Advantages of Fertigation/Chemigation: • Uniform application – delivered with irrigation • The right amount applied to the crop • Additional field equipment not necessary, reducing costs and maintenance • Reduced timelines through applying fertiliser with irrigation • Reduced compaction • Reduced risk, as the operator has little or no contact with chemicals or fertilisers • Reduced overfeeding and underfeeding of the crop • Avoid the extra equipment and resources for dry applications Plant production or container nurseries for crops that are transplanted into our fields or gardens need to be clean of any plant or soil-borne pests that may spread and harm existing farmlands or gardens. The use of chemicals and fertilisers ensure growth and that pests are not spread, as well as protecting the environment. Again, the accuracy of fertiliser application into the irrigation system in addition to chemicals to keep the plants free of pests is critical. The trends today are for increasing environmental regulation and legislation. The monitoring of our groundwater and surface water will see additional regulations due to the risks of the leaching of chemicals and nitrates into our existing water sources. We will need to apply only those fertilisers and chemicals that the plant requires with as little waste as possible. Water runoff from irrigated farmlands will be monitored to a greater extent than today, with increasing local, state and federal regulations. In future, demands will increase for application accuracy, for tracking of where food comes from and what was applied to it before it ended on the grocery shelf. The application of fertilisers and chemicals will need to be measured and tracked. The tracking of the data for what was applied to the crop will be collected and monitored and shared with consumers, and with local, state and federal agencies. You can’t manage what you can’t measure and to measure accurately you require state of the art dosing equipment. ACCURACY AND UNIFORMITY OFFER MANY ADVANTAGES As commercial liquid fertilisers are concentrated and expensive, it is vitally important that the fertigation method used is uniform and precise. If this is not achieved, then the crops can be damaged, or growth across the field becomes irregular. The increase in the use of pressurised irrigation systems such as drip and sprinklers, mechanised irrigation systems such as center pivots, and other irrigation systems has also seen the growth of fertigation and chemigation. The irrigation systems reduce the time and labor that it once took for the application of fertilisers and chemicals. The fertigation and chemigation system should also reduce water runoff and reduce environmental issues. As irrigation systems and components have become more efficient and the uniformity of these systems has been improved, so has the efficiency and uniformity of the application of the fertilisers and chemicals. With more mechanised irrigation and the ability to apply fertilisers and chemicals through those systems, we will see increased yields. Growers need to stay competitive, have new systems in place, and reduce labor costs. This means applying only those fertilisers and chemicals necessary for maximum crop production, and for keeping our environment safe. This can only be done with precision application equipment.
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