Key Application Points of Micro-Sprinkler Irrigation Technology for Greenhouse Flowers
For water-saving irrigation, micro-sprinkler irrigation is a newly developed form of sprinkler irrigation. Compared with conventional sprinkler irrigation, the pressure of micro-sprinklers is significantly lower, which can effectively help save water, conserve energy, protect the environment, and reduce equipment investment, while also having the advantage of regulating the field climate. Micro-sprinkler irrigation is mainly suitable for fruit trees, cash crops, flowers, lawns, and greenhouses.
Micro-sprinkler irrigation has brought huge business opportunities for the development of the flower industry. Drawing on the characteristics of small-scale farmland water conservancy, micro-sprinkler irrigation supporting facilities have been built for the high-grade intelligent greenhouses in the flower park.
Micro-sprinkler irrigation is needed to accelerate flower production
The flower park currently has more than 33.33 hm2 of high-grade intelligent greenhouses, and production has already reached a relatively high level, with yield and output value up to 10 to 20 times higher than open-field production. However, the existing irrigation technology is still the traditional manual irrigation method, which greatly restricts the development of the flower industry. Therefore, to improve flower yield and quality on the existing basis, advanced micro-irrigation technology must be adopted, with rational and scientific irrigation according to the growth needs of the flowers, creating a good ecological environment of water, fertilizer, air, and heat for flower growth, thereby achieving remarkable results in increased yield, increased income, water savings, and labor savings.
Design of the Flower Micro-Irrigation Project
Micro-sprinkler irrigation equipment mainly includes emitters and pipes, so in micro-sprinkler irrigation the main considerations are the selection of emitters and pipes. For greenhouse micro-sprinkling, emitters with smaller flow rates should be selected, and the emitters should also have good anti-clogging performance, uniform and stable discharge, durability, simple structure, and easy installation. The pipes should be made of materials with good corrosion resistance and aging resistance, able to withstand a certain internal water pressure, with specifications and tolerances that must meet technical standards, easy and firm to install, and leak-free, and they must also be equipped with a filtration device.
Design description: The entire sprinkler irrigation system uses a total of 1,287 Israeli atomizing micro-sprinkler series nozzles. The designed working pressure of the nozzles is 3.0 Bars, and the flow rate of a single nozzle is 10 L/h; the system working pressure and flow rate should meet the above requirements to ensure the normal operation of the micro-sprinkler system. The main pipe uses U-PVC with a diameter of 63 mm, and the branch pipes use PE with a diameter of 25 mm, with pressure resistance of no less than 0.8 MPa, ensuring long-term stability and reliability. The irrigation form above the greenhouse is set as cross atomizing nozzles. The water source at the head is purified pure water, and there is no problem with water quality filtration, so mesh filtration is sufficient. Due to the particularity of growing high-grade flowers, the functions of atomization and humidification are emphasized.
Flower micro-irrigation has achieved obvious results
(1) Water-saving benefits. The micro-irrigation system entirely uses pipeline water conveyance, with very little leakage along the way and evaporation loss. During irrigation, it generally only wets part of the soil near the crop roots, and the irrigation flow rate is small. In addition, micro-irrigation can supply water in a timely and appropriate amount according to crop growth needs, so compared with other irrigation methods, the water utilization rate is higher. According to comparisons by flower growers, manual irrigation requires 60 m3 per irrigation, while micro-sprinkler irrigation requires only 20 m3 per irrigation. Micro-irrigation saves 67% of water compared with manual irrigation. Because the water used for flower irrigation is all pure water, and the price of pure water is 3 yuan/m3, the water-saving benefit is obvious. Because the micro-irrigation system adopts integrated water and fertilizer management, saving water also means saving fertilizer.
(2) Time-saving and labor-saving benefits. With manual irrigation, water follows the workers. In the past, each irrigation required 2 workers and 12 h, but now it takes only 30 min to irrigate once, with no need for dedicated supervision, thus greatly saving manpower.
(3) Ecological and environmental benefits. Micro-irrigation greatly improves the crop ecological environment. In the past, water was applied directly to the crops, and the well water temperature was relatively low, which was not conducive to flower growth. During micro-irrigation, water droplets absorb heat from the air, thereby increasing the water temperature and lowering the greenhouse temperature, which is beneficial to crop growth, shortens the growth period, and can bring flowers to market earlier. Because water is supplied in a timely and appropriate amount, air humidity can be better controlled, so micro-irrigation is conducive to temperature and humidity control.
(4) Economic benefits. Micro-irrigation can supply water to the crop root zone in a timely and appropriate amount, can regulate the humidity and temperature between pots, and provides good conditions for flower growth, which is conducive to improving flower quality, thus greatly improving the economic benefits of flower growers.
Generally speaking, the micro-sprinkler technology used for greenhouse flowers is a water-saving irrigation technology. It can irrigate in a timely and appropriate amount according to the growth needs of the flowers, has high irrigation utilization efficiency, and generally does not need to consider deep percolation losses. The effective utilization coefficient of soil water reaches 0.95, and the irrigation uniformity is above 0.9. It has the advantages of saving water, time, and labor.