An automatic sprinkler system giving variable irrigation rates matched to measured frost protection needs
✍ Scribed by P.J.C. Hamer
- Publisher
- Elsevier Science
- Year
- 1980
- Weight
- 678 KB
- Volume
- 21
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0002-1571
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✦ Synopsis
Hamer, P. J. C., 1980. An automatic sprinkler system giving variable irrigation rates matched to measured frost protection needs. Agric. Meteorol., 21: 281--293.
Sprinkler systems supplying water at a fixed rate are commonly used for protection of fruit crops from frost. Calculations of water requirement under different conditions show that the standard rate of application, designed to cope with the most severe frosts commonly encountered, supplies excessive water for most conditions. A control system which automatically varies the precipitation rate according to simulated fruit bud temperatures is described. The system was tested during a spring frost in 1976 and gave complete protection while using only half the normal amount of water.