Problems Faced by Horticultural Enterprises in Applying Water-Saving Irrigation Technologies

In the face of water scarcity, water-saving irrigation is a global focus. The advanced concept of water and fertilizer application management in Israel is "only fertilizing and watering the crops, not the land." Specifically, this involves delivering water and nutrients directly to the crop roots for better absorption; reducing soil evaporation and preventing surface water and soil loss through deep percolation; providing water and nutrients more effectively and accurately, ensuring plants receive equal amounts; using it as an important means of achieving agricultural product standardization, providing water and nutrients according to crop growth and harvest plans to improve yield and quality; simplifying system operation, saving water, fertilizer, and energy while saving a large amount of labor and reducing production costs; and preventing soil erosion and salinization. A computer performs precise and reliable real-time control, executing a series of operational procedures. If the system records a certain deviation between the amount of water and fertilizer applied and the requirements, the system will automatically shut off the irrigation device to prevent incorrect irrigation. These systems are equipped with sensors that help determine the required irrigation intervals and can monitor underground humidity information at any time. Another type of sensor detects changes in plant stems and fruits to determine the plant's irrigation interval. Various sensors are directly connected to the computer, and when irrigation is needed, the automatic control instrument opens the irrigation system for operation. The water and fertilizer amounts in the irrigation system are controlled by the computer, which can identify leaks and blockages in the water supply pipes through changes in flow and pressure.

The advantages of water-saving irrigation are: (1) Water conservation. Currently, most flower enterprises still use manual water pipes for watering, which is not only uneven but also wastes a lot of water. If plug-in, drip irrigation, and small-pipe outflow methods are used, irrigation uniformity can be improved, saving 50-70% more water than manual irrigation. (2) Labor saving. Labor can be reduced by up to 90% or more. Nowadays, labor costs are constantly rising, and it is difficult to hire workers. If water-saving irrigation is adopted, it can maximize labor savings and improve labor efficiency. If combined with an automatic controller or programmable logic controller and VFD, manpower input can be greatly reduced. (3) Changes in planting structure. Rooftop greening and three-dimensional flower beds are increasingly used in practice, and are no longer limited to the surface plane. As early as 1993, Beijing has begun to promote three-dimensional greening using a combination of micro-irrigation and drip irrigation with significant results. (4) Integrated water and fertilizer management. Water-fertilizer coupling is a current irrigation hotspot. While watering, fertilizers and pesticides are applied synchronously according to the needs of different growth stages of flowers. (4) Improvement of the micro-environment. For flowers that are not tolerant to high humidity environments, drip irrigation can be used; for flowers that like high humidity, micro-spraying can be used; spray irrigation can also play a role in cooling, improving the local micro-environment of plants.

The current problems in the application of water-saving irrigation technology in flower enterprises include the following aspects.

(1) Insufficient understanding of irrigation products. Water-saving irrigation requires some initial investment and subsequent maintenance, which presents a hurdle for flower enterprises. For example, the flow path of a dripper is very fine and requires high water quality, necessitating the use of a filtration system during construction. In fact, with proper design, the investment in the filtration system is not high, and timely maintenance can extend the service life of the filtration system, completely offsetting the labor and water costs of non-water-saving irrigation methods. It is said that the self-pressure drip irrigation system requires an investment of about 2000 yuan/mu, the micro-spray irrigation system requires an investment of about 1000 yuan/mu, and the manual point irrigation system only requires an investment of about 300 yuan/mu. The cost is not very high, but the later benefits are great.

(2) The irrigation system and water management are not well combined with the characteristics of the cultivated crops. Flower enterprises cultivate flower varieties that are either single or diverse and should formulate irrigation systems according to the water and fertilizer requirements of different plants at different growth stages. Simply pursuing water saving is not scientific. For example, among potted flowers in Guangzhou, the flower varieties using drip irrigation equipment mainly include products with high commercial value and long production cycles; usually including poinsettia, anthurium, pineapple, pitcher plants, Phalaenopsis, and Chinese orchids, etc. These flowers have a growth cycle of 5-10 months or even longer. During their growth cycle, they require daily irrigation 1-3 times. If water-saving irrigation is used, while saving labor, it improves the quality and uniformity of flowers, increasing economic benefits.

For potted flowers with shorter production cycles, such as Impatiens, cockscomb, and chrysanthemum, these flowers have low commercial value and relatively extensive production management. If drip irrigation equipment is used, it can easily lead to high production input and low output. Frequent installation and removal of the drip irrigation part will damage the equipment, affecting normal operation and shortening the service life; therefore, potted flowers with short production cycles rarely use drip irrigation equipment. For example, in a flower base in Shunyi District, Beijing, most of the plants are annual and perennial flowers, all planted in separate pots. The amount of work for drip irrigation installation is large, and it is impossible to repot, and micro-spray irrigation is not wind-resistant, and the flow rate of buried sprinklers is too large to be effective and wastes water resources; therefore, micro-spray, drip irrigation, or buried sprinklers are not suitable.

(3) Multidisciplinary application requires multi-faceted talents, and flower enterprises lack talent reserves, especially in water-saving irrigation. The application of self-control irrigation equipment requires specialized personnel for management.

There are also some shortcomings in irrigation equipment manufacturing and construction enterprises. First, the quality of domestic irrigation products needs to be further improved, requiring more innovative talents and research institutions to participate, conduct product research and development based on China's market demand, and establish independent Brands. Later, strengthen product quality supervision system to ensure that products meet relevant requirements before leaving the factory. Improve Customer Service, teach customers how to correctly use and maintain products and equipment. Construction enterprises should adapt to the times, match different irrigation equipment with different flower varieties, and establish a long-term information exchange mechanism with irrigation equipment manufacturers, promptly feeding back problems encountered during construction to manufacturers, and manufacturers updating product performance and parameters according to actual needs to meet market demand.