Tips To Understanding 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.

For areas with very scarce water like in the deserts, this system has proven to be effective in saving water while satisfying the plants. The operation works by allowing water to passively flow into a reservoir at controlled rate. This builds pressure steadily till it reaches a predetermined level. The pressure then forces open the outlet valves and a pulse of water goes out.

Once the pressure reduces in the reservoir, the valves close allowing pressure to recharge again. As long as the inlet flow is lower than the outlet, the recharge and discharge cycle will continue. For this to work, a drip flow controller is used at the inlet to control rate of water flow 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.

To make this system work, strong magnets are used to keep the outlet valve closed. As the reservoir pressure overcomes the magnet strength, they are forced open and the top one goes up allowing water to flow. When the pressure reduces, the magnet lowers and sticks back in position and another cycle of recharging starts.

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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