Reliable irrigation crucial to hort sector
Horticulture New Zealand (HortNZ) says access to reliable irrigation water is essential for a thriving horticultural sector.
Quinn Elstone, who has many years of experience in the industry working with Valley pivot systems, says "some users haven't changed sprinkler packs in twenty years or more, and technology has moved on a lot since then".
That technology has seen the rise in popularity of low pressure/wide footprint packs whereas the norm was once low pressure/small footprints or overhead sprinkler units running at a typical 30psi. Nowadays 10-15psi is more common which helps reduce ground impact by the water, improves droplet size and offers greater wind resistance.
Modern sprinkler packs are highly accurate and wider, achieving better absorption and helping avert run-off and leaching; most importantly they use less water to achieve optimum yields.
Elstone says farmers should be checking equipment monthly and annually, and while some might see this as an increased cost, over the long term they will save money on water and power costs.
Sprinkler packs should be changed as they approach 10,000 hours use, depending on type, to achieve the best results.
Elstone says the Kiwi 'she'll be right' attitude is typical, and he sees mismatched sprinkler packs used to fix day-to-day problems, with little thought given to system compatibility or operating pressures, resulting in under- or over-watering, the latter causing ponding or run-off for little or no benefit.
