How Precision Irrigation Methods Save Water & Makes Crops More Profitable
In the agricultural sector, optimizing resources while maximizing yields is the cornerstone of precision agriculture, allowing farmers to achieve profitable ROI and sustainable farming. With drought, rising labor costs, and extreme weather putting pressure on farming operations, precision irrigation is a solution that enables farmers to significantly enhance efficiency and reduce costs - so why isn't it being used everywhere already?
In this article we talk about the state of precision agriculture and how using precision irrigation is helping farmers to deliver water and fertilizers at the right time and place on the farm in order to maximize profitability and sustainability.
What Does Precision Irrigation Mean?
It's sad, but precision irrigation generally means any type of irrigation that isn't flooding your field. You see, for centuries, flood irrigation was the only type, so it's the benchmark. In the last 100 years, precision irrigation came to mean anything more advanced - and that's why the term needs to be redefined. So much has changed since 1950s.
In 2024, precision irrigation means growers are dividing their land into large multi-acre blocks, controlling the water supply through valves that they either control manually, or through automated systems which are, in most cases, remotely operated timer systems.
Water-efficient farming is a global need
In a time of limited water availability and shifting climate patterns, the adoption of water-saving techniques in agriculture is essential to guarantee a stable food supply. Precision irrigation is a key factor in promoting water efficiency in farming. By accurately delivering water to crops and reducing wastage through evaporation and runoff, it aids in the preservation of water supplies. This is particularly crucial in areas experiencing water scarcity and where agriculture relies heavily on irrigation.
Good Crop Nutrition is a Matter of Efficiency
Proper nutrition is instrumental in the growth and development of crops. Precision irrigation allows for the precise delivery of compatible water soluble nutrients directly to the roots through fertigation. Fertigation is the process of combining fertilizer with irrigation water to efficiently supply plants with essential nutrients. By ensuring that plants receive the right balance of nutrients, precision irrigation enhances their overall health and productivity. This results in improved crop quality, increased yields, and reduced environmental impact.
Benefits of Precision Irrigation in Agriculture
Give Plants the Water They Need at the Right Time
One of the primary benefits of precision irrigation is its ability to optimize irrigation schedules. Conventional techniques frequently include watering in lengthy intervals, which may result in inconsistent moisture spread and excess water usage.
Precision irrigation systems, however, allow for shorter, more frequent irrigation intervals, maintaining a constant moisture level around the roots. This precise application of water and nutrients ensures that the field condition always satisfies crop water needs, ensuring crops are able to uptake nutrients, never stress and lose valuable yield.
Moreover, these systems facilitate irrigation at optimal times, such as at night, to minimize losses from evaporation and dozens of times per day if needed, which would be impractical manually. This not only conserves water but also maximizes crop health and productivity by ensuring crops have optimal growing conditions.
Reducing Manual Labor and Tasks
Traditionally, irrigation involves a considerable amount of manual labor that is both time-consuming and costly. Farmers typically spend around $200-500 per irrigation zone per year just to operate block valves manually.
This task requires sending a worker in a pickup truck to open and close these valves across large fields. Additionally, manual scouting is necessary to check for leaks and breaks in drip tubing, adding further to labor costs.
Precision irrigation systems drive cost savings by dramatically reducing these manual tasks by automating valve operations and monitoring the irrigation infrastructure. This not only cuts down on labor costs but also reduces the physical strain on workers and increases the time available for other critical farm operations.
Improve Yield in Each Location
Precision Irrigation also lets growers control how much water goes to each location.
This approach is especially beneficial in fields with diverse soil types, elevations, microclimates, and crop varieties. The result is uniform crop growth across the field, leading to higher yielding and better-quality crops, simplifying farm management and enhancing profitability. We'll get more into how you can do this a little later in the article.
Types of Precision Irrigation for Water Efficient Farming
Precision irrigation is a complex concept that can be difficult to understand. Essentially, it involves delivering water and nutrients to crops in a targeted and efficient manner, rather than flooding the entire field. This helps to maximize water usage, improve crop health, and minimize negative environmental effects. The main categories of precision irrigation include:
- Drip Irrigation: This method involves dripping water directly onto the root zone of plants, allowing for precise control over the amount of water delivered. It's highly efficient and versatile, suitable for a wide range of crops and soil types.
- Sprinkler Irrigation: While not as precise as drip irrigation, sprinkler systems distribute water evenly across a field. They can be adjusted to compensate for the evaporation rate of the soil, ensuring that water is applied effectively.
- Subsurface Drip Irrigation (SDI): Similar to drip irrigation but with emitters placed below the surface of the soil. This method is particularly useful for crops grown in containers or raised beds, providing a controlled environment for roots.
- Surface Irrigation: Includes methods like basin, furrow, and border techniques. Basin irrigation involves flooding a limited area within a field, typically used for rice cultivation. Furrow irrigation uses long trenches filled with water, and border irrigation applies water between strips of land.
- Center Pivot Irrigation: A circular irrigation system that rotates around a central pivot point, distributing water uniformly across a field. It's efficient for large-scale operations and can be equipped with sensors for precision irrigation.
- Lateral Move Irrigation: Similar to center pivot irrigation but moves laterally across a field. It's ideal for rectangular fields and can be equipped with variable-rate technology to apply water unevenly across the field based on crop needs.
- Retractable Wheel Lines: An irrigation hose with a large powerful high flow sprinkler is pulled to one end of the field and it retracts irrigating a section of the field next the reel is moved and the irrigation is repeated in another section.
Want ROI? Focus on Variable Rate Irrigation
Variable rate irrigation (VRI) technology is at the forefront of precision irrigation, allowing for tailored irrigation strategies across different segments of a field. This technology can independently control each segment of drip tubing, delivering the right quantity of water based on the specific needs of each area.
This approach is especially beneficial in fields with diverse soil types, elevations, microclimates, and crop varieties. The result is uniform crop growth across the field, leading to higher-yielding and better-quality crops, simplifying farm management and enhancing profitability.
The Advantages of Variable Rate Irrigation (VRI)
VRI technology is at the forefront of precision irrigation, offering several key benefits:
- Tailored Water Application: By applying water variably across a field, VRI technology ensures that each section receives exactly what it needs, minimizing waste and enhancing the growth conditions for crops. For specialty crop growers, this is even more important because VRI can enhance fruit quality, and decrease disease pressure. It allows growers to transform regular drip irrigation into precision drip irrigation.
- Cost and Resource Efficiency: This precision not only reduces water usage but also decreases the costs associated with water application, such as energy for pumping and labor for system management.
- Improved Crop Quality and Yield: Targeted watering can lead to more consistent and higher-quality crop output by preventing both under-irrigation and over-irrigation.
How Verdi Helps Farmers Optimize Their Precision Irrigation Systems
Verdi is at the cutting edge of precision irrigation technology. Our advanced, affordable controllers can easily upgrade existing irrigation systems , such as drip tubing, block valves, and pumps, making the transition to precision irrigation seamless and cost-effective. Verdi’s solutions also support precision fertigation to optimize fertilizer uptake, further enhancing nutrient application efficiency.
Verdi’s innovative solutions are tailored to empower growers through precision irrigation. Here’s how Verdi is making a difference:
- Reducing Manual Labor and Tasks: Typically, growers spend $200-500 annually on manual operations like opening and closing block valves for irrigation. Verdi’s technology reduces the need for manual labor by automating these tasks, saving time and reducing costs.
- Optimizing Irrigation Schedules: Verdi’s systems allow for more frequent, shorter irrigation intervals, which helps keep crops at a consistent moisture level, enhancing plant health and preventing stress that can lead to yield loss.
- Nighttime Irrigation: By enabling irrigation during cooler nighttime hours, Verdi’s technology helps reduce evaporative losses, further optimizing water use.
- Advanced Monitoring and Control: With Verdi’s state-of-the-art sensors and software, growers can monitor and adjust irrigation management in real-time from their smartphones or computers, ensuring optimal growth conditions and reacting quickly to any changes in field conditions.
Leading Agriculture Brands Use Verdi for Their Precision Irrigation Technology
As a pioneer of commercial variable rate irrigation systems for specialty crops, Verdi collaborates with some of the world’s largest food brands. These partnerships have resulted in increased yields, significant labor savings, and substantial water conservation that contributes to sustainable farming initiatives. Verdi’s systems integrate seamlessly with satellite imagery and soil moisture probes, maintaining optimal crop moisture levels and minimizing stress. Verdi also supports integration with third-party sensors to monitor weather, also delivering alerts to detect leaks or breaks on drip tubing, valves, and sprinklers, providing farmers with true peace of mind.
