Fertigation and chemigation

Both use the irrigation system to distribute beneficial chemicals to the crop Fetigation refers to the
addition of nutrients through the irrigation system Chemigation refers to the addition of pesticides
through the irrigation
Why Fertigate?
Application uniformity
_ if you have uniform irration, then you will have uniform fertilization
Reduced field traffic
_ less equipment in flied
Less sal compaction
Nutriens can be applied as needed
Goals of Fertigation
To maximize crop productivity
_ consistent, top-quality fruit and vegetables
To realize the most value from fertilizer
_ none lost to deep drainage
To minimized production cost
_ reduce labor and diesel
Fertigation Consideration
Must understand hydraulics of system
_ flowrate
_ time to reach steady-state
_ area being irrigated per event
How long to run system to put down the desired units of nutrient
How the nutriens will be distributed in the soil
Whats Your Style?
Flow proportional injection the flowrate
_ flowrate of injectior is proportional to the flowrate of the irrigation system
_ provides excellent control, but complicated
Bath injection
_ flowrate of injector is independent of the flowrate of the irrigation system
_ have less control, but simple
Proportional System
Usually depend on irrigation system for energy
The exception would be electronic proportional system
_ expensive, but can be automated
Best of Both Styles
Use proportional injector in batch mode
_ made a concentrated injector in batch mode
_ run the system until all the nutrient is injected into the system
_ run the system long enough for the nutrients to clear laterals
Fertigation Considerations
Equipment requirements
Quality of the water supply
Solubility to fertilizer
Management of soil water and nutrients
Fertigation Equipment
Injector
_ device that meters the concentrated nutrient-solution into the mainline of the irrigation
system
Backflow preventor
_ device the prevents the nutrient-enriched water from retruning to the source
Injectors
Many ways to inject, most common include:
_ suction-side of main pump
_ venture
_ direct injection with separate pump
_ pressure differential
Quality of Water Supply
Irrigation suitability analysis
_ is the water suitable for crops porduction
Water Hardness
_ calcium
_ magnetium
_ and other cations
pH of the water
Solubility of Fertilizer
must be dissolved(not suspended)
dissolved means that it can not be filtered out
do a jar-test
get a sample of the water and mix the nutrients is proportion
wait and watch for precipitation

management of soil moisture and nutrients
some nutrients move with the water
some nutrients will attach to the irst soil particle they encounter
do not want to flush nutrients out of root zone
length of injection cycle
irr igate long enough for nutrient to reach the furthest emitter
once injection stops, then
run system long enough for nutrient to leave the furthest emitter
measure this