The Effectiveness Of Pulse Irrigation

By Eliza Mendoza


As the world population grows so does the need for more food. This growth is coupled with a reduction in arable land as people settle and build homes where farming should be done. This forces mankind to come up with better farming methods that will take less space and produce more food. Systems like pulse irrigation has proven to be just one of the ways to make land more productive while using little water.

This is a type of irrigation that makes it possible to manage your water usage. It can be scaled to whatever flow one requires so as to greatly minimize water flow. It can be used with sprinkler or drip irrigation very effectively. The traditional low flow systems and even ultra low flow systems of irrigation can be used with this pulse system.

This is an irrigation system mostly used in areas where water is very scarce like in desert countries including Israel. It works by passively allowing water to flow at a controlled rate into a reservoir so as to build pressure in the reservoir at a steady rate. On reaching a predetermined pressure level, the valves from the reservoir open forcing a pulse of water out.

As the reservoir pressure reduces, the valves close giving the reservoir time to recharge. As long as the inlet is kept lower than outlet, the cycle of recharge and discharge will be kept going. A drip flow controller is used in this system to regulate the water flow rate into the reservoir.

Once set, this system can operate without any other input for long periods of time. This constant and frequent irrigation helps reduce water demand by the plant while also lowering water usage very efficiently. The plants are also protected from water stress due to the intermittent water supply to the soil.

The outlet valve has strong magnets holding it closed as the pressure builds. When the pressure in the reservoir is strong enough, it overcomes the strength of the magnets forcing the top set of the magnets to open. A reduction in pressure allows the magnet to drop down and the recharging phase begins again and the cycle goes on and on.

When used with a sprinkler system, the results are impressive. During seed germination, it can be set to sprinkle for 5 seconds every minute in the first two weeks after planting. This is then gradually adjusted till you can allow it to sprinkle for an 8 hour period three times a week. The basic determinants are the rain conditions, intensity of the sun and water need by the plant.

The advantages of using this pulse irrigation system are numerous. When used for drip and sprinkler systems, there are no run off on if using heavy soil. In sandy soil, you have no leaching and water is not lost even though sand has low water retention capabilities. In hilly areas and shallow soil, water can still be applied efficiently without any run off. Temperature control can be achieved through evaporative cooling by use of the intermittent sprinkling and use of foggers. Given the very low discharge rate, growing plants in containers or greenhouse will require less space. It allows for the use of lower capacity pumps and smaller conduits hence reduced system costs in general.




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