TIME TO CONSIDER
42
Almond Facts
MARCH | APRIL 2017
Irrigation System Maintenance
Within five years, most irrigation systems are not
distributing water to the standards in which they were
designed. This loss of distribution uniformity can be
due to many issues, but generally is a result of poor
maintenance. Micro-systems should be evaluated and
tuned-up in the spring before the water use increases
in the summer. When performing irrigation system
maintenance, consider the following:
• Check the emitter types within the field. Are
all of them the same? Clogged or broken
emitters may have been replaced
with a different flow rate.
• Clean the filter station. Check
the various filters to see if they
need cleaning. This is more
commonly done with screen and
disk filters as they tend to clog
up. Sand media filters require
maintenance too. Check the
sand levels and algae build-up,
flush and refill as needed.
• Check the pressure regulators
in the field. Are they working
properly?
• Check hose screens. Clogged
screens can cause significant
pressure drops. They need to
be cleaned every two to three
weeks. Consider replacing them
with washers if not wanting to
perform the maintenance.
• Flush hoses and check for mud,
algae, and slime. Hoses should
remain open until the water
runs clean for 10-15 seconds. If
slime or algae is found, consider
injecting some type of sanitizer.
• Check individual, random
emitters for flow rate. Perform a
catch-can test from 40 different
emitters across the field. If
the average flow is 10 percent
different than the designed
specifications, consider installing
new emitters.
Remember, the system is only as good
as the maintenance that is performed.
Final Thought
The past few years’ research in which I am involved with
has convinced me that irrigation and water management
is about 80 percent of the “game.” Water management,
however, isn’t as simple as “flipping a switch.” Operations
that are successful in achieving consistent, high yields are
spending about 60-80 percent of their effort in managing
their irrigation system and applications. This includes
taking soil, weather, and water quality variability into
account. If yields aren’t at levels that you are expecting,
spend time reviewing your irrigation scheduling, soil
types, and system performance.
