Selecting a Sprinkler Irrigation System
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| Audience/Grade: | College Freshman-Graduate |
| Discipline(s): |
Biological Systems and Agricultural Engineering |
| Special Topic(s): | |
| Learning Resource Type: |
Teaching - Tutorial |
| Media Type: |
Unknown |
| Author(s): |
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| Description: | Online guide from the North Dakota State University, Agricultural Extension. "The four basic methods of irrigation are: subsurface irrigation ("subirrigation" which uses tile drain lines), surface or gravity irrigation, trickle irrigation (also called drip irrigation), and sprinkler irrigation. Of the acres currently irrigated in North Dakota, over 75 percent use some type of sprinkler system. Statewide, the center pivot is the most popular sprinkler system. If the sprinkler system is for a new installation, you have two important tasks you must perform before purchasing the system. First, you must check the county soil survey maps to make sure the soils in the field are irrigable. Second, you must have a readily available source of water near the field and have a State Water Commission-issued water permit for that water. The water source must be of sufficient quantity and quality for successful irrigation. Extension circular AE-92, Planning to Irrigate... A Checklist, provides more information on the requirements to begin irrigating. A sprinkler "throws" water through the air in an effort to simulate rainfall whereas the other three irrigation methods apply water directly to the soil, either on or below the surface. A sprinkler system can be composed of one or many sprinklers. In systems that use many sprinklers, the sprinklers are attached to a pipeline at a predetermined spacing in order to achieve a uniform application amount. When selecting a sprinkler system, the most important physical parameters to consider are: 1. The shape and size (acres) of the field. 2. The topography of the field. Are there many hills with steep slopes? 3. The amount of time and labor required to operate the system. How much time and labor do you have available? The center pivot system is very adaptable but doesn't work very well on irregularly shaped fields, long nar-row fields and fields that contain some type of obstruction (trees, farmsteads, etc.). In these situations, other sprinkler systems may be more effective." |
| Rating: | No Rating |
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| Version Info | |
| Publication Date: | December 2006 |
| Platform/Format: |
WWW |
| Cost: |
Free |
| Download URL: | http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/waterquality/documents/ae91_Selecting_a_Sp |
| Metadata: |
IEEE LOM Record |
| Collection: |
NEEDS
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