TO DRIP OR SPRAY
THAT IS THE QUESTION
Part of the cost of putting in your
new olive grove will be the installation of your irrigation system,
and the main question which many potential growers are asking
is "should we drip or spray?"
The main benefits of drip irrigation:
* The lateral contains the emitter,
which means that usually a quicker installation is possible.
* More laterals can be operated at
once due to a relatively low output per emitter, which means
that more trees can be irrigated at the one time, or pumping
equipment can be smaller.
* Because the soil entry point is
small weed growth is minimized.
* In most cases, using dripline represents
a cost saving at the initial installation stage.
The main benefits of spray irrigation:
* Sprinklers are fitted with an insect
proof spinner, which shuts off when not in operation.
* The spinners usually have break-off deflectors, which direct
the output in a small area during
the initial period and are snapped off at some stage to allow
the watering to occur over the full
area.
* Because the sprinklers cover the whole area, even root formation
is encouraged, particularly
important to provide strong anchorage where mechanical harvesting
is used.
* Sprinklers are readily visible, and any deviation from normal
operation is more quickly noticed.
* With laterals positioned underground, grove maintenance is
simplified.
WaterMart recommends the use of the
DAN 2001 pressure compensated olive sprinkler
rather than the use of drip irrigation. This is particularly
important where the soil type and structure is such that water
move-ment is likely to be inhibited and an imbalance in root
formation can occur.
The DAN 2001 olive sprinkler promotes
even root formation over the entire tree surround and due to
its ability to operate at pressures of up to 4 bar (over 56 psi)
it enables laterals to be longer or of less diameter. |
