scholarly journals Solar-powered irrigation systems study: technical summary report. Volume II. Agricultural energy and fuel price projections for Arizona, California, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, and Texas

1978 ◽  
Author(s):  
Author(s):  
Fiona Grant ◽  
Carolyn Sheline ◽  
Susan Amrose ◽  
Elizabeth Brownell ◽  
Vinay Nangia ◽  
...  

Abstract Drip irrigation is a micro-irrigation technology that has been shown to conserve water and significantly increase crop yield. This technology could be particularly beneficial to the world’s estimated 500 million smallholder farmers, but drip systems tend to be financially inaccessible to this population. Drip systems require costly components including a pipe network, emitters, a pump and power system. Due to limited access to electricity, many smallholder farmers would require off-grid solutions. Designing reliable, low cost, off-grid drip irrigation systems for smallholder farms could significantly reduce the barrier to adoption. This paper builds on an integrated solar-powered drip irrigation model that was shown to improve upon an existing software. Field trials of the small-scale drip system were conducted on research farms in Jordan and Morocco for a full growing season. Data collected from these field trials are used to validate the hydraulics portion of the systems-level model. In addition, the insights gained from the field trials were formed into design requirements for future iterations of the model. These include optimizing for the system life cycle cost, as opposed to capital cost, the ability to simulate the system operation over a season, the capability to input a user’s irrigation schedule, incorporating locally-available components, and incorporating a system reliability constraint based on more detailed agronomic calculations.


2021 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 28-40
Author(s):  
P. Piliso ◽  
A. Senzanje ◽  
K. Dhavu

South Africa has been identified as having a high potential for solar powered irrigation. However, there has been a lag in the development of solar powered irrigation systems (SPIS) there, mainly due to the high investment cost associated with solar technology. South Africa has frequently implemented load shedding, which has affected many farmers. The work reported in this paper sought to determine the extent of solar powered irrigation and characteristics of the system types in use. The extent of SPIS in South Africa was determined using a questionnaire, and categorised in terms of farm size, SPIS configuration (storage of energy), type of irrigation, and location of the system. These were established mainly from a literature search. The questionnaires were administered on Survey Monkey®. The sample size of the study was 138 755 potential respondents. The number that participated and completed the questionnaires included a total of 18 SPIS engineers, installers and designers and 13 SPIS users (farmers). The main problem encountered with the distribution of the survey was finding SPIS users to participate. Results from SPIS engineers, installers and designers showed that most SPIS they implemented were in the Western Cape and the Eastern Cape, at 33% of the responses for both provinces. The total area under SPIS was found to be 364 ha, while the area under irrigation is South Africa is 1 300 00 ha, indicating a high potential for SPIS development. Some details on the extent of SPIS in South Africa were determined in this paper, but more SPIS users need to be identified to determine the details of their SPIS.


Author(s):  
Smita Chaudhry ◽  
Shivani Garg

Rising temperatures and increased frequency of extreme events will have direct and negative impacts on natural resources. Water resources are limited on earth; hence, there is a need to manage the utilization techniques of water. The irrigation system improvement using the wireless network is a solution to accomplish water conservation goal as well as improvement in irrigation practices. Smart farming enhances the capacity of the agricultural systems to support food security. The need for adaptation and the potential for mitigation into sustainable agriculture development strategies can be incorporated into such system. The smart farming system includes different techniques of agricultural practices to conserve different resources including water. Solar powered smart irrigation systems are a part of the smart irrigation system. Smart irrigation system includes temperature, moisture, and humidity sensors system. Different smart irrigation systems which are used all over the world will be discussed in this chapter.


2019 ◽  
Vol 68 (2) ◽  
pp. 379-380
Author(s):  
Er. A.B. Pandya

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolyn Sheline ◽  
Fiona Grant ◽  
Amos G. Winter, V ◽  
Susan Amrose ◽  
Elizabeth Brownell ◽  
...  

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