Drip Irrigation for Sugarcane

Presented: Sam Tidhar

Follow Up Contact:
Alghie 08119111044
[email protected]

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Agenda:

NETAFIM IRRIGATION TYPES FERTIGATION /

AUTOMATION
Meet Orbia – Netafim’s Mother Company

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Manufacturing plant

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4
Precision solutions for key
crops

Field crops Tree Crops Greenhouses

• Sugarcane • Oil Palm • Structures

• Corn • Durian • Systems

Mining
• Vegetables • Cacao
• Others • Coffee
• Others

Landscaping

5
Netafim value proposition end-to-end precision
Irrigation/Fertigation solutions

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Solutions

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capabilities,
including bulk water Connectors Sprinklers
supply & Fittings

Services
- Design and
engineering
- Technical services
- Agronomical services
- Financing solutions

Unique
Drippers
& Drip lines

Full solution from the water source to the plant roots

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The seasonal factors affecting production in the Tropic Belt?

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The Role of Irrigation in the Sugar Industry

Australia Annual rainfall Irrigation Average yields

(TCH)
Burdekin 800 Yes 115
Mackay 3000 Rain-fed 73

South Africa Annual rainfall Irrigation Average yields

(TCH)
Mapupmalanga 1000 Yes 125
Durban 1500 Rain-fed 65

Brazil Annual rainfall Irrigation Average yields

(TCH)
SP north west 1200 Yes 130
SP south east 1600 Rain-fed 65
Sugarcane Yield as a Respond to Irrigation – North-East Brazil

140

120

100
Yield (TCH)

80

60

40

20

0
0 20 40 50 60 80 100
Rain-Fed Germination Irrigation Salvation Irrigation Deficit Full Demand
Irrigation Irrigation

Percentage of the full yearly water demand

Efficient subsurface drip irrigation in Brazil increased yields by nearly 100 tons/ha
The roll of drip irrigation

How much and when the plants need water

❑ DALRI (2006) concluded that in most situations, the relationship between water consumption and
productivity ranged between 8 and 12 mm/t.
❑ Gava, et al (2008), in the Jau-SP region, observed a WUE from 13.4 with the cultivar RB867515.
❑ Wiedenfeld and Enciso (2008) found a consumption from 12.5 to 16.6 mm per ton (in plant crop) and
from 10.6 to 12.9 (in 1st ratoon crop).

600
Average Rainfall pattern
Crop Water Demand
500

400
mm

300

200

100

0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Crop Cycle
 Drivers For High quality Production With Less Water

Growing population Food security Unpredictable rains &

Low yields

Groundwater mining Alternative demands

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NETAFIM’s Mission
1. Water resource development & Plan
2. Innovative irrigation products
3. Improve water use efficiency
4. Global Sugarcane Crop Team
5. Agronomical solutions
6. Crop Management Technologies
7. Capacity building & Training
8. Big & small size project.
9. R&D

AIM – INCREASING WATER & FETRILIZER USE EFFICIENCY = HIGH YIELD & PROFIT
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 DRIP IS THE MOST EFFICIENT IRRIGATION METHOD THAT INCREASES YIELDS, WHILE USING
LESS WATER, NUTRIENTS AND ENERGY
Efficiency

90%-95%

40%-60%

Developing

Irrigation Methods
Source: Netafim Internal Research
Efficiency is defined as the maximum output per unit of area and input.
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Full irrigation OR Supplementary Irrigation
 Supplementary Irrigation:  Full Irrigation:
– 1 - 3 irrigations in a season – Aiming for max yield
– Movable – Feeding the crop

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AGRICULTURAL TECHNOLOGIES

Technologies that are used to address todays challenges.

Increased Efficiency
30%

25%
Agronomic
Input Methods
20%

15%

10%

5%

0%
Seeds Mechanized Crop protection Drip irrigation

Nebraska, US, 2008-2014, Influence of factors in growing corn under optimal conditions (based on field results)
 DRIP IRRIGATION OF SUGARCANE
Two Versions

Surface Drip Subsurface Drip

 Surface drip
irrigation

Sub Surface drip

irrigation
 SDI - Theory
• SDI can increase application efficiency, decrease evaporation
from the soil surface.
 Motivations
SUBSURFACEfor Sub
DRIP Surface Drip (SDI) in Sugarcane
IRRIGATION

◼ High Water Use Efficiency

◼ High Nutrient Use Efficiency

◼ Possibility of Mechanized cane cultivation & Automation

Triple advantageous technology

A production tool which delivers water, plant nutrients & plant

protection chemicals:
Theoretical Irrigation Scheduling
for drip irrigation in Orchards
Menu Next
What Sugarcane Farmer Needs ?
• Higher Profits!
• Reduced risk
• Adoptable technology

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What Sugar industry partners need ?
Increased
1. Sustainable total Cane
Production
2. Sugar recovery
3. Area under cane

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 Transpiration

What Sugarcane
Crop Needs? Sunlight

Hard to manage
Heat load
Drip system gives
the grower the most
control over water
and nutrient
delivery
Nutrients
Soil depth % Soil moisture
(cm) extraction

0 – 20 62.0
20 – 40 23.4
40 – 60 8.8
60 – 80 4.4
80 – 100 1.4

Moisture Extraction Pattern by Sugarcane (Source: Rao, 1997)

Compression of Drip x Pivot x Furrow irrigation Agrovale mill, Brazil

The roll of drip irrigation

Yield - Ton/ha (3 years average) Water Use - mm/ton

160 16.00
140 14
140 14.00
13
120 12.00
108
100
100 10.00 9.29

80 8.00

60 6.00

40 4.00

20 2.00

0 0.00
Drip Pivot Furrow Drip Pivot Furrow
Irrigation method Irrigation method
Sugarcane
Planting with SDI

Proper Land
Preparation
Is an
Essential
Pre-requisite
For
SDI installation &
Maintenance
Optimal
Stalk population
Soil Preparation is very important aspect in SDI
SDI INSTELLATION FOR DUAL ROW PLANTING
Layout of Dripline underground in SDI

Dual rows
Dripline row
Seed depth
Ridge height
Relation between the seed and the
drip lateral

Soil natural
surface

After covering bed high about

5 cm
5cm
10 - 15 15 - 20
cm cm
40 cm
 Surface Drip line Retrieval
• Combines extraction and
coiling
PLANTING METHODS
Single row Planting Pattern Under Subsurface Drip System

Row to Row - 1.5 m Row to Row - 1.5 m

Netafim Dripline – 1.5 m

Dry Zone Dry Zone

Wetted bulb
Dual row Planting Pattern Under Subsurface Drip System

0.4 m 0.4 m

Netafim Dripline – 1.8 m

Dry Zone

Wetted bulb Wetted bulb

The challenge – shifting from single row 1.5m to dual row 1.8m because of the mechanical harvest
How to germinate?
PLACEMENT OF DRIP LINE
SEED PLACEMENT
Covering of sets and Compacting of beds for Optimal
soil water distribution
After covering
 IRRIGATION FOR GERMINATION

Germination irrigation
Under Subsurface drip
After 4 to 6 hours
Germination Irrigation
GOOD TILLERING AND INTERNODAL LENGTH WITH PROPER IRRIGATION MANAGEMENT
BENEFITS WITH DUAL ROW PLANTING
Technical Benefits of Sub surface
Crop Water Requirement
& Irrigation Scheduling
 IRRIGATION MANAGEMENT

ETo x Kc = ETc

x =
Reference crop ET Crop coefficient growth Crop Water requirement
reflecting evaporative Stage-wise under optimal water supply
demand of the atmosphere and agronomic conditions

Sugarcane – Determination of Water Requirement

 IRRIGATION & FERTIGATION MANAGEMENT

Sugarcane:
Phenological crop
growth phases
Sugarcane: Field Irrigation Schedule in Tropical India
Sugarcane – Physiological characteristics and
Water management

1. Prodigious water supply reduces cane and sugar yield

2. Avoid excessive watering at tillering.
3. Sink available for sugar storage is a function of length of
the cane
4. Abstraction of water during ripening ensures optimum
sugar yield
Surface Drip Irrigated
Irrigated Crop Crop

Healthy Crop

Optimally Ferti-irrigated
Water stressed Crop
millable (right) cane
FERTIGATION

Fertigation precisely delivers

the plant nutrients via irrigation
system in the crop root zone
according to the crop demand
during crop growing season

Dripline

Wetted bulb N = Nitrogen, K = Potassium P = Phosphorus, + = Micro elements

©
©Netafim
Netafim2013. All All
2015. Rights Reserved.
Rights Confidential.
Reserved. Confidential.
 5

Relative requirement of NPK (%) at different crop

growth sub-periods

(Source: Bachchhav, 2005)

CHEMIGATION
Nematodes application

Humic acid
Summary
•The technology is proven in may parts of the world
Including India.
•It is proven that the benefits on quality yield and more
ratoons with higher production is possible with SSDI
compared to other Irrigation methods.

•Mechanization and Automation is possible with SSDI.

•Increase in WUE and FUE is noticed and convenient cane

cultivation is also a big motivation for SSDI.

•Increased Quality - Recovery %

THANK
YOU