National and foreign automatic irrigation systems. Projects of the 21st century.

In Russia, only the central part of the country meets all the needs for sustainable and efficient crop production. The rest, which is more than 50% of the land, is in an unstable climate. Regular droughts, a lack of natural irrigation - all this and more affect yields.

A solution can be found in the automation of irrigation systems. And automatic irrigation began to be used in the 20th century. Such systems as "Fregat" are still actively used and produced not only in Russia.

In this article we will consider several unique domestic and foreign developments in automatic irrigation of fields and grounds.

1.?Smart irrigation system?AIST

Development from a company that has been actively involved in Skolkovo projects. By the way, this system is not just automatic but "smart" and is able to adapt irrigation to the climatic characteristics of the region. AIST is a ready-made project, since last year the system was tested in Russia and also worked on fruit fields in Vietnam.

Company representatives say that system assembly and maintenance will be maximally simplified. For example, individual smart irrigation modules can be assembled in the fields, and the equipment is also completely energy-independent.?The AIST system works on the basis of differentiated water supply technology, which allows the application of fertilizers. The modules are installed on any irrigation machine, including the Soviet machines "Dnepr", "Fregat" and many others. Phenomenal water savings of up to 200% are achieved.?

2.?Irrigation control based on the??Cascade??machine

This development was presented as part of the Russian Priority 2030 program. Engineers from Babylon University created a ready-made "smart" system for irrigation control. At the moment, it can work on the basis of the sprinkler machine "Cascade", but in the future, the system is planned to be adapted to other units.?

The uniqueness of the development is that the intelligent system is able to automatically determine the soil moisture at different depths. The built-in program analyzes the data and makes an accurate prediction on the dates of the next irrigation.?

The system is able to take into account several important factors, including climatic conditions, soil quality, the properties of each individual layer, and many others.?

An interesting fact. Sensors are installed on the perimeter of the territory and they work in autonomous mode. Transmitters are able to send information at a distance of up to 30 km.?

3.?Autonomous irrigation system??Fregat?

It is worth noting that "Fregat" is a fairly well-known system, that was designed back in the USSR. Initially, they were stationary irrigation machines, but the technology was refined and an automated version was created.?

In addition, there are unique models of self-propelled machines based on "Fregat".?

Almost all systems in the project "Fregat" can irrigate fields with the circular movement of nozzles. At the same time, the pipeline can be laid for a distance of up to 500 km.?

4.?Autonomous robot?Oscar

The company Osiris Agriculture, originally from France, presented its unique project of an irrigation auto-irrigation system. In fact, it is a full-fledged and autonomous robot that can not only water areas but?also apply fertilizers, protect plants from pests, and collect data. Already in the middle of 2023, the development is planned to be tested in the real world.

By the way, the company decided not to sell the irrigation robot yet and will rent it to farmers. The robot is equipped with various sensors, its own water pumps, and a hose. The machine can process up to 20 hectares of land in autonomous mode per day.

5.?Precision irrigation system?IrriDesk

Scientists from the IRTA Institute in Barcelona unveiled the latest?IrriDesk?precision irrigation system in 2022. "Smart" irrigation is designed to work in large orchards and vineyards. And the system is initially adapted to water 60 different types of plants and crops. In fact, this is the future of all drip irrigation, where irrigation forecasts are created based on the built-in computer.?

The developers have created a universal solution that can be used separately or integrated with irrigation machines. High accuracy is achieved through built-in sensors and controllers.

There are truly unique solutions in the world of agricultural machinery. Perhaps you have your own suggestions and technologies? Share it in the comments, and let's discuss it together.