Setup Water Sources and Irrigation Emitters
Water Sources
You only need to worry about setting up water sources if this is a cost you wish to track in GrowData. An average price per megalitre can be entered, and if desired, a date allocated for more accurate tracking (click on water prices to access this).
Emitters
The reason it's important to set up your emitters, is because Fertigation application rates are calculated by a per hectare rate, and also by the calculated flow rate of your irrigation system. Therefore we need to identify which type of emitter is being used on each block and the hourly flow rate.
The image below demonstrates the Block setup screen. This is where you'll select from the Emitters you've created in the Irrigation setup, and identify how many emitters are in each block.
If you don't have these details, a simple Jug Test will give us the info you need:
- Run the dripline up to pressure
- On the dripline, put a measuring jug under one of the emitters and time for 1minute. The water collected in the jug will allow you to calculate the L/hr per emitter.
- On the dripline, use a measuring tape to check the space between the drippers. This will allow you to calculate how many emitters are in a block.
Irrigation Meters
This is an optional tool that can be used to store meter readings.
To calculate usage over a certain time, simply deduct the previous reading from the last reading and compare it against an irrigation report for the same period.
Setup Valves