Sprinkler irrigation is widely used because it is versatile, adaptable to almost all crops, and affordable.
Fremont, CA: Sprinkler irrigation was invented for home lawn care and garden water use. Even today, an impact sprinkler's rhythmic' chk-chk' sound is iconoclastic of hot summer days, green lawns, and children sportively cooling off in lawn sprinklers.
What Is Sprinkler Irrigation?
Stay ahead of the industry with exclusive feature stories on the top companies, expert insights and the latest news delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe today.
Sprinkler irrigation is any irrigation that utilizes a pressurized system to apply water in a way that imitates rainfall to the soil surface.
Water is supplied to a farmer's fields using a network of pipes or hoses, and the water is generally pressurized through a pumping system.
The Pros of a Sprinkler Irrigation
Flexible for Many Crops and Farms
Sprinkler irrigation systems are flexible for many crops, regions, and soil types. They can be destined to match the dimensions of a field and accommodate hills and uneven terrain, issues that question other irrigation systems like furrow irrigation. By switching different types of sprinkler heads or nozzles, varying the height of the risers sprinklers are mounted on or fixing the water pressure or even pipe size, farmers can change the diameter and influence of how water is supplied to crops and the soil surface.
Can Be Used to Apply Fertilizers & Chemicals
Farmers can effortlessly use their sprinkler irrigation system to fertilize or apply chemicals by comprising a fertigation or chemigation part in their irrigation system.
Delivers plenty of Water When Needed
Sprinkler irrigation systems are a good way to deliver water when it is most needed uniformly across an area. Therefore, sprinkler irrigation systems are often set up in high-value crops like orchards or salad greens for secondary reasons—like cooling during summer or preventing cold weather damage during sudden freezes.
Next-Gen Technology and Sprinkler Irrigation
Like all kinds of irrigation systems, new irrigation technology combined with precision farming methodologies has made sprinkler irrigation systems more water and cost-efficient for farmers.
New advancements like low-flow rate emitters and micro-sprinklers plus variable rate irrigation and moisture sensors help farmers more precisely manage how much and how often they run their automatic sprinkler systems to meet their crop needs.