4 Steps to Dial in Block-Level Irrigation Precision
Data from 4,500 irrigation events last year shows that growers were able to increase their precision from 25% to 85% over the course of the season. A 3.4X improvement!
How?
They took these four steps.
4 Steps to Dialling in Irrigation Precision
1. They got access to block-level data.
To achieve irrigation precision, you need to know how much water is actually being applied to each block.
Flow rates and volumes are incredibly hard to estimate by eye. And other sensors and measures are just proxies. They don’t directly measure applied volumes.
Block-level data is essential for validating performance and continuously improving.
2. They established a baseline of system performance.
The biggest and easiest improvement in precision comes from having an accurate sense of how much water your irrigation system is delivering to each block.
Rather than relying on assumptions, guesswork, or outdated system specs, block-level flow data tells you exactly how much water your system is putting down and exactly how long it needs to run to deliver the intended volume.
If a system is only delivering 75% of the expected volume, you can run your irrigations for longer, or schedule them more frequently, to get to plan.
Either way, having a baseline grounded in real performance allows you to create a more realistic irrigation schedule and actually get your vines the right amount of water.
3. They received alerts about issues immediately.
Your ability to irrigate to plan and protect your crops depends on your ability to catch problems as soon as they happen.
Block-level data puts you in control.
Rather than hoping issues are surfaced, or worrying about what’s really happening underground, you can know for certain.
And when you see your system performance suffering, you can be surgical with your irrigation team’s time, sending them to fix problems as soon as they pop up.
4. They used performance trends to strategically target maintenance.
Rather than applying blanket maintenance rules and routines, you can instead direct maintenance efforts to the blocks that have seen the biggest declines in performance, making maintenance dollars and irrigation labor hours go further.
Real-Time System Calibration and Scheduling Adjustments
When you have block-level flow and pressure data at your fingertips, you can calibrate your system in real time and adjust your schedule as necessary.
You gain the ability to improve your system performance, increase your irrigation precision, and finally irrigate to plan.
