Precision in Action, Edition 2: Optimizing Set Planning

Precision in Action is a series where we share irrigation insights and grower wins from the field, fueled by Lumo’s block-level data. In this edition, we'll show you how Clos du Val’s irrigation team used pressure data to optimize how they schedule their sets at Hirondelle South.

Some of the rows at the Hirondelle South ranch weren’t getting enough water.

But the irrigation team at Clos du Val couldn’t figure out why—there were no clogs, leaks, or other obvious signs of damage.

That’s when they decided to take a closer look at the flow and pressure data.

As it turns out, the South ranch uses the same pump and VFD as the neighboring North ranch, which is 300 yards away and set at 70 psi.

The data revealed that when all 20 acres of the South ranch were irrigated at the same time, the pressure was too low to reach the far end of the blocks.

By experimenting with closing some of the valves and watching the data, the irrigator was able to determine that only seven acres could be irrigated at once while still maintaining enough pressure in the lines for all the rows to receive adequate water.

“Having the ability to monitor pressure and flow in real time prevented a lot of trial and error - opening valves, walking rows, and performing distribution uniformity tests - which saved us time, money and water," said Ryan Decker, Viticulture & Grower Relations Manager at Clos du Val.

Moving forward, the irrigator is going to schedule smaller sets to get more even distribution uniformity and better crop outcomes.

That’s the power of block-level data and accountable automation.