23 Jun

Center pivot irrigation set up for demonstration

Posted by Abbey Dinah in Learning Zone | Tags :Irrigation, Irrigation Set |

Water use experts from California State University, Fresno and a major irrigation equipment manufacturing company hope that a new system installed on the university farm will attract positive attention from the central San Joaquin Valley’s agricultural industry.

The center pivot system, donated by Valmont Irrigation based in Valley, Neb., was installed to serve as a research and educational tool for the university and a promotional exhibit for the company, which distributes all over the United States and the world.

“The flood irrigation mentality is ingrained in people in this area, and I think that many in agriculture don’t have the feel for what it takes to run a central pivot system,” said Ed Norum, agricultural engineer for the Fresno State-based Center for Irrigation Technology (CIT), a partner in the project. “This demonstration plot will show what a pivot system can do.”

The technology of the center pivot system goes back decades, and it is used extensively in the Southwest and Midwest United States. For a variety of reasons, it has not been widely adopted in California, Norum said.           In the center pivot system, the unit operates from a pivot point in a field. A galvanized steel framework lined with hanging sprinklers rotates around the center pivot; drive wheels which move the frame are powered by electric motors. A main pipe attached to the center pivot carries the water under pressure to the sprinklers.

The water can come from a well on site, a reservoir, or other source. A single pivot system can irrigate 10-450 acres. Most cover about 130 acres, Norum said.

“Our intent in bringing the system to Fresno State was to get a current, state-of-the-art machine at the university for training and demonstration,” said Ray Batten, California territory manager for Valmont.

“The California market has had a low adoption rate up until now, partly because they’ve had such a reliable water delivery system,” he noted. “However, all those things are changing. Growers are getting more interested in our equipment for reducing costs and enhancing efficiency.”

Batten said a center pivot can rival drip for efficiency, but with lots of large metal parts and movement, it involves a “culture change” for growers intending to adopt it.

A center pivot system typically requires less mechanical maintenance than a linear self-propelled system and has a longer lifespan than drip systems, Norum said. It is adaptable to most field and grain crops; even trees in some cases.

As part of the contract agreement between the university and Valmont, CIT specialists will oversee demonstrations, as well as tests comparing the center pivot system to flood and other types of sprinkler and drip irrigation systems. Tests will address water use efficiency, energy use and crop performance.

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