Pivots have emerged as an alternative to traditional fertilisation, enabling the simultaneous application of fertilisers and irrigation water without the need to use other, more invasive methods on the crop.
The addition of chemicals to the irrigation water with pivots thus enables simple improvements to be made to the crop, such as adjusting the pH of irrigation water, adding nutrients (fertigation), improving soil properties or applying pesticides (chemigation).
What are the advantages of fertigation through the use of pivot irrigation?
Rational use of fertilisers
The use of the irrigation system itself as a method of providing nutrition to our crops, regardless of the type of crop or system, allows for better control, improved fertilisation efficiency, increased crop yields and nutrients can be tailored to the actual needs of the crops: plant development, climate, etc.
Reduced production costs
An improvement of the use of the pivot for fertiliser application is the reduction of production costs due to the reduction of additional labour for fertiliser application and the better spreading of fertiliser, ultimately leading to a reduction in the amount of fertiliser used. Fertiliser can be applied as often as necessary, without increasing operating costs and all irrigation days can be used for fertigation
Reduced impact on the crop
In the same way that labour is reduced, the transit of machinery during plant growth is eliminated as it is no longer necessary. At the same time, the correct supply of nutrients allows us to reduce salinity peaks in the soil.
Reduced environmental impact
Finally, using an alternative to traditional fertilisation systems results in less fertiliser use, reduced soil leaching losses and a consequent reduction in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, all of which leads to improved crop yields.
To apply these chemicals, precise injection equipment such as an electric dosing pump is required. This equipment allows applications to be automated to make this process more efficient.
Basic operating equipment (pivots or laterals)
For the application of fertilisers and other chemicals through irrigation water using systems with variable water flow rates or zoned irrigation systems, in which we have a constant flow rate, the equipment used to prepare and inject the solution is manually operated from the pivot’s control panel, which injects an even amount of the product.
Advanced operating equipment (pivots with corners or end guns, variable speed systems)
In this type of system, the equipment has a variable water flow rate or performs zoned irrigation. The system includes a flow meter that sends information about the flow rate to an advanced-control pump that adjusts the application of fertilisers and other chemicals according to the irrigation flow rate.