Liquid Injection

Appropriate fertilizer injection systems are critical to the effectiveness of fertilizers applied through irrigation systems, however in our experience it’s also the area that generally gets least attention at farm level.

The GAP between fertilizers and injection systems for Australian Agriculture has until now resulted in inefficient application of nutrients through irrigation water.

Traditionally low flow dosing pumps have been used to inject fertilizer into irrigation systems, resulting in a slow constant, yet dilute rate of fertilizer being applied over long periods of time. The agronomic and environmental impact of this approach may lead to leaching losses, runoff, loss of valuable fertilizer and offsite environmental impacts.

Strategic pulse application systems can make a significant difference to the effectiveness and net benefit achieved through fertigation systems.

In addition our research and field experience over the years has highlighted the importance of irrigation systems conforming to minimum design specifications and delivering water efficiently and evenly across an irrigated area.

Irrigation Distribution Uniformity (DU) is a term use to describe the evenness of water application across irrigation valve areas and irrigation shifts (sequences of valves operating in tandem).

Our research has shown that irrigation systems need to be checked regularly to ensure even application of water. Some sections of fields can be over watered while other parts of the same field are under water creating a range of environmental impacts and importantly also from a farmer perspective resulting in variable responses to applied water and fertilizer.