The Virtual Irrigation Academy (VIA) is a website where farmers can learn how to improve crop yields through better management of irrigation water, soil nutrients and salinity levels. The Virtual Irrigation Academy (VIA) is a website where farmers can learn how to improve crop yields through better management of irrigation water, soil nutrients and salinity […]
To provide an optimal environment for crop growth, a farmer must irrigate correctly. This will ensure that soil moisture levels are neither too high nor too low. So says Dirk Mercker, CEO of DFM Technologies, which manufactures continuous logging soil moisture probes. “You have to use water more efficiently to increase productivity from each drop […]
When water supplies are adequate, irrigation can increase crop yield dramatically. Different irrigation systems are suited to different soils, climates, crops and resources. There are three main types of irrigation systems: surface, overhead and drip (see Table 1). Table 1 ASPECT SURFACE IRRIGATION OVERHEAD IRRIGATION DRIP IRRIGATION Irrigation WUE 55% 75% 90% Water quality needed […]
For many farmers around the world, high demand, low profitability and dwindling access to natural resources make the environment in which they have to operate tougher by the year. In order to provide enough affordable food for the world’s fast-growing population, and at a time when increased climate volatility is affecting water availability, farmers have […]
A farm’s irrigation system affects many factors that in turn determine profitability. The efficacy and efficiency of labour, electricity, water and fertiliser are all influenced by the type of irrigation system and the way it is managed. With this in mind, Dawid de Kock, a macadamia farmer in Mbombela, Mpumalanga, has implemented a low-flow drip […]
A new water users association in northern Zululand will reportedly give thousands of smaller-scale black farmers there both access to and direct responsibility for this precious and essential resource. Optimism is reportedly running high that the many farmers and other rural residents of two KwaZulu-Natal municipalities will finally have equitable and legal access to irrigation […]
A new water users association in northern Zululand will reportedly give thousands of smaller-scale black farmers there both access to and direct responsibility for this precious and essential resource. Optimism is reportedly running high that the many farmers and other rural residents of two KwaZulu-Natal municipalities will finally have equitable and legal access to irrigation […]
It is the end of the rainy season, and some farmers have to turn to irrigation to supply their crops with enough water. It is essential to plan carefully before installing or even buying an irrigation system. There are 6 factors to consider, in order to make decisions about how to irrigate and what type of […]
Two farmers designed and built a centre pivot wheel that won’t deteriorate in the sun and can’t go flat or burst. It’s always bothered Mr. Ampie Venter from Orania in South Africa that a centre pivot irrigation system’s tyres are forever being damaged by the sun. “The tread of the tyre is still in top […]
Two farmers designed and built a centre pivot wheel that won’t deteriorate in the sun and can’t go flat or burst. It’s always bothered Mr. Ampie Venter from Orania in South Africa that a centre pivot irrigation system’s tyres are forever being damaged by the sun. “The tread of the tyre is still in top […]
