Centre pivot
A single pipeline on wheeled towers turns slowly around a fixed point, watering a circle of crop from sprinklers hung along its length.
- Water supply
- A borehole or a reservoir, with a pump feeding a buried pipe to the centre of the field.
- Pivot point
- The fixed centre, where the water enters and around which the machine turns.
- Spans and towers
- Steel pipe spans carried on towers, each driven on its own wheels.
- Drops and sprinklers
- Sprinklers hung close to the crop, with nozzles sized to their place along the machine, since the outer end covers more ground.
- End gun
- An optional large sprinkler at the tip that waters beyond the last span.
- Control panel
- Sets the speed of the turn, and with it how much water the crop receives.
- Large, regular fields
- Cereals and field crops
- Fodder
- Farms with a reliable water source and power
What the design looks at
- The field: its size and shape, the circle it can hold, and what to do with the corners.
- The crop's water need at its peak.
- How fast the soil takes in water, which sets the sprinklers along the machine.
- The water source and a pump sized to the machine.
- The power supply for the pump and the towers.
- Slopes and the tracks the wheels will follow.
Indicative field application efficiency, with good design and management: 75–90%, up to about 95% with low-pressure drops (LEPA). Source: FAO (1989) Irrigation Water Management Training Manual No. 4, Annex I; USDA-NRCS (1997) National Engineering Handbook Part 652, Ch. 6. These are indicative ranges, not guarantees.
We design the pivot around the field, the crop and the water, and supply the machine, the pump and the control panel. Installation and commissioning are quoted with it, and the quotation states what is in our scope.
Equipment we design with and supply: Valley, Nelson Irrigation. Trademarks belong to their owners; no partnership is implied.
Drip irrigation
For row crops, orchards and plantations, with the water and the nutrients delivered at the roots.
Sprinklers and rain guns
For field crops and pasture, where the whole surface needs water.
Pumping
From a borehole, a river or a reservoir, sized to the water the source can give, solar where it suits.
Filtration and fertigation
Filters that protect the emitters, and dosing that feeds the crop through the water.
Valves and automation
Automatic valves and controllers, so each block gets its water at the right time.
your project.
Location, area, crop and water source are enough to start. We will come back to you with the next step.