Irrigation- and fertilization machines

From plant caring procedures one of the most frequent works are irrigation and fertilization, therefore – with the lack of automatisation – needs very high labour. Most important methods in ornamental growing are the followings.

Tube irrigation. It is the least modern method, which consumes a lot of labour and needs a well experienced worker. It can be reasonable, where plant stock is mixed and different water requirement can be solved the easiest by this way, or in small growing volume, where automatisation is uneconomic.

Sprinkler irrigation. Irrigation plants from above are widely used method both in outdoor and greenhouse production. Depending on the used sprinkler heads the softness of water varying, in more sensitive cultures the softer sprinkle and the use of microsprinklers are advisable. The relatively big evaporation loss is the disadvantage of the method, by the way in this way increasing humidity of the surrounding area. Advantage is the easy installation and maintenance.

Mikrosprinklers irrigation in cut lily production

Subsurface textile irrigation / mat watering means that that potted grown plants (potted plants, annual seedlings, mother spawn, etc.) are placed on a textile, which keeps a part of irrigation water and therefore provide spare water for the plant. Tha main disadvantage is that textile should be changed not just because it become depleted but furthermore fungal diseases can establish.

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Subsurface textile irrigation of annual plants

In leaking irrigation water leaks into the soil or under the pots from perforated pipes laid in the plant culture –on the ground or bench. Enables to fully automatised, can be well combinated with textile irrigation.

In drip irrigation system pipes, running in the culture carrying water via distributors, sticked into the pipe through so called spaghetti tubes into the pots or (e.g. in hidroculture) into the spikes put at the base of plants, so fertilizers and irrigation water directly get to the root zone. This system has the best efficacy, but when using humidity management should be held.

Boom irrigation. A special equipment for potted plant and plantation growing. This is a watering boom with nozzles, which make a soft sprinkle. The boom is positioned perpendicular above the benches and moves there and back. When cultivated on the ground, it usually rolls in wheels, when plants are in benches, the boom runs along rails. The boom is propelled by a reel motor, according to the movement of the boom. Speed and frequency of irrigation can be modified based on the plants demand. The system runs continuosly in small pot cultures, while when bigger pots are used the boom stops above the rows and starts watering.

Ebb- and flood watering system. An irrigation and fertiliser system used for cultivation of potted plants in benches, where the water or fertiliser is pumped into the bench from beneath and after pots are moistured enough the solution is drained out into the tanks. Well automatisable and economic method, but drained out water should be filtered, moreover sterilisating can be worthy in order to avoid spreading of possible diseases.

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Irrigation boom in nursery

Ebb and flood watering system

Ebb and flood watering system

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Water cleaning equipments. The quality of tap water is usually adequate for ornamental cultivation however using is uneconomic owing to the high prices. Therefore most of the growers using other water sources. The easiest way to manage this is the collection of natural precipitation, which gives a perfect quality of water, but unfortunately usually not enough. The water, which comes from wells or surface waters have usually adequate quality after cleaning, therefore water cleaning equipments should be used. The functional principle is usually based on reverse osmosis¹², where flowing moves from contaminated water through a partially permeable membrane to the clear water. The membrane filters the contaminants, while let through the water. This flowing process, which based on different concentration enables isolation of contaminated and clear water. However residues are deposited on the surface of the membrane, the continuous water flow cleans up the filtered contaminants, therefore strangulation is impossible.

Dosatron. An easily handleable equipment of fertilizing. It is based on a T-shaped pipe, which horizontally connected to the water line, while the vertical pipe is dipped into the stock solution¹³ (like in older varnishing machines). The water flow takes up the solution, the ratio can be determined at the bottom of the vertical pipe. Great advantage of the equipment that the amount of concentrate dispensed is proportional to the volume of water and irrespective of water pressure variations.

Computer controlled fertilization. The modernest fertilization system. Controllers are connected with three tanks, two of them containing (A-tank and B-tank) stock solution, while the third contains acid stock solution for pH regulation. Those nutrients are mixed in tank A and B, which not producing residues when react even in stock solution (residue: from reaction of water soluble compounds water insoluble compound is produced, which is not available for plants). The computer analyses backflow water and do the mixing in a ratio, which provides optimal nutrition for the plant culture.

Tank A and B for computer controlled fertilization

12 osmosis: is the net movement of solvent molecules through a partially permeable membrane into a region of higher solute concentration, in order to equalize the solute concentrations on the two sides

13 stock solution: it is a 100 or 1000 times concentrated solution, whereby the requested fertilizer concentration is made by dilution

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192 8.7 Grading- and sorting machines

Grading- and sorting machines can be used at several phases of growing. The working principles of the machines can be physical or optical.

Physical grading machines are classifying the products based on some easely measurable parameter (mainly size, or weight). Most often it is used at onion production, where quality sorting of onions are based on different diameters.

Optical sorting machine makes picture from the foregone product and sorting by the visible characteristics of the product (colour, shade, foliage colour, shape, height / length etc.). By the computer controlled categories each product is put on the right boxes, which are located by a moving line (drop down to conveyor belt or lift out), while rubbish is removed. Able to provide very exact sorting, for example in cut rose sorting, where batching is also done and can be connected with packaging machine.

Grading- and sorting machine for roses (1)

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Grading- and sorting machine for roses (2)