A FOUNDATION COURSE IN IRRIGATION
In this individual module course, you develop an understanding of how plants use water and how to deliver that water more effectively to plants.
Learn to DESIGN, INSTALL, MAINTAIN, OPERATE AND EVALUATE simple irrigation systems.
Study in your own home and at your own pace with support from our highly experienced and qualified irrigation tutors.
Water is a precious and often scarce resource. Using it effectively can make all the difference to whether a crop is profitable or not. This ten lesson course develops an understanding of how plants use water and how to deliver it more effectively to the plant.
Lesson Structure
There are 10 lessons in this course:
-
Introduction
-
Soil Characteristics And Problems
-
Estimating Plant And Soil Requirements
-
Drainage - drainage systems, dams, etc.
-
Types Of Irrigation Systems
-
Hydraulics - discharge and flow rates, etc
-
Pumps And Filters
-
Selecting The Right System For The Plant
-
Trickle Irrigation
-
Design And Operation Of Systems
Aims
-
Identify and consult appropriate sources of information for the irrigation industry.
-
Explain the significance of soil characteristics to irrigation.
-
Determine when to irrigate in a small scale situation.
-
Explain the drainage aspect of handling water.
-
Explain the operation and selection of irrigation systems.
-
Explain the operation and selection of trickle irrigation systems.
-
Determine specifications for the design of an irrigation system.
-
Explain the pumps and filters needed for handling water adequately for crops.
-
Supervise the installation of an irrigation system.
-
Design and operate an irrigation system for crops.
“Whilst sharing similarities with other irrigation courses, this highly functional and practical course also has a specific focus on the irrigation of crops. It will be of interest to anyone who grows, or who wishes to grow, crops whether on a large or small scale. All aspects of irrigation from system types and design to pumps and filters are discussed, in light of soil characteristics, drainage, and plant requirements.” - Gavin Cole B.Sc., Psych.Cert., Cert.Garden Design, MACA, ACS Tutor.
Learn about all the Components of a Watering System
Typical Components of an irrigation system
- Main pipes
- Drippers or drip line
- Timer
- Water meter to assess and monitor the volume of water applied at irrigation
- A pressure gauge to monitor and ensure even application of water
- Moisture sensor
- A pump
- A storage system (tank) is usually included in larger projects to harvest and store water but could also be used in home applications. An inbuilt water supply is a sustainable way to irrigate green walls.
Moisture Sensors
Moisture sensors are important in green walls - especially large ones because of the small amount of plant available water that can be stored in the media used in vertical growing system. There are also extremes in environmental conditions that may occur in outside green walls; moisture loss from transpiration and evaporation is greater. Small domestic vertical gardens are usually be monitored without too much automation.
Why are moisture sensors important?
- To monitor plant available water; the right media moisture encourages plant health
- To promote water conservation
- To prevent costly plant replacement through lack of water
- Ease of use: sensors can be programmed to trigger irrigation several times a day if needed; irrigation can be timed to be short but often. Some sensors will also trigger the system to override a scheduled irrigation should the moisture levels be adequate at that point of time.
Other Irrigation Courses
We hope we have answered your questions, but if not, please ask -
Phone - +44 1384 442752 (outside UK) or 0800 328 4723 (UK)
OR
