Most common cultural problem?
Incorrect watering
Consequence of incorrect watering?
Reduced crop quality; crop loss
Hand watering problems?
for large crop… logistics; plants wilting before completed
cost of labor
cannot water as uniformly as automated systems
- HW efficiency loses every time to automated systems! *
Advantages of automated watering systems?
- more uniform than HW
- grower can scout for problems instead of watering
- labor savings (35 - 60%)
- better plant growth
- reduced crop time
- fewer disease problems
Questions to consider when choosing watering system?
does the system:
- deliver water to target?
- produce lots of runoff?
- promote pet problems?
- dampen foliage?
- have high or low volume?
- have expensive installation/maintenance costs?
Advantages of tube irrigation?
- accurate water delivery
- foliage stays dry
- relatively inexpensive
Disadvantages of tube irrigation?
- inflexible container size/spacing
- some maintenance involved
- 4-10” pots; no flats
Components of tube irrigation system?
- water main
- header pipe along bench center
- micro-tubes with emitter
- solenoid valve
- on/off ball valve
- filtration
Characteristics of microtubes
- narrow diameter, small pots @ high density
- wide diameter, larger pots
Types of microtubes
- capillary
- turbulent-flow
- pressure compensating
Describe capillary microtubes
Tube diameter / length meter water flow.
Tube length / system pressure need to be uniform to work.
Need flat surface!
Describe turbulent-flow microtubes
Meters flow more accurately.
Less issues with pressure variation
Describe pressure-compensating microtubes
Emitter doesn’t open until 5-10 psi… any length, less pressure sensitive
