is used in:
- Agriculture
- Horticulture
Micro Sprinkler Irrigation Systems
Micro sprinkler systems deliver irrigation water via fine droplets or spray through tubes that bring the water directly to the base of the plant. This technique is used when drip irrigation systems are not practical or a larger volume of water is needed.
This irrigation system is used in:
- Horticulture
- Greenhouses
- Landscape
Sprinkler Irrigation Systems
Sprinkler systems distribute irrigation water by using pipes attached to spray heads, irrigating the entire surface of the ground.
This irrigation system is used in:
- Agriculture
- Gardening
- Golf
- Landscape
Surface Irrigation Systems
This is the oldest artificial irrigation method, and it diverts water from its source (lake, river, reservoir, etc.,) to the area needing irrigation and floods it with water, hence the name “flood irrigation”. This system is quite common due to its simplicity and minimal maintenance, but it is also very wasteful and difficult to monitor and control.
Suggested Filtration Degrees:
Each irrigation technique has different volumes of water passing through the emitters/nozzles and requires different filtration degrees:
Drip Irrigation Systems:
- Water volume: small, filtration degrees: 80-130 micron
Micro Sprinkler Systems:
- Water volume: medium, filtration degrees: 130-300 micron
Sprinkler Systems:
- Water volume: large, filtration degrees: 200-3500 micron
Pivot Irrigation Systems:
- Water volume: large, filtration degrees: 500-3500 micron
Fertigation and Chemigation
Fertigation is used to apply exact amounts of nutrients, fertilizers or additional water-soluble products to plants.
Fertigation Advantages:
- Water and nutrients are delivered directly to the root zone resulting in greater absorption by the crops.
- Achieving a 25-50% higher yield is possible as water and fertilizer are supplied evenly to all the crops.
- By using fertigation, the efficiency of fertilizer usage ranges between 80-90%, which helps to save at least 25% of the nutrients.
- Less water and fertilizers are needed, and time, labor and energy use are also significantly reduced.
Chemigation is similar, but applies water-soluble chemicals (pesticides, herbicides, etc.).
Fertigation and chemical pumps can be installed on any irrigation system used by the farm in the field and ensure uniform application of nutrients and chemicals to the crops. These precise application rates reduce groundwater contamination. Amiad offers fertilizer injector pumps which are key to higher yields and healthier crops.
Advances in Irrigation Technology
Irrigation controllers and sensors have been employed by farmers for some time to analyze the soil and to create maps, and smartphones are used for monitoring crop growth and productivity.
Now, the Internet of Things (IoT) is allowing farmers to connect all of the data collected in their fields, and by using smart irrigation technologies, water and energy are used more precisely and efficiently, reducing waste and operating costs.
The term IoT in modern agriculture refers in general to the addition of sensors, automation and analytics technologies, in short, smart irrigation.
Commonplace applications of IoT in smart irrigation for agriculture are:
- Sensors that monitor crops, soil, fields and additional factors that may have an impact on production and productivity.
- Vehicles such as drones, autonomous robots and actuators.
- Visualization and management systems and data analytics.
- Predictive modeling and planning.
Some of the advantages of using smart water irrigation systems are improved crop quality and quantity, more efficient farm processes, reduced resources (water, energy) and last but not least, overall reduced costs.
Amiad Agricultural Irrigation Filtration Solutions
Emitter clogging is a common challenge when using drip, pivot, micro sprinkler and sprinkler systems and if not prevented, can decrease system performance and interfere with uniform water distribution, ultimately causing harm to the crops.
Agricultural irrigation filters are essential to ensure production quality and profitable crops and Amiad offers screen, disc and media technologies to effectively treat and filter irrigation water:
Suction-scanning Screen Technology:
Suction-scanning technology incorporates a multi-layer stainless steel screen with focused flush to provide 100% cleaning of the screen area, using less than 1% of the total process water for self-cleaning.
Spin KlinTM disc technology operates using thin, color-coded discs of a specific micron size. The discs are grooved on both sides, in opposite directions, creating a series of crossing points which form multiple particle traps.
Filtering with media filters, also known as depth filtration, is done by filtering water through a thick layer of graded particles (sand, gravel or other granular materials), called the filter bed.
Related Agricultural Irrigation Filtration Products
Our complete range of agricultural irrigation filters provide solutions for each irrigation system and technique, saving the farm time, water and costs.
Read how in our case study about drip irrigation protection.
We offer automatic, semi-automatic and manual irrigation water filters based on screen, disc and media technologies, as well as sand separators and fertigation pumps.
For more in-depth information about our products, visit our website.
