Fertigation: saving money and perfect lawns all year round 🌱

The fertigation is a technique that allows the simultaneous application of water and fertiliser through the irrigation system. Nowadays, it is a methodology within the reach of greenkeepers y groundsmen to manage the nutrition of your sports surfaces in a very efficient and economical way and with maximum control thanks to the advances developed in pumping and fertiliser injection systems. It will be necessary for the irrigation system to be very efficient, so that the distribution of the fertiliser will be very homogeneous and effective.

One of the most important consequences of this is the change in the water chemistry The irrigation system can be quickly visualised by means of the Piper diagrams depending on the chosen proportions of fertilisers.

Fertigation can be modulated for dosing according to potential growth of the different varieties and times of the year, injecting more or less fertilisers depending on the pH, Electrical conductivityThe process can be automated according to the parameters that we need.

We can differentiate according to the devices that inject the solution:

Venturi FertilisersThey are the simplest of all devices and therefore the least expensive, least maintenance and most durable. The venturi is a device that is usually installed in parallel with the network and has a narrowing in the passage section. This narrowing causes an increase in the velocity of the circulating fluid with the consequent depression and suction of the fertiliser tank. The advantage of these devices is that they suck directly from the tank, which is at atmospheric pressure. This reduces the costs of the fertiliser tanks, as they do not have to withstand the pressure of the mains. The major disadvantage of these devices is that there is a significant head loss, which is usually around 10-30 % of the manometric height of the pipe where they are installed. For this reason, in many cases it is necessary to install a small auxiliary pump to compensate for these losses.

InjectorsAgain, in this case the tanks are not pressurised by the irrigation network. In this case the solution is injected into the network by means of conventional motors (most frequently) or by means of hydraulically driven pumps. Electric injectors consist of a piston or diaphragm pump. In the case of the former, the amount of solution injected can be calibrated quite precisely. The main problem is that they must be constructed of corrosion-resistant materials. In the case of hydraulically driven pumps, the water's own energy is used to drive the pump mechanisms. Metering is adjusted by varying the inlet pressure to the device. The most advanced injectors inject a volume proportional to the flow rate circulating in the network.

The application of fertiliser through the use of these devices is much more efficient, sustainable and economical than through the traditional use of granular fertilisers. There are no unwanted growth peaks, the quality and colour is maintained consistently throughout the year, no field closures for fertilisers are necessary, etc. There is clear evidence of this published in specialised magazines such as the one you can see at this link.

Savings compared to the application of conventional fertilisers can be in the region of 50-80%, and there are even situations where the installation has been amortised in the first year of use. Consult us for advice on the best solution for your installations.

It is advisable to consider the inclusion of these devices in the initial design of pumping installations because of the larger dimensions required to house different tanks. It would be normal to have one tank for the regulation of the pH of the irrigation water (nitrogenous or non-nitrogenous source), others for the different macronutrients such as NitrogenPhosphorus, Potassium, and other special fertilizers with humectants, micronutrients, etc... It is always important not to mix calcium fertilisers with other fertilisers in the same tank because of possible calcium precipitations.