Unreasonable events and solutions for water and fertilizer integrated systems

Water-fertilizer integrated system has advantages such as water and fertilizer saving, time and labor saving, temperature and humidity adjustment, disease reduction, increased yield, improved quality, and improved economic benefits. However, an unreasonable water-fertilizer integrated system not only fails to ensure high-quality and increased production but may also cause labor and water waste. The following lists nine common problems and solutions caused by the use of unqualified water-fertilizer integrated systems:

Problem 1: Excessive sand content in the water source and unreasonable design of the filtration system easily lead to filter clogging.

Suggestion

1. Reasonably design the filtration system according to the type and water quality of the water source;

2. If the water source contains a large amount of sand, in addition to installing centrifugal filtration equipment, a sedimentation tank should be built to pre-treat the water body.

Problem 2: The absence of a check valve, air valve, and other protective devices at the head easily causes water hammer, leading to pipe rupture and pump damage. The absence of air valves on the water pipe causes pipe bursts or flattening.

Suggestion

1. The head of the water-fertilizer integrated system must be equipped with a check valve, air valve, and other protective devices;

2. Air valves should be installed at high points in the pipeline.

Problem 3: The water intake pipe is too long, with too many elbows, causing the pipe to "suck" flat.

Suggestion

The unreasonable design of the water source location and pump suction head leads to excessive air in the pipe, which is difficult to discharge; fewer elbows should be used during operation, and the pipeline should be controlled within 20 meters.

Problem 4: Non-standard installation of PVC-U pipes causes water leakage at the joints.

Suggestion

The installation of PVC-U pipes should pay attention to the following four points:

1. Wipe the inner wall of the pipe socket and the outer wall of the spigot clean;

2. Mark the spigot;

3. Apply PVC-specific glue to the inner wall of the socket and the outer wall of the spigot respectively;

4. Insert the pipe to the marked position, keep it straight, and cure.

Problem 5: Excessive end pressure causes bypass flushing and detachment of the drip irrigation tape, drip irrigation tape bursting, and uneven water discharge from the drip irrigation tape.

Suggestion

This is mainly due to design and product issues.

1. Optimize the design, and the pressure design should be within the pressure resistance value of the bypass;

2. Add pressure control equipment. At present, frequency conversion pressure control is the mainstream of water-fertilizer integration;

3. Choose regular drip irrigation tapes and install them correctly. Pressure-compensating waterers should be selected for mountainous areas, and non-pressure-compensating waterers can be selected for flat areas.

Problem 6: Improper pressure design or adjustment in mountainous areas leads to rupture of the water supply pipeline.

Suggestion

Mountainous terrain is complex and has large undulations, and the pipeline pressure also changes greatly.

1. Pipes with certain toughness and high pressure rating should be selected.

2. During pipeline design and installation, add some ball valves or install pressure reducing valves to balance the high and low pressure difference.

Problem 7: The absence of a filtration system or unreasonable selection of a filtration system leads to clogging of the drip irrigation tape, which directly results in system paralysis and the scrapping of the drip irrigation tape.

Suggestion

1. The water-fertilizer integrated system must be equipped with a filter;

2. Correctly match the filtration equipment according to the water source type and waterer;

3. A 120-mesh filter must be used at the end of the water-fertilizer integration;

4. It is best to use water-soluble fertilizers, and after applying the fertilizer, you must drip clear water and regularly flush the pipeline.

Problem 8: During field weeding, the drip irrigation pipes/tapes were not protected, causing mechanical damage and serious water leakage.

Suggestion

When laying drip irrigation tapes/pipes, try to minimize the impact on other field management. If mechanical weeding is required, the drip irrigation tapes/pipes should be hung up in advance to avoid mechanical damage. Also, prepare some capillary connectors in advance for immediate repair in case of damage.

Problem 9: After the completion of the water-fertilizer integrated equipment, unqualified water-soluble fertilizers were used, or even ordinary compound fertilizers were used for drip irrigation fertilization to save money, causing serious clogging of the filtration equipment.

Suggestion

When implementing water-fertilizer integration, water-soluble fertilizers of regular Brands with guaranteed quality must be used. Because unqualified water-soluble fertilizers have poor solubility, they not only clog the pipeline but also cause insufficient nutrition later, which seriously affects the yield.