Irrigation Spotlight.

AIMS telemetry manages multiple pivots

Lindsay Manufacturing Company says its AIMS Telemetry is designed to monitor and control an unlimited number of pivots with the company's Zimmatic brand control panels. Each panel is linked by telephone or telemetry radio to a PC, so all programming, operation and monitoring functions can be done on the computer.

Lindsay says the latest technology offers several advantages: no distance limitations because the system uses cellular or landline phone hookup at the pivot instead of radio transmission; immediate reporting on the PC screen of problems such as low voltage, low pressure or unprogrammed shutdown; alarm forwarding can be relayed to specified phone numbers; color codes show status of each pivot, including a yellow warning signal for pre-programmed conditions' and software makes it possible to automatically compile data on the PC for record keeping, planning and reporting.

Contact: Lindsay; ph: 800-829-5300; Internet: www.zimmatic.com.

Low-flow-rate drip irrigation tape has multiple uses

The low-flow-rate drip irrigation tape from Queen Gil International, Jerusalem, Israel, with 10 drippers per meter, provides a uniform two or four liters of water per hour, per meter. The drippers are an integral part of the tape. Each dripper has 22 water filter inlets and four water outlets, offering maximum resistance against blocking and clogging. Because of its low flow rate, this tape can provide lines and laterals of 300 meters on flat land. In tests, the Queen Gil drip irrigation tape produced savings of 20 percent in both water and fertilizers, compared with conventional drip irrigation and tapes, and dripper emission, water flow rate and the wet line across the lateral were uniform. The tape is available in rolls of 500, 1,000, and 2,000 meters. The company says it is especially suited for irrigating vegetables and open field crops and also for replacing sprinkler and micro-sprinkler irrigation in greenhouses and orchards.

For more information, contact Dotan Gilead at Queen Gil International, PO Box 26025, Jerusalem, Israel; ph/fax: [phone]; e-mail [e-mail]

New Valley system irrigates L-shaped fields

It is now possible to use mechanized irrigation on small, rectangular and L-shaped fields, according to Al Sawtelle, product manager at Valmont Irrigation, Valley, NE. Valmont's new Valley Universal Linear was designed to provide the flexibility of traditional linear units and the reliability of center-pivot technology.

"It can reduce grower's labor costs by as much as 70 percent, using 30 to 50 percent less water than typical furrow irrigation," Sawtelle said.

The new system comes in three configurations: hose drag, side ditch and straddle ditch feeds, which wan be equipped with up to five 187-foot spans. The units can reverse directions and swing their spans dry to cover large or irregular-shaped fields.

A diesel fuel-powered generator mounted on a four-wheel drag cart drives the machine. It can be guided by buried cable, which uses a low frequency signal that is sensed by control antennas on the drive unit, or by furrow, which uses special wheels that follow a shallow "V" trench in the field.

Valmont's Valley Precision Corner units, introduced last fall, is an option on all center pivot machines or as a retrofit to a center pivot already in use. The company says this swing-out span reaches up to 23 more acres on a quarter section and up to 49 additional acres on irregular-shaped fields, leaving no dry spots underneath the corners. The span comes in lengths of 185 feet or 205 feet, plus an 82-foot overhang.

A ball and socket joint that attaches the corner arm to the main unit absorbs all horizontal, vertical and rotational movement of the Precision Corner. Sensors and an onboard computer calculate the area being irrigated under the corner arm, then adjusts the speed and sprinkler sequencing to assure uniform application of water, fertilizer and chemicals.

Contact: Valmont Irrigation; ph: 800-825-6668; Internet: www.valmont.com.

T-L Irrigation offers new control unit 

This new Point Control unit provides another method of controlling the direction and speed of the pivot system, as well as controlling the end gun, from one easy-to-use unit. The company says the control unit offers many of the same features and convenience of computer control, but without the complexity.

The Point Control speed and direction control unit is located at the pivot point of the irrigation system. All adjustments are made from that single location.

Contact: T-L Irrigation; ph: 402-462-4128; Internet: www.tlirr.com.

Interest grows in subsurface drip irrigation

Subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) utilizes underground lines, or drip tapes, which run the length and breadth of a field. It has several distinct advantages, according to Freddie Lamm, a research and extension irrigation engineer at Kansas State University.

Unlike center pivot sprinklers, SDI can cover square areas, and water is fed directly to the plants roots. SDI also saves 25 percent of the water used over center pivot sprinklers by eliminating traditional losses from drainage, runoff and evaporation. Some SDI farmers have reported up to 10 percent better corn yields.

Eldon Schmidt, a farmer from Copeland, KS, was up against his certified water allocation when he adopted SDI. He found higher yields from his SDI fields than the adjacent, flood-irrigated fields, plus the water usage was cut in half.

Installation of the SDI system is about $570 per acre, compared to about $320 per acre for center pivot systems. Thus, the SDI system must operate about 17 years to make up the cost difference, Lamm said.

Contact: Freddie Lamm; ph: 785-462-6281.

Sprinkler irrigation book available

A newly published comprehensive book, "Sprinkler Irrigation Systems," helps determine water needs and establish a minimum recommended capacity. It is a planning tool, reference guide and design manual for a broad agricultural audience, according to Don Pfost, extension agricultural engineer at the University of Missouri-Columbia.

The book, written by faculty from 12 land-grant universities, includes drilling, pumping, and maintaining irrigation wells, with designs for center-pivot systems, traveler irrigation systems, and small acreage irrigation. Sprinkler irrigation systems used to apply effluent from animal production systems, municipal treatment plants and food processing plants are also included.

Cost of the book is $24 for a single copy, with discounts for multiples. For ordering information, call 800-292-0969 or e-mail [e-mail].