MARCH | APRIL 2016
Almond Facts
41
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, f lush 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 have provided support to the belief 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 to 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,
consider spending time reviewing your irrigation scheduling,
soil types within your fields, and system performance.
