K-Line® Irrigation System helps turn dry pasture into productive land
Effective irrigation can improve the return of agricultural land, and even make unproductive land viable. To be effective, several variables need to be considered.
To assist in the process, RXP, in association with PGG Wrightson, is an irrigation supplier to the rural sector, offering a new irrigation design service as RXP Technical Manager Phil Gatehouse explains.
“Every parcel of land has its own characteristics. Is it flat, or does it have some rolling shape? What is the water source? These factors all change the equation. Our service looks at the hydraulic characteristics of an irrigation system and makes sure that when it is turned on, water is delivered at the correct rate to the desired locations.”
Soil type is an important factor when considering the right system for your property. As Phil says, “the lighter soils of Canterbury do not hold a vast amount of water, so they have a relatively short return period. This is the same for pumice soils found in places such as Reporoa in the Waikato. In contrast, heavy soils, such as clay-based land around Timaru, have a longer return time.”
“The aim of an irrigation system is to get the moisture into the soil as it is required and not passing out of the root zone. If water does pass out the root zone, it will travel down into the sub-soil or drains and potentially out into waterways.”
Phil says RXP’s irrigation system K-Line® is an above-ground system of networked pipes and sprinkler pods. Its innovative design has changed the type of land considered economical to irrigate.
K-Line is unique, having been designed to be moved in a scheduled grid pattern to promote the most efficient and effective use of water in an area. The size of pipe and irrigation pod can be varied to meet the required water output for the pasture being irrigated. As the system is modular, a farmer can trial a small area and incrementally extend it year on year.
“The beauty of K-Line is that it can be easily moved by four-wheel motorbike,” says Phil. “It has a relatively low capital cost too, at under $2,000 a hectare for the above-ground components. This cost makes the system economically viable for most irrigation projects.”
For areas too steep for K-Line, or where the farmer is seeking a more automated system, RXP also supplies Solid Set systems such as G-Set™. With this system, pipes and sprinkler pods are permanently planted in the ground and activated using an electronic controller and wireless technology. Ground-moisture sensors can be added to provide farmers with accurate information on the state of the soil.
Visit your local PGG Wrightson store to arrange an initial assessment by the RX Plastics design team to determine a suitable K-Line® irrigation solution for your farm. View K-Line online in the latest Stock n' Save at store.ppgwrightson.co.nz.
