Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
In Southern Africa, irrigating maize and its rotation crops with drip irrigation is not yet common practice. However, considering what Netafim United States of America (USA) has achieved, it is easy to get excited about the potential impact of drip irrigation in the Southern African grain industry.
For more information regarding irrigation planning and selection, read the following articles in Netafim’s series:
- Precision planning for precision irrigation
- Drip Irrigation: What you need to know
- Drip irrigation maintenance: What you need to know
- Micro-sprinkler irrigation: What you need to know
- Open-field sprinkler irrigation: What you need to know
- How to find the best thin wall dripline
According to Jim Hunt, segment leader for maize, soya bean and hemp at Netafim USA, drip irrigation can be implemented in many different circumstances for a massive positive impact on efficiency and yield. “The easy wins are often on fields with lower quality soil and where decent quality water is readily available. If you have these circumstances on your farm, you should be considering drip irrigation. The potential impact is, however, in no way limited to these farms.”
Tim Wolf, agronomist at Netafim USA, explains that they will consider water availability, soil type and other factors to determine how drip irrigation can slot into an operation. “Another important factor of success will be the producer’s commitment to maximising the system’s impact. Fact is, if you use drip irrigation to its full potential and you are finely tuned into the needs of the plants, efficiency and yield will increase and return on investment will be rapid,” he says.
The Netafim team is often approached by producers who have hit a yield barrier. Some producers need to get more from their land and resources since they cannot expand their investment in land and have done all they can to maximise output. In this case the recommended solution is drip irrigation and fine management of the irrigation system.
Drip irrigation as a delivery system
To harness the maximum potential of drip irrigation, we must look at drip not only as an irrigation system, but rather a fertigation system or total delivery system. “Farmers often ask us what they would need the system for in a high rainfall year. The answer is precise nutrient application and fine-tuned crop management,” Jim says.
The benefits of delivering nutrients through drip irrigation include:
- Delivery of well-timed nutrients throughout the season.
- Precise delivery of nutrients to the root zone.
- Lower occurrence of fertiliser leeching.
- The ability to adapt the fertiliser programme during the season when necessary.
- Daily access to the plant’s root zone when needed.
- A wider range of nutrients can be delivered through drip irrigation compared to other irrigation systems.
“Many studies prove the impact of well-timed and structured nutrient application. Understanding when the crop needs which nutrients and delivering those nutrients at exactly the right time is key,” says Tim. It is furthermore necessary to know how your crop is doing throughout the season. “Do tissue sampling, monitor soil moisture and adjust the irrigation and fertigation plan accordingly,” he adds.
Jim explains that the exact management approach will differ from farm to farm, and even from field to field. “Any approach will, however, boil down to keeping the soil profile as full as possible at the beginning of and throughout the season, as well as delivering the necessary nutrients throughout the season just ahead of when the plants need it.”
The water used by the plant is replaced daily. This allows the producer to maintain the perfect air-water balance in the soil to create a better growing environment. Being able to keep all the necessary nutrients in the plant at a balanced amount is key to high yield and efficiency.
Better management made possible
Netafim USA customers often note that what they have learned about drip irrigation has made them better irrigators and fertigators – even if they use pivots.
Many Netafim customers who adopt drip irrigation already use pivot irrigation. They implement drip irrigation on lower-producing fields, or fields where the shape and topography do not allow for pivot irrigation. “The adoption of drip tunes them into a higher level of management, which helps them out in the rest of their operation,” says Jim.
Solving problems with soil compaction: Netafim offers practical help.
Of course, agronomic support and training form a massive part of the success of drip irrigation on these farms. Across the globe, the Netafim team believes that it is not only about the installation, but also about offering agronomic and technical support and training. The Netafim field support model creates the opportunity to help producers become even better at what they do and pay better attention to what the plants need. “These farmers are making a significant investment in our systems, and they deserve our support in making the system work for them,” says Jim.
“The better drip irrigation is managed and the greater the effort towards measuring, the greater the effect of the drip irrigation system will be. We believe the effort and cost of these activities are massively outweighed by the beneficial impact of the information gained.” – Marike Brits, Netafim South Africa
