Automation of border irrigation in South-East Australia: an overview

Abstract

There exists a growing interest in automating border irrigation after a large number of irrigated farms in South East Australia have upgraded their layout design. Several manufacturing companies are producing automated equipment which rely on controllers fitted with timers or field water sensors to monitor the advance of the water front down the border (bay). Labor saving together with potential for increase in pasture yield and additional flexibility to perform other farming tasks are the main benefits considered by farmers who decide to adopt automation. Environmental benefits can also be realized provided that the system is properly managed. Correct sensor placement and timer setting are critical factors to achieve high hydraulic performance as they can influence the application efficiency of a typical border irrigation event by as much as 40%. Further efforts will be required in future to incorporate feedback control, improve operational reliability and adapt existing systems or develop new ones to meet the requirements of new irrigation techniques such as surge flow.